By MICHAEL MILLER
miller@du2.byu.edu
The Washington Huskies have left many teams sleepless in Seattle, and BYU has been one of those sluggish squads.
Saturday, in front of more than 74,000 fans at Husky Stadium, BYU (1-1) will get a chance to break its three-game losing streak against the ninth-ranked Washington Huskies (1-0).
'The last couple of years, they have been a thorn in our side,' senior linebacker Daren Yancey said. 'While I've been on the team, I've never lost to the same team three times. I definitely want this win more than any win this year.'
The game will be televised regionally on ABC (KTVX-TV, Channel 4) and will be seen in most of the western United States. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
'Washington is a very good football team, certainly a top-ten squad,' BYU head coach LaVell Edwards said. 'They are very good up there, and we haven't played real well against them.'
The Huskies beat BYU by 12 in Seattle two years ago and by 22 last year in Provo. In both those games, UW's offense and defense have stymied the Cougars.
Washington's offensive attack has rolled up 445 and 577 total yards in those games, respectively.
Last year's Husky win was highlighted by senior tailback Rashaan Shehee, who ran for 171 yards and scored twice. Sophomore quarterback Brock Huard completed 18 of 23 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Overall, Huard threw for 2,140 yards and 23 touchdowns last year and was ranked third in the Pac-10 and fifth in the nation in passing efficiency.
Huard, a possible Heisman trophy candidate this year, is back again and looks as impressive as last season. Two weeks ago, led by Huard's passing, the Huskies defeated Arizona State in the final minutes, 42-38. That night, Huard set career highs for pass attempts (47), completions (27) and yards (318). With 26 more passing yards, he will move past Chris Chandler and into sixth place on the school's all-time list.
'We have a quarterback who has all the qualities of greatness that a coach would like in that position,' Washington head coach Jim Lambright said.
These qualities include experience, his size (6 feet 5 inches, 225 pounds) and his ability to throw the ball deep with a nice touch, according to Lambright.
'He will graduate at the end of this, his redshirt junior year, in pre-med, a very difficult major. And he comes from a football family. His dad was his high school football coach,' Lambright added.
Edwards concurs with Lambright on how important Huard is to the Huskies' success.
'(Huard) is big and strong and he has a great arm that is very quick to their receivers,' Edwards said. 'He is definite NFL material.'
One of Huard's favorite targets is his roommate, Dane Looker, who tied a Washington record with 108 yards receiving and two scores in its win over ASU.
'It definitely was very indicative of the quality of that young man,' Lambright said of Looker, who also played high school football with Huard.
'It's not a tremendous shock to us, but he is one of those perfect type of inside receivers who runs great routes and captures the ball every time it is thrown,' Lambright said.
Looker is nursing a deep thigh bruise and should be available for Saturday's game.
Another dangerous receiver for Washington is sophomore speedster Ja'Warren Hooker. That's right, the Huskies have a Hooker and a Looker in their receiving core. Hooker is also an NCAA track and field sprinter. In June, he won the Pac-10's male track and field Athlete of the Year Award.
Hooker partially separated a shoulder versus the Sun Devils and is questionable to probable for this Saturday.
Smaller tight end Reggie Davis, who stands 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 230 pounds, also had two touchdowns and led the Huskies in receiving with five catches for 110 yards against ASU.
This season's Huskies do not boast such a powerful running attack as in years past. Junior tailback Maurice Shaw led UW with 58 yards on 15 carries in the opener.
Meanwhile, on defense, the Huskies have humbled BYU on the ground, holding the Cougars to 16 net rushing yards on 52 carries in the last two games combined. That equates to a humiliating 0.307 yards per rush. The Cougars are hoping sophomore running back Ronney Jenkins can change that Saturday.
The Washington defense was not nearly as stingy in its opener with Arizona State. The Huskies, who return roughly half of their defense from last year, allowed almost 500 yards and 38 points in Tempe, Ariz.
Washington's defense is led up front by 6 foot 5, 320-pound junior college transfer Toalei Mulitauaopele. The Huskies are solid inside with Marques Hairston and Lester Towns in their second year as a starting pair at the linebacker position. Towns led the Huskies in tackles (89) and sacks (5) last season.
The Cougars feel up to the challenge of playing the Huskies on their home turf.
'It's not going to be easy to go up there and just beat the team,' Jenkins said. 'I think it's going to be a great game, but I think if we just play like we know we can play, we will win against them.'
TOUGH SCHEDULE?: Washington perhaps has even a more difficult schedule than BYU. The Huskies opened up with a win over then-ninth-ranked Arizona State. After hosting the Cougars, Washington must travel to No. 3 Nebraska before a home game with No. 16 Arizona.
PACKING THEM IN: Washington and BYU are perennially first and second in the western U.S. (Pacific and Mountain time zones) in attendance each season. In 1997, Washington averaged 73,589 for home games in Seattle, while BYU brought 64,686 spectators to Cougar Stadium.
POWER IN THE PAC-10: This week, five teams from the Pac-10 are ranked in the AP Top 25. They include: No. 4 UCLA, No. 9 Washington, No. 16 Arizona, No. 18 USC and No. 22 Oregon. Three of those schools--UCLA, Washington and USC are future opponents for the Cougars in upcoming seasons.
STREAKIN': BYU has the nation's longest streak without being shutout at 286 games (NCAA record), while Texas is second with 200 games. Washington's 42-38 win at Arizona State marked the 193rd consecutive game in which the Huskies have not been shut out. That's the best streak among Pac-10 schools.
GAME NOTES: The ABC broadcasting crew for Saturday's game includes Brent Musberger (play-by-play), Dan Fouts (color commentary) and Jack Arute (sideline reporter.