When they locked the gates at Husky Stadium Saturday night (9-8-07), the University of Washington football team had recorded its biggest victory in recent memory. All the Huskies did was:

Upset No. 22-ranked Boise State 24-10.

Snap Boise State's 14-game winning streak, the longest in major college football.

Hold the Broncos scoreless in the second half after staking out a 24-10 lead in the first half.

Hold Bronco running back Ian Johnson to 81 yards on 20 carries, breaking Johnson's streak of 7 consecutive games with 100-yards rushing.

Mind you, Boise State ran the table last year, going 13-0 to be the only undefeated Division 1-A team. The Broncos won their 5th straight Western Athletic Conference championship, and then defeated Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime when Ian Johnson scored on a statue-of-liberty play that left the Sooner defense without a decent excuse for losing the Fiesta Bowl.

Bronco Coach Chris Petersen was selected as the 2006 Paul "Bear" Bryant College Coach of the Year. His undefeated season made him only the second coach in college football history to post a 13-0 record in his first season as a head coach. The other coach was Walter Camp who led Yale to a 13-0 record in 1888-119 years ago.

Since 2001 no team in major college football has averaged more points scored per game than Boise State (41+ points per game). For the Washington Huskies to hold the Broncos to a measly 10 points was a huge accomplishment. Did Boise State bring a tradition of excellence with them Saturday? Yes. Did the University of Washington football program and players finally get off the dime and show something Saturday? Yes.

Third-year Coach Tyrone "Ty" Willingham did not get dumped on this weekend or last weekend and for two good reasons-a 42-12 opening win over Syracuse on the road followed by Saturday's 24-10 home opener victory over Boise State. The win marked the Huskies first 2-0 start since 2001. Despite Rick Neuheisel's departure as Washington's football coach, Neuheisel's 2000 team was the last really great Husky team, going 11-1, tying for the Pac 10 title and beating Purdue in the Rose Bowl 34-24.

The media and fans can carp all they want about Neuheisel, but the record book does not lie. No coach has even come close to Neuheisel's 2000 team until now. The 2007 Huskies with Ty Willingham are for real; they may not go as far as the 2000 team, but they are going to be taken seriously for a change.

In Washington's opener quarterback Jack Locker had an extraordinary debut going 14-for-19 with 142 yards passing and 83 yards and one touchdown rushing. Locker is beyond good for a redshirt freshman and is one of the fastest quarterbacks afoot in Division I-A play, if not the fastest. Locker, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound, 19-year-old redshirt freshman with a cannon for an arm, did not commit a single turnover in his debut against Syracuse.

All of that changed against a much tougher Boise State defense when Locker became a more normal redshirt freshman by committing two turnovers.

One was a jump pass Locker threw into the end zone that was intercepted but did not cost the Huskies any points. The other came on a fumble when he was scrambling in the first quarter which resulted in Boise State's first touchdown. Locker might also have thrown three more interceptions if it were not for drops by Bronco defenders.

On the up side, Locker was 13-for-25 passing with 193 yards and one touchdown to Marcel Reese who plowed through two defenders on a 59-yard catch and run. He also ran 16 times for 84 yards including a 6-yard touchdown scamper to cap Washington's opening drive.

Neither team scored in the second half. When Locker was not a factor after halftime, the Husky defense took the spotlight by literally winning the game with some incredible pressure on Bronco quarterback Taylor Tharp-a 5th-year senior making his second start-and some awesome secondary play by senior Roy Lewis and true freshman Vonzell McDowell.

Lewis, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound cornerback, played much bigger than his size, recording 10 tackles and 1 assist and breaking up a key fourth-down pass in the end zone with 4 minutes left. Lewis also had an interception, defended three passes and made one tackle behind the line.

McDowell, a 5-foot-9, 176-pound cornerback out of Rainer Beach High School in Kent (WA), was attacked all day by the Bronco offense which saw him as easy pickings since he is a true freshman hitting the big time.

McDowell came up huge (as in 9-foot-5) when he intercepted Taylor Tharp's throw at the 2 yard line with 2:40 remaining, giving the Huskies possession of the ball to run out the clock and record their first win since 2003 in 11 tries over a Top 25 team.

You have to love the leadership of senior Roy Lewis, who led all Husky defenders in tackles, and the chutzpah of true freshman Vonzell McDowell Jr., who said in effect to the Bronco quarterback, "You might have been 13-0 last year but do not keep testing me in Husky Stadium, this is my house."

Because of Locker's great debut game and all of the accompanying positive publicity, fans may not have known that in the opening Syracuse victory Washington's defense held the Orangemen to 8 yards rushing while piling up 7 sacks and 1 fumble recovery. Defensive Coordinator Kent Baer and his defensive players earned the spotlight Saturday by securing the Huskies huge upset over Boise State.

Don't ya just love college football? Here are the Huskies laying the smack down on the Broncos, senior mainstay defensive end Greyson Gunheim intercepting a pass, and junior linebacker and Bellevue (WA) High School product E. J. Savannah slamming Broncos to the ground.

What a relief to know that this is not going to be the Jack-Locker-do-or-die show! Locker can thank his lucky stars that he is surrounded by players that can pick him up and make him look even better than he is.

Defense wins games, wins conference championships and wins bowl games. Look at Hawaii if you want an example of a team with an explosive offense and no real defense that really is going to get found out sooner or later.

When the Huskies travel to Honolulu for their last regular season game with Hawaii, I hope they crush the Hawaii Warriors and then win a bowl game. A BCS game would be a super finish to a great start for the Washington Huskies.

The only thing better than a 2-0 start would be a 13-0 finish. I have seen a lot of football in 63 years. I am old enough to dream about a perfect season to match Washington's perfect 1991 season with a 12-0 record, a Pac 10 championship, a Rose Bowl victory over Michigan, and a national championship.

Let it be said here and now that the University of Washington Huskies are back in the hunt. If you have to ask what hunt you should not be allowed in the Stadium when they face the No. 10-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes this Saturday (9-15-07). The early line has Washington as a 4-point dog, odds even a Husky should relish. After all, Ohio State is only ranked No. 10 in the Top 25 AP Poll and Washington is not in the poll. The Buckeyes should have to win by 5 or more to cover the spread.

Ohio State went 12-0 last year before losing to Florida in the BCS National Championship Game. Five of the Buckeye starters were first round picks in the NFL draft and later four more players went in the draft. Can the Washington Huskies beat the Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday? Many media types and fans were asking the same question about Syracuse and Boise State. 'Nuff said?

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.