Bowl hopes hinge on trip to ASU

Oct 16, 2009, 12:00 AM

The fact that the Washington football team has won three games at the season's midway point is surprising enough. But could the Huskies (3-3, 2-1 Pac-10), coming off an 0-12 season, be in a realistic position to expect a trip to a bowl game? In mid October? A win over Arizona State tomorrow would be a serious step in that direction, as the Huskies head to Tempe with a chance to improve to 4-3, which would be the first time they've had a winning record at the seven-game mark since 2006, when they started 4-1 before losing six straight. But head coach Steve Sarkisian insists he isn't thinking that far ahead - especially considering the way his team has looked on the road this year. "That's a long way away," Sarkisian said on Monday. "We've got to worry about Arizona State on the road. We haven't gotten a road victory yet this year. We didn't perform very well at Stanford. I thought we rebounded and performed much better and got used to what it's like to be on the road together and played much better at Notre Dame." Washington hasn't won a road game since Nov. 3, 2007, but it will have to win at least one to finish the regular season with a winning record. The Huskies' remaining home games are against Oregon, Washington State and California, and they will make trips to UCLA and Oregon State before season's end. They need three more wins, of course, to secure a 6-6 record - which would make them 5-4 in the Pac-10 - and wrap up a bowl berth. "Yeah, it's a goal, but the best way to achieve that goal is to approach it like we have every game this season, and that's game to game," quarterback Jake Locker said. "Because as we've seen already, there are a lot of good football teams. If you look past anybody or look ahead to anybody, it's going to bite you in the butt." To avoid such a painful fate, and to beat the Sun Devils - owners of one of the staunchest defenses in the Pac-10 - the Huskies likely need to find a little more consistency on offense. They put up 36 points in last week's miraculous win over Arizona, but stalled for the majority of the third quarter and got eight of those points off Mason Foster's game-winning interception. And quarterback Jake Locker's legs could again be a factor, one week after he had his most productive rushing performance of the season. Locker took 11 carries for 92 yards, most of that coming on a 56-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. That run was actually the product of a successful pass rush, which Locker evaded before finding nothing but empty turf in front of him. He may have to be equally elusive against an ASU front seven that features standout freshman linebacker Vontaze Burfict. "These guys are really good up front," Sarkisian said. "They do a nice job in the run game, but then they also do a great job in the pass game because they apply so much pressure on the quarterback. They force the quarterback into bad decisions, throwing the ball into coverage, and it allows them to create turnovers." That may be where Locker comes in. "I've said before I think this coaching staff will put together a great game plan for us week in and week out and put us in the best situation to have a chance to win the football game," Locker said. "Whether that's carrying it 10 times or zero times, I'm fine with it." Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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