Corvallis holds bad memories for Huskies, Sarkisian

Nov 13, 2009, 12:00 AM

They have different reasons, obviously, but neither UW head coach Steve Sarkisian nor quarterback Jake Locker has very fond memories of playing at Oregon State. Sarkisian's last two trips there have been as an assistant for USC, which saw its national title hopes go down in flames in 2006 and 2008 after considerable upsets at the hands of the Beavers in Corvallis. Locker was taken off the Reser Stadium turf in an ambulance in 2007 after a helmet-to-helmet collision with OSU defensive back Al Afalava in which he sprained his neck, consequently missing the Huskies' next game against California. Sarkisian and Locker will both be hoping to reverse an OSU jinx that has haunted the UW program for some time now, traveling down I-5 for a Pac-10 matchup tomorrow at Reser. Washington hasn't beat the Beavers since 2003, which was also the last time they won a game in Corvallis. Sarkisian doesn't exactly love the place, either. "I haven't had a lot of luck there the last couple trips," Sarkisian said. And while Sarkisian would just as soon forget about his last trip down there, Locker actually can't remember his. He lay motionless on the Reser turf for some time, something he doesn't really recall. "The whole on-the-field experience was cloudy a little bit for me, but after, I don't think there was any intention of that, of trying to take me out of the game or any cheap shots," Locker said. "I thought it was a clean hit; he just caught me just right. Obviously a scary deal - something you hope you don't have to go through again - but it won't change the way I play the game or the approach I take to it." He'll have to worry more about trying to prolong UW's bowl hopes for one more week, as the 3-6 Huskies head into this one against the 6-3 and 23rd-ranked Beavers as 12-point underdogs, needing to win their remaining three games to get bowl eligible. That seems an overwhelming task, especially for a Huskies team that hasn't won a road game since November of 2007. And the emergence of Oregon State as a consistent power in the Pac-10 might be the biggest indicator of how much things have changed in the Northwest and the rest of the conference. The Beavers used to be the Pac-10 doormat. Now, it's Washington trying to pick itself up off the floor. And the Huskies will have to do it in what has become one of the tougher environments to play in the conference. "It's a fun place to go play college football - it really is," Sarkisian said. "The fans get into the game. Their game operations people do a really good job of utilizing the board, and the chainsaw on third down, and they do some really cool stuff, which makes it fun and entertaining, so it's exciting. I'm anxious to get there and go play." Visitors to Reser are usually more anxious to leave. Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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