Petersen's retirement and next year's opener
Other than Mike Leach press conferences, I haven't really followed the PAC-12 in a few years since they're such a festering abscess. That conference needs a powerful USC, so badly. As does college football. I have new respect for USC reading that their president has told their AD that Urban Meyer cannot be considered.
W/R to the Washington opener next year- living in Colorado, I've always been highly impressed with Chris Petersen and what he did at Boise State. Not to mention his calm and disciplined character always seemed refreshingly reflected in his teams. While he was successful at Washington, especially early on, I was surprised he wasn't better. I thought he would be a transformational coach for them, but he never really made the leap, and is clearly worn out at this point. Not sure what kind of team they have returning, but I was looking forward to the games against Petersen and another trip to Seattle.
For those of you with the opportunity, I would highly recommend attending that game. My wife and I attended Michigan's last game out there, which was 2001, the Saturday before 9/11, in fact. It's an incredible place to see a football game (not to mention a fun city to visit). Though not that large a stadium, it's design is unbelievably loud and intimidating.
The game in 2001 was a fairly typical Lloyd-Ball fiasco, with UM snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It was a great game, and the only time in four attempts that overrated goldbricker Rick Neuheisel defeated us. He was a class act (not). I remember that over that summer, UW's All-American TE, Jeremy Stevens, fell asleep drunk behind the wheel of his truck and drove it off the road and through the wall of some poor old woman's apartment in a retirement home. Fortunately, he didn't injure the woman, who was asleep in her bed. Rick Neuheisel thought that was worth a half-game suspension, so Stevens showed up for the second half, but UM managed him pretty well.
While it was a typical Lloyd loss, there weren't any really egregious things Lloyd did. He just kept the lid on everything, straining the team to eek out a tight victory in an effort to minimize mistakes. Navarre was the QB, so there were some intrinsic limitations, but Chris Perry was a solid RB and there were good WR's. UM really dominated through the first three quarters and beyond, especially with a Larry Foote-led defense, and held UW in check. Lloyd's biggest gaffe was choosing to kick a short FG on 4th and 3 at the UW 16. It was probably the right call, with a >95% chance to go up by 9 in a defensive struggle. Of course the kick was blocked, and famously bounced perfectly to be caught in stride by one of UW's fastest players who took it to the house. Suddenly, from likely being up 9, to down one, 4th quarter, in one of the toughest venues in the country. The tone of the game immediately changed and the stadium went from crickets to overpowering noise. On the next possession, just 2 plays a later, a well-set-up bubble screen to the Chris Perry zipped through his hands and carried right to a UW player, who trotted in for another TD. After that, it was essentially over. UM scraped out another TD, but lost by 4. It was a very typical loss, and a typical feeling from the era (a feeling that would get much worse with similar restrained efforts against Tre$$el to come). UM dominated the game, but played not to lose. Two plays, in a span of 30 seconds of game time, handed UW 14 points in the 4th quarter. While there wasn't anything Lloyd did wrong- the "execution" refrain we're hearing a lot now as his players made the two crucial mistakes on sensibly called plays- the ultra-conservative game plan left no room for error, so that one play completely changed the tone of the game and it was too late.
Still, it was a great game in a great place, and I'd expect something similar next year. If anyone does go, realize that the visitors tickets are in the detached west end zone, and that view is the worst in the stadium. UW fans are dignified and welcoming, so I'll look for seats in the larger field sections.
December 3rd, 2019 at 5:28 AM ^
It is truly a great place to see a football game. Very unique. It’s a legit college stadium that still has a “walk up to the gate and buy a program” feel to it. Nice to go to a sporting event that doesn’t feel kind of like you are being voluntarily incarcerated. It’s hard to go there and not come away a bit of a Washington fan.
December 3rd, 2019 at 5:39 AM ^
The boat tailgating always looked amazing on College Gameday.
December 3rd, 2019 at 5:42 AM ^
Washington has plenty of talent. If Jacob Eason returns, they could be quite formidable. Their new head coach, newly promoted DC Jimmy Lake, is charismatic and energetic. He is generally universally beloved by the program and the players. This game will likely be an extremely difficult one.
Thanks for the interesting word on tour experiences at the stadium. The city is majestic - especially that time of year. While in town, visiting Mt Rainier National Park is an absolute must see for hiking and astonishing views.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:03 AM ^
My wife and I have been planning to go to this game since just after it was announced. We're staying for 8 days and plan to tour Seattle. We also have made reservations at the national park lodges in Olympic and Mt. Rainier. We're really looking forward to it.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:13 AM ^
Outstanding - great planning and should be some priceless memories! The ferry ride to Bainbridge Island is also an affordable and memorable experience. There is a neat casino on the island as well if that may be of interest. So much to do and see in Seattle - go blue and happy travels.
December 3rd, 2019 at 5:59 AM ^
Oh. I remember that feeling all too well.
See e.g., at Northwestern, October 5, 1996
December 3rd, 2019 at 6:32 AM ^
I was at the game either the year before or after against them. Brabbs hit a 44 yarder to beat them after they got a 12 man on the field penalty, I believe. Gameday was at that one and they were set up in the SE corner of the field. The celebration of our crowd was one of the craziest I have ever seen after a victory. It was like a mosh pit, I remember some old white guy (like in his 80s) jumped on top of me and asked me to hoist him up. It was Hilarios and a great time.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:18 AM ^
My cousin just got out of the military, so I took him to that Washington game. He smuggled in about every type of liquor you can imagine and drank like a viking the entire game. When Brabbs hit the game winning field goal, everyone went nuts; but my cousin just looked over at me with a big, drunk grin on his face, and said "bueno!".
It was also on that drive home that I learned that no amount of air conditioning being blown and windows rolled down will negate the smell of a metric ton of puke being hurled in your car. Good times.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:28 AM ^
sorry Greg
December 3rd, 2019 at 9:44 AM ^
Lol is this the cousin?
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:27 AM ^
That was the next year. We kind of lucked into that one. Chris Perry took the opening handoff to the house for like 75yds. We got up 14-0 and then pissed it away. I think the other kicker missed 2 or 3 field goals, setting up a terrifying final field goal that went straight through the uprights. That caused the melee, as everyone was so much expecting another horrible shank from an unknown kicker. The 12-man call was legit, and Washington's fault. Back then it was 15 yards. But the call that saved the drive was when our WR (Braylon?) caught the ball on 4th down, and a UW DB slapped it out of his hands instantly. Braylon stood there staring at it like it was incomplete (and in fairness it probably should have been). But the refs didn't blow the whistle, they called it a catch with a fumble and another UM receiver alertly ran up and fell on it. It was far enough downfield to be a miracle first down. A couple plays later the Hail Mary FG went through. One funny thing I remember was that it was Big 10 refs, and so everyone was saying UM got the homer treatment. Back when I had time to watch Gameday, I remember the animated corpse of Beano Cooke ranting about it.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:52 AM ^
That was without a doubt one of the most stressful games I could remember. Believe we were #10 and Washington was #9 (or vice-versa). Perry took that opening hand off 75 yards and we quickly got up 14. The kicking game was atrocious the entire game. Brabbs missed two makeable field goals earlier in the game and I remember we brought in Neinberg to kick what would be the go ahead field goal late in the game from less than 30 yards and he hooked it horribly.
The 12 men on the field penalty back then was a 15 yarder which put us in FG range (I remember Lloyd saying he trusted Brabbs to make a 59 yarder if they had to kick it). That was a great start to a frustrating year. The loss we had to Iowa at home was one of the worst I had seen in years.
It's just crazy that it has been 17 years since that game; feels like it just happened. If you watch the highlights though, you can see how much the game has changed in that time however.
December 3rd, 2019 at 1:54 PM ^
My memory of watching that kick was that I was over at a friend's house, and after the requisite whooping and high-fives, there was a long beat of silence. My friend, when Brabbs was shown next on the screen, just said almost deadpan: "That guy is getting LAID tonight."
December 3rd, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
My first game as a student.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:03 AM ^
um, start thinking about that already?
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:04 AM ^
I’ve been excited about this game since the day it was added to the schedule. I live on the left coast and my wife is from Seattle, giving us extra incentive to vacation up there and attend the game. I’ve always enjoyed the city, and their stadium seems nice from afar (never experienced an actual game there).
McCaffrey will in all likelihood be our starter and I grew up in the era when these early season cross country trips didn’t end well for Michigan. I hope we can come out strong in a hostile environment after a very long trip out west to start the season. Should be a fun one.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:17 AM ^
"I grew up in the era when these early season cross country trips didn’t end well for Michigan."
They still don't.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:17 AM ^
Eight of our tailgate group went to that game in Seattle as well and it is a wonderful venue with the lake in the background of the stadium. Terrific campus as well. We spent one bite in Vegas prior to our flight to Seattle. We were fortunate as we flew home on Monday one day prior to 9/11. It is a great roadtrip.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:30 AM ^
Haven't you heard? Literally nothing that happens next year matters because it's 100% guaranteed we will get smoked by OSU and the whole season will be a waste of our time
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:38 AM ^
Not only that, EYB, but we'll be sent to a low level, meaningless bowl game in Florida. Of course, some of our best players will even opt to sit that game out.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:56 AM ^
I was at that game. Beautiful stadium and area.
I was visiting friends there and flew home on the red-eye 9/10. I didn't have TV at the time and slept in. I didn't hear about 9/11 until that evening when I went to my poker game. Very surreal experience.
December 3rd, 2019 at 7:57 AM ^
My oldest is now working in Seattle and we plan on attending as a family. Any suggestions about how to get 4 good seats would be most welcome. Seattle is a nice place to visit in the Summer, and our family is looking forward to attending.
December 3rd, 2019 at 8:39 AM ^
I remember that game, and a host of others that ended similarly - ultra-conservative on offense to avoid mistakes in a tight game. That leaves no room for errors, and God knows college players make errors!
The thing I was so happy to see this year? The evolution of the offense into a much higher risk entity capable of keeping up in a shootout. I believe this evolution will continue next year. If McCaffrey comes out slinging passes like Shea did Saturday, we'll know ultra-conservatism is behind us and that modernity has arrived. I so look forward to seeing that! Seeing Michigan actively seek to win, rather than to eke out and maintain.
December 3rd, 2019 at 9:00 AM ^
Moved out to the PNW last year so this games been on my calendar ever since. Looking forward to seeing the good guys up close again.
December 3rd, 2019 at 9:22 AM ^
One of the most beautiful campuses in America. Wish I could go, I'm itching to sailgate.
December 3rd, 2019 at 9:30 AM ^
I started reading this out of curiosity, and as I neared the end I thought “just what I really need to read today, a story about another Michigan football fuck up.”
December 3rd, 2019 at 9:46 AM ^
Disagree. Not a great stadium if you sit in the upper tier. Angle of the seating leaves one vertiginous. Hard to concentrate on the game while struggling to not tumble off into space.
December 3rd, 2019 at 10:44 AM ^
I'm in a place called Vertigo.
December 3rd, 2019 at 9:54 AM ^
I’m so excited for this game! I’ve lived in WA for 7 years and have been eagerly anticipating this game since it was announced. I almost went the Utah game in JH’s first year but couldn’t make it happen. Any suggestions for getting good tickets to an away game like this? Just look on the resale market or is there a better way? Obviously they haven’t started selling them yet, just looking for advice.
December 3rd, 2019 at 11:04 AM ^
New respect for USC? They kept Pete Carol around with all his rule breaking lmao. Before Bama, there was USC...
Just sayin' that people quickly forget about these things.
December 3rd, 2019 at 11:13 AM ^
I live close to Husky Stadium in Montlake. The stadium experience there is exceptional. I recommend you see Seattle in early September, then take a road trip south to Mt. Rainier then north west through the Olympics. Follow this up with a ferry trip to the San Juan Islands and finish up with another road trip to North Cascades National Park. Washington is a playground.
December 3rd, 2019 at 11:33 AM ^
I went to school with Chris Peterson at UC Davis - he was our QB - and I've always been a huge fan. I am also surprised he couldn't get Washington to the very top level. But after seeing how difficult it has been for Harbaugh to get UofM to that level, I should not be surprised. Both coaches and their respective schools have principles and are not ones to bend or break the rules or recruit low character athletes. It's hard to compete for elite recruits when the top programs don't share the same principles.
I do think Peterson's experience at UW is exhibit A in how hard it is to reach the level of an OSU, Bama or Clemson while running a clean program.
December 3rd, 2019 at 11:36 AM ^
It's a road game against a team with a pulse I'm not feeling optimistic right now.
December 3rd, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
I'm really looking forward to going to this game. My daughter is a high school senior who is waiting to hear from colleges, including Washington and Michigan. Will be her first game ever as a student and it would be a great opener for her. We really liked the U Dub campus (it was a sunny day, a rarity) and somehow it had the same school spirit feel as Michigan, although they are pretty different schools.
I think our fortunes for the game depend on whether Jacob Eason comes back for another year. U Dub's defense is pretty good under Jimmy Lake and I don't expect that to change.
Very good article on Chris Petersen. He is definitely one of the good guys in coaching who doesn't cut corners. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/huskies-chris-petersen-is-the-latest-big-name-college-coach-under-60-to-resign-at-top-of-profession/
December 3rd, 2019 at 12:14 PM ^
December 3rd, 2019 at 12:23 PM ^
My wife and I plan on flying to Seattle for the game. We’ve never been and it was a good reason to get out there. We found a place that does sailgating with food and booze provided. I’m pumped.
December 3rd, 2019 at 12:56 PM ^
I plan to be there. I live an hour north and have been excited for this since the moment it was announced.
December 3rd, 2019 at 1:06 PM ^
Honestly I don't think Petersen's departure will have any impact on this game. Going with their DC as the next coach seems to be a move that will allow Washington to transition to a new coach without too much issue. I only watched a couple Washington games this year, but it seems to me their issues this year were injuries exposing a lack of depth on defense which made them kinda bleh against good offenses and a mistake prone offense. When healthy though, they looked like a team that will have a good amount of talent coming back. Paired with UM going out West in the first game for a new QB and I think you are looking at a tossup type of game. Just a dumb game to schedule honestly, similar situation to that game they lost at Washington that you reference with a new QB for UM in that game too.