The bye week couldn't come at a more perfect time for the Washington Huskies. After being dismantled at home by the Nebraska Cornerhuskers, UW is looking to regroup and figure out what went wrong in Montlake.
Husky head coach Steve Sarkisian had some pointed words about Saturday's loss to Nebraska during his weekly radio show. Seattle Times beat reporter Bob Condotta passed along a few notes.
"I don't know if Nebraska respected the Huskies at the end of that ball game Saturday, and that's not okay,'' he said, then repeating a little later that "I don't know if they respected us at the end of that game so its been addressed and it won't happen again.''
Sarkisian lamented that Washington didn't play hard until the end and vowed to address it this week. The Husky head coach wasn't pleased with his team's play, but also shouldered much of the blame.
The bye week also gives the Huskies a chance to try out some new players and find a combination that will work before the Pac-10 schedule. On of those players is highly-touted freshman Josh Shirley. Condotta also relayed Sarkisian's thoughts on the freshman defensive end.
Said the coaches will take another long look at Josh Shirley at defensive end during the bye week and could still decide to play him this season --- he has not played so far. Said Shirley has had some good practices recently.
After a forgettable performance against Nebraska, Jake Locker needs to get his head straight before his pro stock continues to plummet. At UW Dawg Pound, they have an idea.
The coaches need to find a way to showcase his talents better during the bye week. The offense doesn't seem to be a good fit for his skill set. The coaches get two weeks to work it out before they head to LA to play USC, a very winnable game.
With USC looming on the other side of the bye week, the Huskies better get it figured out fast.
For more on the Huskies, check out SB Nation's UW Dawg Pound.