Buffs a reflection of 2009 Huskies

Realistically, this should be an easy win for the Washington Huskies.

On Saturday, a wounded and bruised team of Colorado Buffaloes (1-5 overall, 0-2 Pacific-12 Conference) will come limping into Husky Stadium feeling the effects of playing its first Pac-12 schedule, a stretch that featured a physical 48-7 pounding last weekend at Stanford and coming games against Washington, Oregon, Arizona State and USC in successive weeks.

Meanwhile, the Huskies (4-1, 2-0) are coming off a bye week with a relatively healthy team that will likely enter The Associated Press Top 25 with a decisive win.

Two teams headed in different directions.

But it wasn’t that long ago that Washington was in Colorado’s position. Just two seasons ago, Steve Sarkisian was in his first year as Huskies coach, trying to rebuild a program that went 0-12 the year before.

So he has empathy for first-year Colorado coach Jon Embree, who was handed the job of returning the Buffaloes to respectability while joining a new league.

“It’s been pretty fascinating watching them,” Sarkisian said. “I got a chance to watch (recordings) of some of their games, and to me they are eerily similar to who we were a couple years ago. I think they have talent on their football team, I think they are well-coached, I think they play hard and they are trying to find a way to get over the hump and to win some of these tight ballgames. They are trying to find a way to win.”

Like the Huskies of 2009, the Buffaloes are trying to win while short on depth, experience and talent.

“You’re changing the culture, you’ve got a mixture of guys from an older staff that moved on to your influx of young players,” Sarkisian said. “I think they’ve played already 13 freshmen this year. It’s a lot of young guys running around making some plays, making some mistakes, very similar.”

But in Sarkisian’s first year, the Huskies were able upset third-ranked USC at Husky Stadium.

“We were fortunate in that year to kind of get a win (in the third game) to reinforce some of the beliefs we were trying to teach,” Sarkisian said.

While Washington isn’t ranked, if the Buffaloes were to win on the road – something they haven’t done in 20 tries – it would be a foundation-building win for Embree.

With Colorado struggling and hurt, and No. 6 Stanford looming next for Washington, could the Huskies overlook the Buffs?

“I just don’t think we are at a stage as a football team to be overconfident at all,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian has been using a mountain-climbing analogy with his players.

“If we are mountain climbers and we are climbing Mount Rainier, we are pretty inexperienced climbers right now,” he said. “… We just don’t have enough experience on the mountain right now to be focusing on feeling too good about ourselves, because one false step and we could slide right back down.”

His players seem to understand.

“We’re not taking anything for granted,” quarterback Keith Price said. “We are not where we need to be yet. We have a pretty good team. But we know we can be a lot better.”

The Huskies admittedly overlooked Eastern Washington in the opener, and almost suffered an embarrassing defeat at home.

“I think we learned our lesson earlier in the year …” Sarkisian said. “That doesn’t always mean you are going to play well or execute well. But I do think we’ll prepare very well, we’ll be enthused and we will play hard.”

INJURY UPDATES

Perhaps no player needed the week off more than Price, who rested his ailing knees and ankles. He practiced without a bulky knee brace and moved nimbly without a limp. “My knees feel good, but it’s just getting my ankle right,” Price said before practice. “But I will be ready to be play on Saturday.” …

The other injury of serious concern for the Huskies is the high-ankle sprain of freshman wide receiver Kasen Williams. He was limited in practice. He wore an ankle brace and participated in individual drills. He ran and caught passes, but sat out team drills.

Certain pass routes give Williams the most trouble as he heals, Sarkisian said.

“Those sharp cuts coming in and out of breaks (are difficult),” the coach said. “(Meanwhile) the punt return thing is a little easier, it’s get to the spot, catch it and then it’s a vertical run.”

Comeback and curl routes, “… where you have to plant and come back to the quarterback, that’s where it’s the most effect on him,” Sarkisian said.

Linebacker John Timu (neck), safety Nate Fellner (hamstring) and running back Jesse Callier (hamstring) were full participants at practice Monday.

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports/