Huskies, Bears took similar paths to Alamo Bowl

SAN ANTONIO — Their stories are similar and yet different. For the Washington Huskies and the Baylor Bears, today’s Alamo Bowl game is a reminder of how far they’ve come and where they are going.

Both programs are presumably still on a steady climb from the depths of college football, thanks to their respective coaches: Steve Sarkisian and Art Briles.

But their paths to back-to-back bowl games for each have been very different.

In years past for the Huskies, playing in a bowl game in consecutive seasons wasn’t so much an accomplishment as an expectation.

The program was a national power under Don James, and the Huskies remained relevant for years following his departure. But the slide to mediocrity that began after the 2001 Rose Bowl hit rock bottom in 2008 with a 0-12 season and the firing of coach Tyrone Willingham. Sarkisian took over and has been trying to revive the program ever since.

“You only appreciate success when you’ve been at the bottom, and we’ve been at the bottom, and we realize how that feels,” said senior linebacker Cort Dennison.

Baylor has never been a powerhouse. This will be the program’s 18th bowl game. The Bears have had one 10-win season in their history, and before this year they hadn’t won nine games in a season since 1986.

When Briles took over after the 2007 season, Baylor hadn’t had a winning season since 1995. The Bears went 0-8 in Big 12 play the year before Briles arrived.

“I remember the first time we won a conference game, that was a big deal,” Briles said.

It took Sarkisian two seasons to return Washington to a bowl game, while Briles needed three seasons to do the same for Baylor.

Neither rebuilding project was easy. And both coaches see similarities in their respective paths.

“There is a level of respect for what guys have been able to accomplish and what they’ve been able to do, not just this season about what they’ve been able to do since 2008, what we’ve been able to do since 2009,” Sarkisian said.

For Washington’s seniors, their careers have spanned the rebuilding process after the team went 0-12 when they were freshmen. There has been a lot of hard work, setbacks and learning to get to this point. And while, they always believed in the process, there was still doubt.

“Honestly, no, I would have never imagined this,” said senior offensive tackle Senio Kelemete. “It was pretty hard for all of us, the 0-12 season. I’m pretty sure a lot of guys didn’t really want to play football anymore or wanted to transfer. Football wasn’t fun.”

But Sarkisian has made it fun. He knows that without seniors such as Kelemete, Cort Dennison, Alameda Ta’amu and Jermaine Kearse, the odds of playing in successive bowls would have been steep.

“We wouldn’t be where we were without them,” Sarkisian said. “You think about the roller coaster that they were on from day one to where they are today, they’ve left a mark on our program, and they should be proud of that.”

Listen to Baylor seniors Elliot Coffey and Nicolas Jean-Baptiste, who were redshirt freshmen during the 2007 season, and they sound a lot like Kelemete.

“I just knew we needed to turn this around,” Jean-Baptiste said. “We had to get it together. So last year we met the expectations that I had. We went to a bowl game (the Texas Bowl), first game in 16 years. So from what I thought from freshman year? It’s way beyond what I was dreaming of.”

Neither Sarkisian nor Briles is interested in dwelling on the past ills of their programs.

“Just like (Sarkisian) said, I’m not into sitting around and talking about what has been,” Briles said. “We’re concerned about what will be, and that’s the way we look at it from day one. Our guys have certainly worked hard to have this opportunity, and hopefully we’ll man up enough to take advantage of it.”

For either team, a win will be the cherry on top of their accomplishments. It would be the final success in a season full of them for Baylor. The Bears have smashed nearly every offensive record in school history behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III. It would also mean 10 wins and a likely Top 10 spot in the final rankings.

A year ago, the Bears were happy just to be in a bowl game. This year, they want to win one.

“I think definitely our mental attitude this year is quite a bit different than it was a year ago,” Briles said. “We were a little excited, a little happy, a little proud of ourselves, and we had no reason to be. Hopefully our guys have settled down and understand that it’s a 60-minute game and we have an opportunity to go out and prove ourselves.”

A win for the Huskies would be their second in a row over a ranked foe in a bowl game. The 2011 season was filled with so much hope, including a 5-1 record and an early Top 25 ranking. But a 65-21 drubbing by Stanford led to losses in three of the next four games. A win over Griffin and the No. 15 Bears would help assuage some of the disappointment. It won’t be easy. The Huskies are a decided underdog.

“Hopefully one of these days we’ll be a favorite in a game, in a bowl game,” Sarkisian said. “I don’t think that we’re preparing any harder because we’re underdogs. You know, I think we’ve got a formula that we feel like is successful that prepares (us) for bowl games, and we utilize the formula. And that wouldn’t matter if we were a 30 point underdog or a two touchdown favorite. That’s never going to change.”

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

WASHINGTON HUSKIES (7-5) vs. BAYLOR BEARS (9-3) 6 p.m. today, Alamodome, San Antonio, ESPN, 950-AM, 102.9-FM

THE MATCHUPSTHE EDGE

QUARTERBACKS

Keith Price is a good college quarterback. But even Price will admit his counterpart has the advantage. After all, Robert Griffin III is the Heisman Trophy winner. Griffin leads the nation in passing efficiency at 192.11, and has thrown for 3,998 yards, 36 TDs and just six interceptions.

RUNNING BACKS

Lost in all the Heisman hype surrounding Griffin is the standout season for Terrance Ganaway, who has rushed for school records in yards (1,347) and TDs (16). He’s still the second best back in the game behind Chris Polk, who can take over games with his ability to churn out yards and work the clock.

RECEIVERS

The Huskies took a hit this week when Kevin Smith went down with a sprained knee. Smith likely won’t play in the game. Washington still has other solid receivers in Jermaine Kearse and Austin Seferian-Jenkins, but Baylor might be deeper and more explosive. Kendall Wright (101 receptons, 1,572 yards, 13 TDs) is a first-round prospect. Teammates Lanear Sampson and Terrance Williams average 16 yards per catch.

OFFENSIVE LINE

For Baylor to do what it’s done this season, the line had to be solid. It’s a veteran group led by senior all-conference center Philip Blake and right guard Robert T. Griffin. Washington’s line played much better late in the season, thanks to some continuity. The loss to injury of left guard Colin Tanigawa (knee) was a blow, but Nick Wood has played well in his place.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Neither team was particularly adept at getting to the quarterback. Baylor has 19 sacks, while Washington has 24. The Huskies played better late in the season. Defensive tackle Alameda Ta’amu will be playing injury-free for the first time, while freshman Danny Shelton could make an impact. Baylor will be without its best play-making defensive end, Tevin Elliott, who suffered a knee injury.

LINEBACKERS

Both teams have talented, stalwart middle linebackers. Cort Dennison, who led UW and the Pacific-12 Conference with 113 tackles, has been a calming influence for the freshmen outside linebackers. Baylor’s Elliot Coffey (99 tackles, five for loss) is a fifth-year senior who moved to middle this year.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Washington’s secondary has been up and down like the SeaWorld roller coaster the players experienced earlier this week. They’ve gotten big plays from Desmond Trufant, while others – such as Quinton Richardson – have given up big plays. The safeties have been solid behind Sean Parker, but Will Shamburger’s absence hurts the depth, particularly in the nickel package. Baylor’s secondary has given up chunks of yards, but has snagged 10 interceptions in the past four games and 16 this season. The Bears will play a nickel package most of the game.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The absence of Kevin Smith (knee injury in bowl practice) hurts the Huskies’ return game. He was a legitimate TD threat and helped give UW good field position. Freshman Bishop Sankey will likely fill his spot. Erik Folk has uncharacteristically missed a few kicks, but he has a knack for late-game heroics and will be kicking in a dome. Baylor kicker Aaron Jones is just 2-for-6 on kicks over 40 yards.

INTANGIBLES

With Waco a three-hour drive away, the Bears will have a decided home-field advantage. The Alamodome is likely to have 64,000 fans in attendance and three-fourths will be wearing Baylor’s green and gold. Griffin also seems intent on erasing any notion of the Heisman jinx and has been ultra-focused.

PREDICTION

Baylor 52, Washington 31

Ryan Divish, staff writer