No UW Football Coach Has Won His First 5 Games; DeBoer Has a Chance

The Huskies' fourth victory over Stanford is captured here in a Skylar Lin gallery.

Dan Raley | Sep 29, 2022

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Washington Huskies

Ignoring the fact most coaching changes typically require some rebuilding on the part of the new guy, Kalen DeBoer has guided the University of Washington football team to victory in each of his first four games — accomplishing something only three predecessors were able to do.

However, no Husky football leader has ever captured the first five games of his Montlake coaching career over 133 seasons of Husky football.

In 1902, James Knight guided the UW to a 4-0 start, but the then-Sun Dodgers lost to Multnomah Athletic Club 7-0 in Seattle.

The great Gil Dobie took over in 1908 and won his first four games — and he never lost even once in 61 outings over nine seasons — but he was saddled with a 6-6 tie at home by Washington State his fifth time out.

Finally, Chris Petersen guided the UW to a 4-0 record in his debut season in 2014, but he dropped his fifth game to Stanford 20-13 at home.

With a fifth victory over 4-0 UCLA on Friday night at the Rose Bowl in a nationally televised game, DeBoer can set a new standard for opening Husky football coaching excellence for all of the country to see.

Regardless of what takes place in this Pasadena match-up, no Husky coach has ever opened with four fairly decisive wins, of 11 points or more, until DeBoer came along.

His Huskies still haven't trailed at any point this season.

They've beaten opponents by 25 points per game on the average.

UW redshirt freshman Will Nixon, the Nebraska transfer, scores the game's first touchdown on a 3-yard run against Stanford, and then bows to the end-zone crowd. He got the Huskies headed to a 40-22 win.

Jalen McMillan comes up with one of his five catches for 59 yards against the Stanford Cardinal, and gives the officiating crew a little assist in determining down and distance for the next play.

Drew Fowler offers a little assistance to fellow Husky linebacker Daniel Heimuli to pull him off the turf during a big win over Stanford. Fowler and Heimuli, even as third-teamers, draw a lot of snaps in the position rotation.

Multi-purpose player Giles Jackson scores his first Husky touchdown on a 21-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr. against Stanford. Previously, Jackson converted only a 2-point conversion in 2021.

The ball squirts away from Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee and winds up in the arms of an opportunistic UW defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele with linebacker Carson Bruener not far away in the Huskies' 40-22 victory.

True freshman Jaivion Green flexes enthusiastically after coming up with a big, fourth-quarter hit in pass coverage for the UW, giving the cornerback-shy Huskies a boost. He's drawn more and more playing time each week.

Linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala levels Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee with a sack, one of two he provided in the Huskies' 40-22 victory last Saturday. Tuputala leads the Huskies in tackles with 23.

Veteran safety Alex Cook shares a body bump with co-offensive coordinator William Inge during Saturday's game against Stanford. Cook has been one of the few UW defensive backs who's been able to stay healthy. A captain, he provides uninterrupted leadership.

Running back Richard Newton, operating out of the direct-snap Wildcat formation, picks up some tough yards while literally flying through the Stanford defense. He had five carries for 13 yards rushing. He's played in two games since recovering from knee surgery.

Isaiah Thomas, the former Husky basketball great who's enjoyed a long NBA career, attended the UW-Stanford football game with appreciative family members, who saw the football team at its best.

While documenting this early season college football mastery, newly enrolled UW student and ace photographer Skylar Lin was on hand to take images of each of the first four games, all held at Husky Stadium.

He still hasn't photographed a losing effort. Without fail, the Huskies have been efficient and always in control. The Stanford game was no exception with the UW building leads of 17-0 and 30-7 and coasting.

Attached is another Lin photo gallery of happy Huskies, of players who don't think they can be beat, of guys now expecting unbridled success. Take a look.

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Published Sep 29, 2022

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.