Thanks to Sun Devils, Washington Winning Has Become Contagious

The Huskies have used the desert upset to put themselves on the right track.

It was right there on his resume, no secret at all, when he applied for the University of Washington football coaching job.

All Kalen DeBoer does is win — almost all the time.

Whereas some people might have scoffed at his near spotless coaching record back then, largely because it was built on a near unbeatable run at NAIA Sioux Falls in South Dakota, he's showed his upper-echelon success transcends all levels of football.

Entering Saturday night's game against Arizona State, the last team to beat one of his, DeBoer will stride confidently into Husky Stadium clutching a 96-11 overall coaching record, 17-2 at the UW, that covers nine seasons as a head coach — that's just over one loss per season.

Six of those setbacks were one-score games, including both of his losses with the Huskies. Just two of those defeats really got of hand and stayed that way, beatings administered when he was at Sioux Falls and Fresno State correspondingly by Montana's Carroll College (55-0) and Boise State (40-14). Carroll and Hawaii, in fact, somehow figured out how to beat the near unbeatable DeBoer twice. 

Now comes a rebuilding ASU team into Montlake, stumbling along at 1-5, as the last opponent to get the best of the DeBoer-coached Huskies after it pulled a 45-38 upset in Tempe 12 months ago.

Naturally, last year's outcome is a big part of the story line this time. The Huskies literally have been asked this week whether or not they remember what it feels like to lose. After all, they've beaten Oregon twice in their spotless 12-month run, plus Texas, and 10 others.

The responses all have been respectful of the process, the difficulty of winning and the previously opportunistic Sun Devils. DeBoer has taught them that.

"That one hurts a little bit," UW offensive tackle Troy Fautanu said of the desert shortfall. "Looking back at it, we feel we could have done a little bit more with that season, done a little bit more with that team, if we'd just taken care of business. They came out to play that day and they beat us, plain and simple."

Fautanu is a prime example of a player whose unwavering belief in the coach and the positive mindset installed in the program  has made his game much more advanced in the DeBoer era. Previously a guard, this staff converted him to tackle, having him swap positions with Jaxson Kirkland, ultimately a three-time, first-team All-Pac-12 pick, and letting Fautanu get out and run a little to use all of his talents.

Or have you not seen this photo of an extremely mobile if not somewhat frightening Fautanu coming through the hole like a freight train, leading Husky running back Dillon Johnson upfield?

Troy Fautanu shows off his lineman mobility by looking for an Oregon player to hit as he escorts Dillon Johnson through the hole / Skylar Lin Visuals

The junior offensive lineman from the Las Vegas outskirts has totally bought into what DeBoer preaches and has razor focus at all times. There's no more playing down to the level of big underdogs such as Montana, Colorado and even Arizona State and losing for him and his teammates.

"Every week we go into the game with the mindset that the next game is the biggest game," Fautanu said. "Last week, of course, it was a rivalry game, College GameDay, a whole lot of distraction stuff that we don't care about within the locker room. So I feel like the next game is always the biggest game. So now we have Arizona State."  

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KALEN DEBOER HEAD-COACHING LOSSES

Oct. 15, 2005 — Morningside (Iowa) 27, Sioux Falls 26

Dec. 3, 2005 — Carroll (Mont.) 55, Sioux Falls 0 (NAIA semifinal)

Dec. 15, 2007 — Carroll Mont.) 17, Sioux Falls 9 (NAIA championship)

Oct. 24, 2020 — Hawaii 34, Fresno State 19

Dec. 5, 2020 — Nevada 37, Fresno State 26

Dec. 12, 2020 — New Mexico 49, Fresno State 39

Sept. 14, 2021 — Oregon 31, Fresno State 24

Oct. 2, 2021 — Hawaii 27, Fresno State 24

Nov. 6, 2021 — Boise State 40, Fresno State 14

Sept. 30, 2022 — UCLA 40, Washington 32

Oct. 8, 2022 — Arizona State 45, Washington 38

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The Sun Devils game in 2022 proved confusing from start to finish for the UW. It was played in the afternoon in the desert rather than at night in cool but comfortable temperatures. 

The Sun Devils previously had fired their coach. They lost their starting quarterback Emory Jones to a concussion in the opening half.

The Huskies wore purple jerseys and white pants, color coordinates normally reserved for a home game, but ASU went with a garish all mustard-colored uniform look. 

DeBoer's team was so short-handed, it put four freshmen or redshirt freshmen on the field all at once. 

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. even came as close to a debilitating injury in that game as he did all season, briefly leaving the field unable to breath after he was the victim of a fairly lethal targeted hit. 

Earlier, Penix threw a ball off the back of Kirkland's helmet that caromed into the air like a blocked volleyball shot, was intercepted and returned for an ASU touchdown.

The last time the Huskies dropped a football game, they walked out of Sun Devils Stadium that day noticeably grumbling about the outcome as they headed for a locker room in a separate building. They've since made losing a rarity in this program, almost unthinkable.

"That's on the forefront of my mind," Husky wide receiver Rome Odunze said this week. "I've had flashbacks of all those things that happened down there in Arizona last year. For me, they just keep replaying and replaying and give me that motivation to go out and compete at the highest level."

In the postgame interview session, Penix teared up and vowed to get back to work the following day in Seattle and make amends. 

DeBoer was as serious as he's ever been as the UW coach, taking the moment in the postgame media exchange to challenge his players to respond to the consecutive defeats at UCLA and ASU.

Apparently, everyone was listening carefully. Since leaving Tempe, the Huskies have won those 13 consecutive games, which is a season in itself and the second most in the nation behind Georgia (24). They feel motivated because winning is what DeBoer does and he's made that filter down. It's no more upsets. No more losses if they can help it.

"For us, it's about going out there and proving we're not that same team," Odunze said, "and going to have that hiccup this year."

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