Why Michigan State Is Benchmark Game for DeBoer and Winnable
Kalen DeBoer will be given plenty of room to put University of Washington football affairs in order, and it's going to take considerable work. He's got fewer than nine months to offer an opening sample.
First he needs to win over the Husky locker room, which Jimmy Lake had lost before his termination, according to sources. Restore player confidence following a season that was far from competitive. Seriously upgrade recruiting.
And win.
The lack of winning, rather than the sideline shove, probably got Lake fired more than anything.
Outside of promising a lot more points and yards, DeBoer will take first-year success where he can get it.
Yes, his team still should beat lower-level Kent State and Portland State to begin the season because of the obvious competitive differences in the programs, though Montana reminded us that's not always a given.
Yet if DeBoer's efforts somehow bring victory over the highly regarded Michigan State Spartans coming to Husky Stadium on September 17, the new coach will be looked at in a whole different light by the fan base.
After all, this a UW team coming off a 4-8 showing testing itself against an 11-2 Big Ten pillar of strength that beat CFP-bound Michigan last season in a memorable shootout after those same third-party Wolverines had their way with the Huskies.
The Michigan State game is an important benchmark for DeBoer. Against a quality opponent, this intersectional outing will let everyone know exactly how much progress has been made by the new coach and what still needs to be done.
Realistically, it might be a painful outcome for the home team, maybe more residue from Lake's previous neglect. Power 5 football teams don't just become whole again overnight.
Consider that Mel Tucker, the current Michigan State coach and former Colorado leader, needed a throwaway 2-5 debut season in 2020 before he had the Spartans winning big.
That said, an upset of Michigan State is not out of the question.
Husky history says it's tantalizingly possible.
Michael Penix Jr. will let you know it's a highly transferrable achievement.
To begin with, Michael Penix, meet Sonny Sixkiller.
The new roster addition should study up on this Husky legend.
Fifty-two years ago, a heavily favored Michigan State team arrived in Seattle fully expecting to have its way with a UW football team that the Spartans had beaten 27-11 the year before in East Lansing. They ran smack into a new quarterback in Sixkiller and his college debut and corresponding passing magic, and lost 42-16 when the guy with the great football name threw for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Sonny killed them with sixes. The Spartans haven't been back to Montlake since.
While Sixkiller is now a 70-year-old man and will occupy a prime seat high up in the stands for this long overdue Seattle rematch, Penix, an Indiana transfer and an odds-on favorite to become DeBoer's starter behind center, comes to Seattle with valuable intel.
He knows how to beat Michigan State.
Michael Penix Jr. beat Michigan State in 2020.
USA TODAY Sports
In 2020, Penix led the Hoosiers to a resounding 24-0 victory in East Lansing in Tucker's first season as the Spartans coach. This happened on a sunny day. In an empty stadium. During pandemic peak times.
Penix completed 25 of 38 passes for 320 yards and launched touchdowns of 16 and 65 yards to some guy named Ty Fryfogle, who sounds like a cook at Burger King.
It was shades of Sixkiller.
Three years ago, Penix kept the Spartans on their toes with another big day in East Lansing before losing 40-31 in front of a crowd of 71,048. He connected on 33 of 42 attempts for 286 yards and 3 scores. He completed 20 consecutive passes to fall two shy of a Big Ten record. Banged up, he didn't practice all week after missing the two previous games. He did everything but win.
Think Michigan State doesn't remember him?
Yes, the Huskies are reloading, rebuilding or remodeling this coming season, however you want to put it.
Still, Penix, should he beat out Dylan Morris and Sam Huard and become the first-team quarterback, might have everyone guessing up until kickoff on September 17 for how this next UW-Michigan State game will turn out.
If it's a positive outcome, Kalen DeBoer's will have effectively put his rubber stamp on the Huskies and passed an important initiation. The fan base will be beside itself with what can happen for the Huskies long-term. The only thing bigger, of course, would be beating Oregon.
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