Last season Oklahoma had the luxury of playing their first road game in Tulsa but no such luck this season. Oklahoma will travel to Seattle on September 13th to take on the Washington Huskies. The Huskies are 21-19-2 against the Big 12 and are even in their series against the Sooners at 1-1. Washington returns a 1,000 yard rusher and a 2,000 yard passer but they are the same person, sophomore quarterback Jake Locker. Behind him they return a tight end (Michael Gottlieb) who only caught 12 passes and a running back (Brandon Johnson) who had a total of 51 carries last season.

On defense the Huskies return all of their statistical leaders. The linebacker position will be the strength of Washington’s defense. They return their leading tackler (OLB EJ Savannah) from last season as well as Donald butler who had 52 tackles. In the secondary, cornerbacks Mesphin Forrester and Byron Davenport are both seniors. Forrester is also a run stopper who logged 93 tackles last season.

This could be a make or break season for Ty Willingham. The Huskies haven’t been to a bowl game since 2002 and a four win season last year showed some promise but narrow margin losses won’t cut it in 2008. U-Dub will have a lot to make up for on the offensive side of the ball and the defensive line but if they can get the right personnel this trip will be a long way from a cakewalk.