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The difference in coaching philosophy is stark at this point.
On one side of things, you have the head coach of a team bad-mouthing his upcoming opponents and going back on previous quotes, saying his words were taken out of context. On the other side, you have a head coach who will barely give the “bulletin board material” the time of day, saying instead that every ounce of his team’s focus is on the upcoming game.
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No matter which side you agree with, it’s clear that the players learn from the coach, and this week, we heard more yapping come out of the Washington Huskies locker room. This time it was stemming from defensive back Kyler Gordon, who still can’t seem to get over the fact that Oregon took his team’s place in the Pac-12 Championship last season and made the most of it.
“I was pretty sad; I’m not going to lie,” Gordon said, via the Seattle Times. “I would have loved having a chance to play in the Pac-12 championship and do all that. Just to see a team we were in front of (Oregon) be able to take that (spot), it was like, ‘I don’t think you deserve that. You don’t. Let’s be real: you don’t.’ So it was sad to let that happen.”
Gordon certainly has a point. If you are going by the records, Washington deserved to be in the conference championship game ahead of the Ducks. However, a COVID-outbreak in the Huskies’ program forced them to cancel their game against the Ducks and subsequently forfeit their chance to play USC for a conference title. The Ducks got the nod, and they made the most of it, grabbing their second-straight Pac-12 title.
Nobody can fault Gordon, or any other Washington player, for that matter, for feeling bummed about the missed opportunity. However, it’s interesting to note that they’re still talking about it.
One thing the Ducks and Huskies have in common, both teams have spent the entire week talking about the Ducks https://t.co/Pyq5KACCEe
— #1 Not Academically Prowess Team Fan®️ (@vamospatos) November 5, 2021
That seems to be the major difference between the Ducks and the Huskies this season, aside from, of course, the onfield talent. Washington has made themselves concerned with what Oregon is doing, who they consider ‘recruiting rivals,’ and how they made off with something that wasn’t theirs last year. Mario Cristobal and the Ducks have had their heads down, focused on doing the one thing that really matters this week: Beating Washington and continuing their path towards the College Football Playoff.
In the end, we will see which philosophy works better.
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