This is the question that many Husky fans will have this season. I remain skeptical of him coaching at the Pac-12 level. Husky fans were happy with the hire, but to many their happiness was a bit tempered because going from Boise State to a major college football conference is definitely a challenge for any coach.
Boise State pretty much ran the table in their conference for many years under Peterson and always squawked about not getting the respect they deserved. They won that's for sure, but to me, they never played anybody. Sure Nevada had a couple of decent teams and beat Boise State a couple of times, but that was really the only competition they had. Seeing Peterson coach against inferior competition gave me a false sense of what he could actually do against quality competition every week. People will say when he had quality opponents like Oklahoma, TCU, or Oregon he won. I say any coach can get wins over teams when he has a month to prepare. The Oklahoma win was the most memorable due to the hook and ladder play, followed by the statue of liberty play. Still, they never played anybody during the regular season. They went to play Georgia a couple years later and they lost during an early season game. After that loss to the Bulldogs my skepticism about him coaching at the next level rose.
Other Boise State coaches who went to the next level didn't fair so well either. Dan Hawkins went from Boise State to Colorado and was gone a few years later. Dirk Koetter came down here to Arizona State and was gone a few years later. Could it be that Boise State and it's competition schedule create a false sense of security for coaches coming out of there? I think so.
Peterson is going to have prove he can recruit quality up to UDub. Big time college football is all about recruiting. Washington is a phenomenal school and Husky Stadium is one of kind in terms of the crowd and the scene right off of Lake Washington. If Peterson can not sell that atmosphere up there, he will be a failure, and I for one rather doubt he can do that. The proof will be in the wins he brings to Washington and that WILL not be easy considering they are in the Pac-12 North division. A division which has Oregon, Stanford, and Oregon State in it. The other thing that will work against Peterson is that Husky fans are not the most patient fans around. They demand quality and wins and will move onto the next coach if Peterson does not produce.
I could be totally wrong, but with the track record of past Boise State coaches at the next level I don't think I will be incorrect. It will be interesting to watch this fall...
recruit, recruit rcruiut
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