As he stood inside Washington’s spacious recruiting lounge facing a horde of boosters, athletic officials and four shirtless fans whose chests spelled P-E-T-E in purple letters, Chris Petersen tried to explain why he had taken the Huskies job after eight wildly successful seasons at Boise State.
Petersen guided the Huskies to bowl games in each of his first two seasons before breaking through to the College Football Playoff in 2016. His teams have sustained the early success, winning 10 games in 2017 and currently possessing a No. 10 national ranking that’s the best in the Pac-12 Conference.
It’s a template UCLA fans would love to see their new coach emulate as Chip Kelly’s struggling Bruins (0-4 overall, 0-1 Pac-12) face Petersen’s surging Huskies (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.