Autumn of discontent: Seahawks, Huskies and Cougars combine for one perfectly awful start

After all, consider the shared frustrations, the communal angst, the helplessness of the fans. Sure, great idea.

And so you may ask: Do we have a claim to the most futile football state in the nation?

The Seahawks are a surprising 0-2 and are two games behind Arizona in a division they customarily dominate. However, they’re holding up state pride to some degree … they forced Sunday’s loss to San Francisco into overtime. Go Hawks!

The University of Washington is 0-3 and may earn sympathy points for having lost to a higher quality of foes, since all three of its vanquishers are ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.

Washington State’s 0-3 start is less impressive: It has come by a spanking margin of 150-33 to three unranked teams.

So, you may be stunned when reminded that at least one team in this tragic trio actually has been penalized for excessive celebration.

Toss in Eastern Washington at 0-2, and it makes the Mariners look like the region’s saviors. And, of course, Go Storm!

Can anybody compare? If you look at the NFL, fans in Missouri should be the most skeptical – if they weren’t already. The Rams and Chiefs both are 0-2 with the forecast calling for increasing hopelessness toward winter.

But the Missouri Tigers are a BCS candidate at 3-0 with a No. 5 ranking.

Strangely, Ohio, a traditional hotbed of football excellence, looks like a threat to Washington’s claim for national inferiority. The Bengals and the Browns are each 0-2. Ohio State counters somewhat with a 2-1 mark, but the bitter 35-3 loss to USC leaves the Buckeyes and the state in consideration.

Florida has only one win in six games by its three NFL teams, but the Florida State Seminoles and the Florida Gators are undefeated.

It’s hard to predict how long Washington will dominate this dubious honor. So, which of the local clubs has the best chance of getting well soon?

The Seahawks, beset with injuries, should get some players back soon. A problem with their out-of-sync offense can be directly blamed to the bad luck at wide receiver. The Rams are coming to town on Sunday, too, which should serve as therapeutic scheduling.

In the NFL, as long as you have your quarterback in place, as the Seahawks do with Matt Hasselbeck (who turns 33 on Sept. 25), you’ve got a chance to contend. But who knows how the team’s collective frame of mind will respond when Jim Mora takes over for Mike Holmgren after the end of this season?

The Cougars have been on a steady decline and it’s probably unrealistic to expect anything better than gradual progress under new head coach Paul Wulff, a high-character, motivational kind of guy. He’s an old Cougars offensive lineman and he might be just tough enough to get the thing reversed.

The Cougs had better take advantage of this week’s match with an under-manned Big Sky opponent, Portland State, coached by former NFL coach Jerry Glanville.

The Huskies are the easiest to predict: They will get better or face change. Coach Tyrone Willingham is surely running out of chances after the Huskies’ streak of 12 losses in their past 14 games.

Really, they have the best chance this week.

They’ve got the week off.

If Willingham is considering using this free time to shop around for alternate employment, he might check in with the Seahawks.

Not as a coach, no.

But he used to play flanker at Michigan State. They might be inclined to suit him up.

Dave Boling: 253-597-8440

dave.boling@thenewstribune

Washington’s three major football teams – the Seahawks, Huskies and Cougars – have started this season a combined 0-8. A look at bad football in other states:

FLORIDA

The bad: The NFL teams – Tampa Bay Bucs, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars – are 1-5.

Not so bad: The state has three NCAA Division I schools – Florida, Florida State, South Florida – in the AP Top 25.

OHIO

The bad: The two NFL teams – the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals – are 0-4.

Not so bad: Despite being blown out by USC on Saturday, Ohio State is 2-1 and ranked No. 13.

MISSOURI

The bad: The two NFL teams – the St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs – are 0-4.

Not so bad: Fifth-ranked Missouri is 3-0 and has the top-ranked defense in the nation.