Syracuse @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 31, 2007 ) Washington 42, Syracuse 12

Jake Locker and Washington entered the season with increased expectations, but suffered the kind of deflating opening loss that can take a while to shake off.

Syracuse wants to take advantage of any hangover.

Locker and the Huskies hope to rebound from last week’s disappointment at BYU, when the confident Orange makes the cross-country journey to Husky Stadium on Saturday.

It’s an intriguing non-conference matchup between two programs trying to climb the ranks of their respective conferences.

With Locker back for one more run, the Huskies expect to take strides in the Pac-10 this season. Winning at BYU would have been a nice tone-setter, and they had a chance. Locker threw for 266 yards and a touchdown. The Heisman candidate also put the Huskies ahead going into the fourth quarter with a touchdown run. But, after BYU burned the Husky secondary with a long touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, Locker couldn’t put together a scoring drive in a 23-17 defeat.

Syracuse, under second-year coach Doug Marrone, opened with an impressive defensive performance against Akron. The Orange, which returns 10 starters on defense, surrendered only 166 total yards and created three turnovers in a 29-3 road win.

As expected, the offense wasn’t as crisp, behind first-year starting quarterback Ryan Nassib. But it was balanced (202 rushing yards, 229 passing) and didn’t turn the ball over. Nassib completed 17 of 27 passes with two touchdowns and added 58 yards on the ground. The sophomore starter was the biggest question mark entering the season for the Orange. If he remains solid, Syracuse is a sleeper in the Big East and certainly not a team Washington can afford to take lightly.

The Huskies host No. 7 Nebraska next week and would be looking at a 0-3 start if they slipped up against Syracuse. They received some bad news on special teams this week, when senior punter Will Mahan tore knee ligaments on what coach Steve Sarkisian described as a "freak accident." Mahan will miss the rest of the season. Backup punter Kiel Rasp, a walk-on, has never punted in a college game.

Syracuse enters the game with no significant injuries.

The last time these two met, Washington pummeled Syracuse, 42-12, at the Carrier Dome in 2007’s opener. Locker rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns and completed 14-of-19 passes for 142 yards in his first start for the Huskies.