Washington football: It’s time to fire Jimmy Lake

Oct 16, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jimmy Lake watches pregame warmups against the UCLA Bruins at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jimmy Lake watches pregame warmups against the UCLA Bruins at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

When will Washington football end the Jimmy Lake experiment?

How much longer are players and fans going to be held hostage to the ineptitude of Jimmy Lake and company’s coaching? We knew we were in trouble when Washington football only scored seven points in its loss to open the season against Montana but each week it seems Lake hits a new low. The straight-up refusal to change quarterbacks, no matter how bad Dylan Morris has been, is a testament to how Lake would rather go down with the ship instead of making changes.

The John Donavon Disaster

Now comes the all-time great hire of the Jimmy Lake era. John Donavon continuously proves he does not belong at the collegiate level with his terrible offensive schemes and play calling. The Huskies are averaging 22.8 points per game which earns them an FBS ranking of 103rd best overall. If not for the 52 point scoring outburst against 1-8 Arkansas State and the 31 point performance against 3-6 Cal, it’s likely their ranking would be even lower.

Fire Jimmy Lake

Saturday’s game against the Oregon Ducks solidified what we already were all thinking. It’s time for Lake to go. Early on in the first quarter, there was a small scuffle along the UW sideline with Oregon. When Lake came up—instead of separating his players— he struck and shoved his own player Ruperake Fuavai. Maybe we can just chalk this up to the usual coach and player sidelines interactions but the atrocious call to punt on 4th down with 2:03 left in the fourth quarter (which resulted in a UW safety) should be the final straw in the failure that is the Lakeshow era.

Going forward

The 4-5 Huskies have three games left: Arizona State at home, Colorado on the road, and then the Apple Cup against in-state rival, the Washington State Cougars, at home to finish the season. UW will have to somehow win two of the next three games to become bowl eligible.