Huskies Corner Market on Karma

Pacific 10 Conference coaches are reluctant to call Washington the luckiest team ever to jog the face of the Earth because, well, they never know when Rick Neuheisel’s Huskies might carom a ball off an upright to beat their boys on a last-second field goal. Oregon misses Washington on the schedule this year, so maybe that gave Duck Coach Mike Bellotti the courage to quip a few weeks back that the Huskies’ “luck” had run out against UCLA.

Knowing there might be black magic payback down the road, Bellotti is already regretting his comments. “I was sort of cornered on that one,” Bellotti said of the luck question. “I do actually apologize, because obviously I think you make your own luck, and that is something Washington has done.”

Washington makes luck the way Ford made cars--it’s an assembly-line production, leaving Pac-10 coaches to wonder what Faustian bargain Neuheisel has made to become such a frequent good-luck recipient.

“We’d like to believe in the long run it evens out,” Arizona Coach John Mackovic said. Note the wording, we’d like to believe.

Arizona was the latest victim of Puget Sound prestidigitation last weekend, the hard-luck, 31-28 loss coming when Washington quarterback Cody Pickett scored the winning touchdown with 13 seconds left. The beat goes on.

During last year’s Rose Bowl run, Washington trailed in eight of its 11 victories. The Huskies have come from behind in 17 of Neuheisel’s 22 victories at Washington, and 12 of those 17 have been fourth-quarter comebacks. This year, Washington scored two touchdowns in less than a minute to beat Michigan, 23-18. The Huskies rallied from a 21-17 fourth-quarter deficit to beat California, 31-28.

John Anderson’s 32-yard field goal as time expired lifted Washington to a 27-24 victory over USC and, last week, there was Pickett’s charge. “Doubt really isn’t in our vocabulary,” Washington receiver Todd Elstrom said after the game. “I don’t know, there’s a certain feeling with this team and everybody around.” Frankly, everyone wants what Washington has got.

“Somehow, some way, Washington always finds a way to get it done,” said Arizona State Coach Dirk Koetter, whose team hosts Washington this week. “I think it’s a state of mind, and some teams definitely have it, and some teams definitely don’t. And we’re one of the ones trying to get it.”

Neuheisel is the first to admit he has lived a charmed life, but he says it’s more than Golden Boy waving his magic wand.

“I don’t think we can just say that it’s all luck,” he said. “I don’t think that would be fair to our players, because they truly believe that good things are going to happen.”

That comeback win over Arizona?

“We had to play perfect the last four minutes of that ballgame to get a chance to win,” Neuheisel said. “Had to make a field goal; made the field goal. Had to stop them on defense; stopped them on defense. Had to go down in a two-minute drive and score; did that.

“We really did everything we had to do to win the game. That being said, I’m not oblivious to the fact we have to be a little bit fortunate to have it happen.”

Pac Bits

This won’t help 0-6 California Coach Tom Holmoe keep his job, but all six of the Bears’ opponents are ranked in this week’s top 25. The combined record of the schools that have defeated Cal is 37-3. Cal’s schedule strength of 0.04 ranks No. 1 among all teams in the latest bowl championship series standings. Michigan’s schedule ranks second at 0.08.

You need to be lucky and good to make a national title run, and UCLA is getting its share of breaks. For the third time this season, UCLA will face an opponent’s backup quarterback in an important Pac-10 game. Against Washington, the Bruins got Taylor Barton instead of the injured Cody Pickett. Against California, UCLA faced Eric Holtfreter instead of the injured Kyle Boller, who had beaten the Bruins two years in a row. Saturday at Stanford the Bruins face Chris Lewis instead of the injured Randy Fasani.

Oregon’s Bellotti is generally considered the Pac-10’s best coach over the last six years, but Stanford Coach Tyrone Willingham improved his record to 4-1 against Bellotti after Saturday’s 49-42 win against the Ducks.

More Bellotti: He says he has no regrets publicly touting his Ducks as national title contenders this season.

“It’s still our goal, it will always be our goal,” said Bellotti of his Ducks, who debuted at No. 13 in the first BCS standings after losing to Stanford. “It will be our goal every year. Some years we’ll be closer, some years we’ll have a better chance, but I think ultimately you disrespect your players if you don’t say that’s what we’re building towards. Are you going to settle for something less?”

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Forget the Heisman Trophy campaign, that’s shot, but Oregon State tailback Ken Simonton seemed a cinch to at least become the first Pac-10 tailback to rush for more than 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons. It’s not such a cinch now. In fact, Simonton needs to average 113.2 yards in the Beavers’ last five games to reach 1,000.