The Kickoff: 2,921 days and counting

It's hate week. For the last few years, thanks to Takimoto, we've called this week "Happy I Hate washington Week," because it was happy and fun to beat the hell out of a large number of hapless teams led by Keith Gilbertson and Tyrone Willingham, culminating in the 0-12 season that will live forever.

But this year, something has changed. There is no happy. There is nothing good about what has happened in Seattle. washington, led by Steve Sarkisian, is suddenly marginally competitive again. They're bowl eligible before November, and the cloud of smug is already wafting over the Northwest. Not even a 65-21 shellacking at the hands of Stanford could change that.

Nothing will shake these people from their little world of fantasy, where 7 straight losses by 20 or more points are dismissed as if they never happened.

The Ducks have not lost to washington in 2,921 days. It's not long enough. This game will be the last game ever to to be played in Husky Stadium before it is torn down and rebuilt over the next year. We get the privilege of watching the Ducks give it the send-off that it deserves, for Husky fans will refuse to remember for the rest of time.

After the jump, we'll take a look at the key players for washington.

KEY PLAYERS FOR wASHINGTON'S OFFENSE:

Chris Polk: Despite Petros' incoherent ramblings during Saturday's broadcasts, he's not the best RB in the Pac-12. But he is pretty great. He makes the washington offense go. Without him, they would be nothing, and he is well suited to run behind a poor offensive line. He has enough speed to make you pay, and is bruising between the tackles. He can also catch the ball well out of the backfield. The Ducks need to stop him early.

Keith Price: No Husky fan would have thought that their QB play would improve after losing Jake Locker, but that's because they are delusional. washington's offense is improved this year because Kieth Price is a legitimately good QB. He's pacing Darron Thomas in QB rating (both at 162), and is completing over 66% of his passes.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins:  While washington has two very good receivers, Seferian-Jenkins is one of their most talented offensive players. The true freshman is 6'7" and an incredible talent. He's the Huskies 3rd leading receiver and has 4 TDs. He'll match up well against Oregon's linebacker or safeties, and will present a matchup problem all day long. He'll will be annoyingly good for a few years.

KEY PLAYERS ON THE wASHINGTON DEFENSE:

.... I'm thinking.... Still thinking...

The Huskies have a number of good players on defense, but they are far from consistent. 3 of their top 4 tackles are defensive backs. They have a rushing defense that ranks 82nd in the country according to S&P+. They've faced only two competent offenses this year. They gave up 309 yards at Nebraska, and 446 yards at Stanford. Expect their secondary to keep racking up those tackles.