HOUSTON — On Dec. 3, 2005, Kalen DeBoer was faced with a painful tipping point.
Perhaps not for the final time.
After going 11-1 in his first season as a college head coach, DeBoer brought his alma mater — the University of Sioux Falls — into an NAIA semifinal game against three-time defending national champion Carroll College. On the heels of an ice storm in Helena, Mont., the 31-year-old former receiver was afforded an opportunity to see where his Cougars really stood …
And unflinchingly identify their flaws.
Over the course of two hours and 54 minutes, his team’s weaknesses were exposed.
“We got beat 55-0,” former Sioux Falls radio play-by-play man Tom Frederick told The Seattle Times in 2022. “We were as high up as you could be to broadcast a game in an open press box, colder than you-know-what. At the end of the game he had to climb a ladder to get up there to join us, because he would always do the postgame with us live. We’re in a commercial break. We’d had a snack for halftime eats; some chips were sitting there. He starts munching on them.
“The 55-0 [score] didn’t affect him like it would affect some coaches. They’d be madder than hell and they wouldn’t want to talk to you. Kalen was not that way. He knew exactly what needed to be done. We needed to get bigger up front. We had to be able to establish the run game and dominate the line of scrimmage, and that was their focus after that loss. That was the tipping point, as far as I’m concerned.”
DeBoer went 56-1 and won three national championships in the next four seasons.
Sometimes it takes a tipping point.
In the coming seasons, we’ll see if Monday’s 34-13 loss in the national championship to No. 1 Michigan (15-0) qualifies. The Wolverines won by dominating both lines of scrimmage, rushing for 303 yards with eight yards per carry and four touchdowns while producing 20 pressures and 15 hurries against uncomfortable Husky quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Suddenly, UW must replace an impressive procession of Montlake mainstays — Penix, wide receivers Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk, left tackle Troy Fautanu, tight ends Jack Westover and Devin Culp, edges Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui, defensive linemen Tuli Letuligasenoa and Ulumoo Ale, linebackers Edefuan Ulofoshio and Ralen Goforth … and possibly Jalen McMillan and Dillon Johnson and Jabbar Muhammad and Roger Rosengarten, too.
Despite the departures, DeBoer’s challenge is not to maintain — but to improve.
“You always look at the guys [after a season ends],” he said Monday. “‘We’re losing this guy. We’re losing that guy.’ And some of these guys are just super special players. But they’ve raised the standard again, back to where it should be in our program, and a lot of guys got a chance to see what it’s supposed to look like. Seeing guys like Eddie [Ulofoshio] and Michael [Penix Jr.] do their thing and lead and seeing what the work is that you’ve got to put in, and how hard it is to win a football game every week, how hard it obviously is to win a championship … a lot of guys have seen what it takes.
“And because of what we’ve done this year, we’ll be very attractive for guys to come in. Guys who want to win championships [will] come into this program and believe that it can happen again next year.”
Indeed, it can happen again next year.
If they get the right guys.
Thus far, UW’s roster rebuild has included 15 freshman signees last month and seven transfer portal additions — Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers, Vanderbilt linebacker Ethan Barr, San Diego State offensive tackle Drew Azzopardi, Montana State defensive lineman Sebastian Valdez, Fresno State tight end Tre Watson, Cal wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter and Arizona State edge BJ Green. That transfer class is currently ranked No. 22 in the country by 247Sports.
In this system, with this staff, the Huskies will always attract top skill talent. They don’t need to abandon their style of play, or the explosive offense that got them there. They don’t need an overreaction or an overhaul.
They need to extend DeBoer and provide resources to bolster recruiting and staff retention.
But, even then, the trouble is in the trenches.
As UW transitions to a Big Ten Conference built on relentless running games — as aesthetically uninteresting as that can be — will Washington be able to consistently beat the best? The West Coast produces a concerning shortage of dominant linemen on both sides of the ball, which may force UW to A) expand its prep recruiting footprint; and/or B) search for solutions in the transfer portal.
Still, a resolute DeBoer said Monday: “There’s not a doubt in my mind that we have a good enough football team to go out there and win a national championship.”
Perhaps that will be the case in the years to come.
But Frederick’s Sioux Falls’ assessment still rings true.
“[DeBoer] knew exactly what needed to be done. We needed to get bigger up front. We had to be able to establish the run game and dominate the line of scrimmage, and that was their focus after that loss. That was the tipping point, as far as I’m concerned.”
Monday may be the tipping point, or the peak.
In the next few years, we’ll find out which.
