Petersen coaching against former suitor

seattle » Under different circumstances, Washington coach Chris Petersen would have already coached his first Pac-12 Conference game.

After the 2010 season, when Jim Harbaugh made the jump to the NFL, Stanford was in need of a head coach. And with Boise State at the height of its success under Petersen, it was a no-brainer for the Cardinal to reach out.

“I had a quick conversation with those guys and that was really it,” Petersen said this week.

Stanford was not alone among big-time programs reaching out to speak with Petersen during his years ofwinning atBoise State. But it makes for an interesting subplot to Saturday’s Pac-12 opener for the Huskies (4-0), who are hosting 16th-ranked Stanford (2-1, 0-1) in Petersen’s first conference game.

Entertaining the idea of going to Stanford may have been the closest Petersen ever came to leaving Boise State before accepting the Washington job last December. He saw similar qualities atWashington that he did in his brief con- versations with Stanford.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here atWashington. This university is about a lot of the same things— an elite education, being able to attract really good kids here and play really good football,” Petersen said.

What Petersen is still trying to figure out is the personality of his team. Lastweekend against Georgia State seemed to typify the Huskies’ first month with Petersen in charge. Washington slept through the first half and trailed 14-0 at the break before scoring 45 unanswered points. No. 13 South Carolina vs.

Missouri, 5 p.m. No. 16 Stanford at Washington,

2:15 p.m. No. 17 LSU vs. New Mexico State,

5:30 p.m. No. 18 Southern Cal vs. Oregon

State, 8:30 p.m. No. 19 Wisconsin vs. South

Florida, 10 a.m. No. 21 Nebraska vs. Illinois, 7 p.m. No. 22 Ohio State vs. Cincinnati,

4 p.m. No. 25 Kansas St. vs. UTEP, 10 a.m.