Chris Polk

Expect Washington's football team to have a new look this season. Out is the pass, since the Huskies don't have Jake Locker at quarterback anymore. In is the run, since the Huskies have running back Chris Polk , a senior from Redlands East Valley High. Polk has 2,528 yards rushing over the last two seasons, so he is no stranger to leading on the field. Off the field is a different matter. "I can't be the guy in the back anymore," he said Tuesday during the Pacific 12 Conference media day interviews in Los Angeles.

Chris Polk could have been a Trojan. Washington's star running back made a verbal commitment to USC while playing at Redlands East Valley High, but he changed his mind and signed instead with the Huskies in 2008. Polk, a fourth-year junior, ranks second in the Pac-12 Conference and seventh nationally in rushing going into Saturday's game against No. 21 USC at the Coliseum. "He's probably the best back we've faced so far," USC safety T.J. McDonald said Wednesday.

Unbeaten slowly dissolved into unnerving, then unreal, then, if you were a USC fan standing motionless in the shocked-silent Coliseum Saturday night, completely unbearable. After rolling through their first four games against underwhelming opponents, the Trojans were about to conquer a fifth when they ? and there is no other way to ay this ? rolled over. They led the Washington Huskies by two points with two minutes remaining. They had pinned the Huskies back on their own 23-yard line.

Oregon Coach Chip Kelly called him "one of the best backs in the country," and he wasn't talking about his own LaMichael James or Kenjon Barner , who certainly fit that description. Instead, he was aiming his praise north up Interstate 5 to Washington's Chris Polk , whose 127-yards-per-game rushing average leads the Pacific 12 Conference and is fifth nationally. Kelly's No. 6-ranked Ducks will try to slow Polk on Saturday at Husky Stadium. But Polk's own coach, Steve Sarkisian , topped Kelly's praise when he compared the back to a pair of notable ballcarriers who were at USC when Sarkisian was an assistant coach for the Trojans.

It qualifies as college football's closest, if not the most popular, social network. USC Coach Lane Kiffin and Washington Coach Steve Sarkisian matured together as assistants under Pete Carroll and are part of a coaching tree that extends into both staffs. Those relationships produced text messages and other light-hearted communiques throughout the week and lots of pregame handshakes and hugs before kickoff Saturday night at the Coliseum. But when the game was over, Sarkisian posted a status update straight from the in-your-face book.

The football season started with a bang for Chris Polk of Redlands East Valley. Well, actually, it was really more like a thud. Starting at running back for the first time in his three-year varsity career, Polk took a handoff on the opening play from scrimmage and darted toward the line. A receiver by nature and running back out of necessity, the USC-bound senior was met head-on by a Riverside North defender, who planted him on his backside.

Oregon Coach Chip Kelly called him "one of the best backs in the country," and he wasn't talking about his own LaMichael James or Kenjon Barner , who certainly fit that description. Instead, he was aiming his praise north up Interstate 5 to Washington's Chris Polk , whose 127-yards-per-game rushing average leads the Pacific 12 Conference and is fifth nationally. Kelly's No. 6-ranked Ducks will try to slow Polk on Saturday at Husky Stadium. But Polk's own coach, Steve Sarkisian , topped Kelly's praise when he compared the back to a pair of notable ballcarriers who were at USC when Sarkisian was an assistant coach for the Trojans.

Chris Polk could have been a Trojan. Washington's star running back made a verbal commitment to USC while playing at Redlands East Valley High, but he changed his mind and signed instead with the Huskies in 2008. Polk, a fourth-year junior, ranks second in the Pac-12 Conference and seventh nationally in rushing going into Saturday's game against No. 21 USC at the Coliseum. "He's probably the best back we've faced so far," USC safety T.J. McDonald said Wednesday.

The Times' Chris Dufresne unveils his preseason college football top 25, one day (and team) at a time. No. 25 Washington To think something from Washington could hold down a top-25 ranking in anything other than Cabernet is the reason we continue to believe in sports as the last unscripted drama. Two years ago Washington's football program was 0-12 and only happy because it wasn't Washington State, which was probably a worse team overall except it actually defeated Washington, 16-13, in triple overtime, to record its only victory over a school that wasn't named Portland State.

Robert Hughes scored on a one-yard run in overtime, safeties Harrison Smith and Kyle McCarthy jarred the ball loose from Washington receiver D'Andre Goodwin near the goal line on fourth and 19, and Notre Dame defeated Washington, 37-30, Saturday. It was the fourth consecutive game decided in the last 60 seconds for the Fighting Irish, the last three of which were victories. The Irish (4-1) stayed in it with two goal-line stands in the second half. The first was late in the third quarter when the Irish stopped the Huskies (2-3)

Expect Washington's football team to have a new look this season. Out is the pass, since the Huskies don't have Jake Locker at quarterback anymore. In is the run, since the Huskies have running back Chris Polk , a senior from Redlands East Valley High. Polk has 2,528 yards rushing over the last two seasons, so he is no stranger to leading on the field. Off the field is a different matter. "I can't be the guy in the back anymore," he said Tuesday during the Pacific 12 Conference media day interviews in Los Angeles.

Unbeaten slowly dissolved into unnerving, then unreal, then, if you were a USC fan standing motionless in the shocked-silent Coliseum Saturday night, completely unbearable. After rolling through their first four games against underwhelming opponents, the Trojans were about to conquer a fifth when they ? and there is no other way to ay this ? rolled over. They led the Washington Huskies by two points with two minutes remaining. They had pinned the Huskies back on their own 23-yard line.

It qualifies as college football's closest, if not the most popular, social network. USC Coach Lane Kiffin and Washington Coach Steve Sarkisian matured together as assistants under Pete Carroll and are part of a coaching tree that extends into both staffs. Those relationships produced text messages and other light-hearted communiques throughout the week and lots of pregame handshakes and hugs before kickoff Saturday night at the Coliseum. But when the game was over, Sarkisian posted a status update straight from the in-your-face book.

The Times' Chris Dufresne unveils his preseason college football top 25, one day (and team) at a time. No. 25 Washington To think something from Washington could hold down a top-25 ranking in anything other than Cabernet is the reason we continue to believe in sports as the last unscripted drama. Two years ago Washington's football program was 0-12 and only happy because it wasn't Washington State, which was probably a worse team overall except it actually defeated Washington, 16-13, in triple overtime, to record its only victory over a school that wasn't named Portland State.

The football season started with a bang for Chris Polk of Redlands East Valley. Well, actually, it was really more like a thud. Starting at running back for the first time in his three-year varsity career, Polk took a handoff on the opening play from scrimmage and darted toward the line. A receiver by nature and running back out of necessity, the USC-bound senior was met head-on by a Riverside North defender, who planted him on his backside.

Wednesday, Feb. 6, is the first day football players can sign letters of intent with colleges. Many of the Southland's top players have already made verbal agreements with schools, while others are still weighing their options. Here are some of the top commits, with more to be found at www.latimes.com/highschool: OFFENSE QUARTERBACK Dayne Crist, S.O. Notre Dame. Committed to Notre Dame. Kevin Prince, Crespi. Committed to Washington. Nick Crissman, Edison. Committed to UCLA.

It was an improbable way to win a Citrus Belt League title and knock off a powerhouse. The starting quarterback was on the bench with a separated shoulder, and the backup had only 50 seconds to try to give his team a chance to win. But senior Mike Stadler came through, completing five of nine passes for 54 yards on the winning touchdown drive, then delivered a pass for a two-point conversion with one second left that gave Redlands East Valley a 41-40 victory over Colton, ranked No.