SEATTLE -- Of all the stats, numbers and facts that got thrown around in the wake of Washington's surprisingly tense victory over Eastern Washington last week, here's one that was largely missed -- UW has the sixth-longest winning streak in the nation.

The win over Eastern was UW's fifth in a row dating to last season. Only Auburn (16), Stanford (9), Nevada and Ohio State (7) and Oklahoma (6) have longer current winning streaks as the Huskies prepare for a game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against Hawaii.

You'd never have known it, however, from listening to UW players and coaches this week.

Or from reading message boards. Or from watching practices.

The 30-27 win over Eastern, in which the Huskies were pushed around much of the day and outgained 504-250, left a taste that seemed to only grow more sour as the week wore on.

Washington coach Steve Sarkisian began the week by using the opening comments of his weekly Monday news conference to challenge players and coaches to do better, saying the game was not representative of what he envisions for UW football.

The team then progressed through a week of tough practices, with many players -- apparently in keeping with the mood -- declining interviews. Sarkisian then closed Thursday's practice, saying he wanted to make sure there were no distractions during the final significant workout of the week.

"I've been a little on edge because I know we are better than the way we played last week," Sarkisian said after the Thursday practice. "And it starts with me and it's got to go through everybody in the program, and we need to get right and we need to get right as fast as we can. We only have 12 more opportunities to do this thing, and I just don't want to accept mediocrity around here. I think the on-edge mentality has been throughout, all week long."

Sarkisian said the tough talk has had the intended result.

"I think the guys were probably tired of being harped on by coaches, and they're probably a little upset about hearing about it all week long: What happened? What happened? What happened?" he said. "By the end, they just wanted to go play."

But then UW coaches were confident heading into last week's game, Sarkisian calling this the most athletic, physical and deep team he has had in three years here, only to then be confounded by the play on Saturday.

All of that had Sarkisian saying the real key for this week's game is how the Huskies play and not what Hawaii does.

Still, the game represents a definite step up in class. Hawaii went 10-4 last season and is generally considered the favorite to win the now-Boise-State-less Western Athletic Conference. The Warriors have just two returning offensive starters, but one of them is senior quarterback Bryant Moniz, who last year led the nation with 5,040 yards passing and last week ran for 121 yards and three touchdowns as Hawaii beat Colorado easily.

The Huskies will use a three-cornerback, two-safety alignment at times against the Warriors, bolstered by the return of senior cornerback Quinton Richardson, who missed last week's game with a sprained ankle. Washington coaches hope Richardson's return will allow the Huskies to play more varied coverages as well as provide an emotional lift.

Hawaii is more veteran on defense, with six starters back, including most of the key pieces on a front that last week held visiting Colorado to 17 yards rushing on 28 attempts.

Sarkisian said this week to expect the Huskies to use more of their offensive playbook than a week ago, when they grew a little conservative after early injuries to quarterback Keith Price (who remained in the game and is fine now) and receiver Jermaine Kearse (who missed all but the first series but is also now fine).

Hawaii, however, is notoriously a different team on the mainland, which was surely a factor in the betting line on this week's game rising from UW by three points to as many as six. The Warriors tried to acclimate themselves this week, however, practicing in the morning, then flying to Seattle on Wednesday, practicing here the past two days.

"This is definitely a big game for our program, and it would do a lot of great things if we could win it," Moniz said. "Everybody knows who the Huskies are, and we are trying to let everyone know who the Warriors are."

The game, though, might help prove who the Huskies really are -- the team they thought heading into the Eastern game, or the one that struggled to put the Eagles away.

"I think it has to come from the team itself, from the boys that are going to be on the field," said UW defensive end Hau'oli Jamora. "The guys on the field have to bring it and push each other. Everybody has to make each other better this week."

Notes

--The Huskies changed uniforms on almost a weekly basis last year, including debuting an all-black look for their game against UCLA. The Huskies wore their traditional colors last week against Eastern, but school officials in the past said other combinations could be worn during the season and there could be a new look Saturday.