Category Archives: Huskies Football

Posts dealing with Huskies football

by | November 7, 2012 · 4:30 pm

Husky Seniors – Cole Sager

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at some of the Husky seniors who will be playing their last games as Dawgs.  Although the senior class is small in numbers, I believe there are some favorites out there.

More often than not, athletes are termed as arrogant.  Whether that’s the case is something that may be worth arguing, but I think we’ve all heard this at some time or another.  I’m not a professional or collegiate athlete (nor will I ever be), but it stands to reason that maybe a certain level of arrogance is needed to play sports at these high levels.  Sports are mental and physical games, and to be at your physical best you have to believe that you are one of the best.  That doesn’t mean all of these athletes think less of the people watching them, it just means they expect a lot of themselves.  Still, we see some NFL receiver spouting off on ESPN about how they’re God’s gift to the world, and most fans are turned off.

Cole Sager is possibly the least heralded player on the University of Washington football team.  He came to U-Dub as an invited walk-on in 2009, the first season of the Sark era.  Before that, he was a running back and linebacker for the Burlington-Edison Tigers, who he helped lead to the state playoffs his junior and senior season of high school.

After coming to Washington, Sager was immediately inserted on special teams.  In 2009, he was awarded with the scout-team special-teams MVP.  He also played a little bit on special teams as a freshman.  He’s continued that role for each of the past 3 seasons.  While he practices with the running backs, he has yet to see a carry and will probably finish his career with more tackles (12 at the moment) than rushing yards.  

College football teams need players like Cole Sager.  They add depth and do what you ask them to do to the best of their ability.  While Sark is trying to get the overall talent level to where it needs to be, Sager has filled in admirably on special teams.

That’s not what I’ll remember Cole Sager for though.  Every home game, he runs out of the tunnel with the rest of the team.  He comes down to the end-zone by where we sit and prays, like a good share of the team does.

Most athletes pray on a knee and then get up and move to the sideline.  While I don’t know what most athletes pray specifically, I imagine that it’s against injury, that they play their best and that God is glorified through it all.  Again, that is just my best guess and I’m sure some players pray for more.

Once Sager reaches the end-zone, he takes off his helmet.  He holds it in one of his hands and then he stretches out his arms towards the east and west ends of the stadium (these are the bigger portion of stands) and prays.  It appears as if Sager is praying for the people in these stands.  While nothing can be certain without an actual interview, this is what I choose to believe he does.  The world is made up of different beliefs, religions, and ways to look at life.  We tend to keep to sports here on the blog and not say much about our faith and we’re going to keep it that way.  But, whether you believe in a God or not, Cole Sager is praying, to what he believes to be the most powerful thing in the universe, for the fans.  That’s the opposite of arrogance.  That’s selflessness.

Cole Sager will run out of the Clink’s tunnel in front of the hometown fans one more time on Saturday.  He will probably line up on the kickoff team, and I sure hope he makes a tackle.  But, what I know he’ll do is stand in the end zone, hands stretched out towards the bleachers and pray.  Personally, I’d like to thank him for that.  Good luck in whatever comes next, our prayers will be with you.

Andrew

Leave a comment

Filed under Huskies Football

Tagged as , ,

by | November 4, 2012 · 1:08 pm

The Schedule and 1 Impressive Stat

My biggest pet peeve with college football is not the lack of a playoff system, the absurd Pac 12 referring, or even Oregon fans. I don’t like any of those, but far and away I most detest the inconsistencies related to scheduling, which often makes it difficult to evaluate teams. I could go on and on about this, as most of us can when we get to talking about our pet peeves, but I’ll try to keep this concise and get on to the Husky talk.

For starters, we’ve seen how a Boise State team can beat 1 good opponent and 11 nobodies, and back into a BCS game. Or how about Notre Dame, currently ranked 3rd in the country, despite playing 6 of its first 7 games at home, and having just 4 road games total! As for our rival, Oregon, well they managed to not step foot on another school’s campus until their 7th game of the season. Meanwhile, UW has had to go through murderer’s row, but folks (media included) generally ignore this stuff because we prefer to look at a team’s W-L record and decide how good they are. That works in most sports, just not college football. You see, the Huskies are 1 of 13 FBS teams with s 5-4 record,  but our schedule through 9 games has been historically brutal, a factor that ought to be weighed. And weigh it we shall!

Consider this. In games 2-8 this season, 5 of the Huskies 7 opponents were ranked top 10 in the country. If that’s not crazy enough, another foe in this stretch was a night game in Tucson, and we all know how that went. Thank God the Huskies won 2 of those games, otherwise we’d be sitting at 3-6 and fans would be calling for Sark to be fired. Again, fans look at records, which I understand in a bottom line business, but to form reasoned opinions you have to look at the whole picture. When 66 BCS conference schools play just 12 games each, and each school gets to pick 3-4 of these games, records can get pretty misleading. The Huskies are 5-4, but give Sark the schedule that the other dozen 5-4 teams have, and we might be talking about a 7-2 or 8-1 team, and a top 15 ranking. That’s pretty dang annoying to me.

My point is this, we are starting to talk about a team that could go 8-4, and at this point there’s probably a 40-50% chance UW wins 9 games total in 2012, despite that unprecedented 7 week stretch. I’ll be ecstatic if this happens because the program will continue its upward trajectory in the Sark era. We all know Rose Bowl talks can’t happen until the gap closes with Oregon, and until the Huskies learn how to play decent against good teams on the road, but still, 8 or 9 wins (with this schedule!) just 4 years removed from 0-12 would be awesome.

Finally, and somewhat unrelated to this rant about scheduling, as I was watching the ugly game vs. Cal on Friday, I started thinking how much trust I have in Sark when the game is close. I decided to see what Washington’s record is in games decided by 8 points or less (a 1 score game), in Sark’s 4 years. I discovered an impressive stat, which is that after starting 2-5 (remember those brutal losses in year 1 at Notre Dame, ASU, UCLA!) since then, the Huskies are 10-0 in games decided by 8 or less. 10-0! You’ve probably heard this Husky team called inconsistent, but actually this team is consistently good at home, consistently good in close games, and consistently awful on the road. It’s about as simple as that, except not really. When evaluating Sark, the Huskies, et cetera, remember to weigh these factors, and remember that the Cougs lost to Colorado at home. That happened, and it ought to cheer you up daily.

Leave a comment

Filed under Huskies Football

Tagged as ,

by | November 2, 2012 · 12:13 pm

More Than Just A Football Game

We’ve been pretty busy this week, so please forgive us for a lack of content.  This is a post that Rachel Long wrote after last week’s Husky upset over the Beavers.  Enjoy and go Dawgs!

Things fall apart… but sometimes not.

I have always admired people who are optimists. Though sometimes I
wish they would stop talking mostly I am amazed by the way they can
find the best in every situation. However, I am not an optimist, never
have been and probably never will be.

There is a Wilco song that talks about days when “all you touch turns
to lead, and you think you might just crawl back in bed.” My life has
felt like that for a while. It feels like everything good is right on
the edge of crumbling.  Now I am finding myself expecting things to
fall apart, feeling like everything that is going right will soon turn
bad. This mindset makes the world seem pretty grey sometimes.
So after the Huskies abysmal performance against Arizona, I was not
expecting much on Saturday, to say the least. Though I knew in my head
that the Huskies play better at home and that OSU was a better match
up for us, I still assumed that being blown out was probably going to
happen.

But then, I got to the game and things felt a little different. I have
always loved rain games. It just feels so Seattle and so right to me-
sitting in the pouring rain watching my favorite game with my favorite
people in the world.

It may sound cliché but my favorite moment of every Husky game is
right before they run out of the tunnel. That Eminem song starts, the
team is swaying in the tunnel, the fog starts up and the possibilities
hang in the air. I feel like I am a part of something so big, so many
people hoping and believing in the same thing.

And, then the game started. And, we played good. But as the game went
on, I found myself waiting for everything to go wrong. It seemed like
the next play could be the one where Price would throw an interception
or where our defense would give up the big play for a touchdown. But
it didn’t happen.

Then the third quarter hit and things did start to fall apart. The
little voice in my head was saying “I told you it couldn’t last.” Our
lead got tied up and it seemed like all momentum had swung Oregon
State’s way.

But the Huskies hung in there and every time it threatened to crumble,
somehow it held together. Through bad calls and all, everything was
working. It was standing up non stop, I am so excited, fun football.
As we tied it up my only thought was that we left them too much time.
I figured the beavers would drive down the field and score a touchdown
to win at the last second.  It seemed like the logical ending based on
the way my life had been going lately. Again, I was waiting for
everything to fall apart.

But I guess sometimes life goes right. The game was perfect and the
night was perfect. The huskies played through every obstacle that
came. They came back from one of the worst games I ever remember them
playing and played one of the best. And, they reminded me something
about life.

Things don’t always fall apart. Good things happen. Life can be
beautiful. And, it would be good for me to remember that once in a
while. Hoping should be a habit. So, when I find myself expecting the
worst I’ll remember this game. The Huskies can play good football.
They will beat Cal tonight.  They can win out.  And, life can go
right.

Leave a comment

Filed under Huskies Football

by | November 1, 2012 · 8:34 pm

UW vs. Cal Predictions

A couple quick thoughts before the predictions:

  • The big game related news today was that Cal’s phenomenal wide receiver Keenan Allen will miss the game and potentially the rest of the season with a knee injury.  Allen is a huge threat and the focal point of Cal’s offense, so the loss should make the game much easier for the Husky defense.  That aside, I’m kind of sad Allen will miss the game.  I’ve written about him before, and he’s easily my favorite non-Husky in the Pac-12.  He’s only a junior, but I can’t think of a player more likely to go pro.  Maybe he’ll surprise everyone, but I’m hoping we next see him in a Seahawk uniform next fall.
  • One of the biggest topics for discussion this week has been Husky fans rushing the field after Saturday’s win.  A lot of fans thought a win over Oregon State is never worthy of rushing the field, no matter their ranking.  I can understand that viewpoint, and I agree to some degree.  But really, who cares?  Most of the people on the field were students, and most of those students weren’t around when the Huskies were good and beat the Beavers with regularity.  Being on the field is cool, and if people are excited enough about a Husky win that they feel the need to get down there, that’s great.  Some day we’ll be back to the point where the only reasons to rush the field are going to the Rose Bowl or winning the national championship.  Until then, the fans have to grow along with the team.  As long as everything is safe, it’s just not a big deal.
  • Most sports fans are superstitious.  Most of us know that the superstitions mean nothing, but it doesn’t stop us from wearing the same shirt or underwear throughout a winning streak.  My family has had lots of Husky superstitions over the years, from lucky shirts to hats to cheers.  One year we were sure a poncho was lucky.  Every time someone put the poncho on, the Dawgs started winning.  Eventually, we had it spread across the couch while watching a game on TV.  They lost that game, I think, although I did wear that poncho this past Saturday, so maybe it regained some magic.  Anyway, KJR unveiled the Huskies ultimate lucky charm on the Husky Honks show yesterday: Dick Baird’s mustache.  Evidently, he pledged to regrow it after the Arizona game, and now says it’s not coming off until January.  We’ll see how it works, but I see no reason why this wouldn’t be the missing piece in the rebuilding.

Here’s the predictions!

Andrew

There aren’t many things that are going against the Huskies going into their Friday night showdown in Berkley.  They’re playing Cal, who was just dominated by a winless Pac-12 team.  Cal is without their best player, Keenan Allen.  The Huskies are coming off one of their better games of the season.  The offensive line seems to be meshing at least a little more.  This is the type of offense that the Husky defense has excelled against this season.  Rumor has it, I’ll probably be watching this game with Dan and I can’t recall the last time the Huskies have lost when I watch a football game while being in his presence (knock on wood).  With all of these things going for the Dawgs, how can they lose?  Well, it’s a weird game, on a Friday night and Bigelow (of Cal) is starting to get going.  Also, the Huskies haven’t won a game on the road in over a year.  I can’t pick them in this game knowing that.  I hope they’ll win but they haven’t shown enough consistency for me to predict a win.
Cal 27 – UW 21
Joe
The Huskies roll into Cal a four point underdog on the road. I take that line to mean the guys in Vegas were not too impressed with the Dawgs’ victory over then #7 ranked OSU. I’m not sure I agree, but then again, don’t ever bet against Vegas, you’ll most likely lose.  Cal is coming off a road thrashing at the hands of the Utes of Utah, who last time I checked don’t exactly have a juggernaut offense, yet were able to score 49 on Cal.  I haven’t been impressed with Cal all year.  They have an incredible ability to NOT be able to get up for games.  They’re stoic, detached from emotion for wide swaths of games. I don’t really see how Friday night will be any different.  The Huskies come in with more to play for, and more to lose.  I expect the UW coaches will be able to motivate and come up with a game plan that will work vs Cal, something Sark has done quite well over the past three seasons.  The Huskies committed to run the ball last week and it worked.  Ball control was key, as well as mitigating turnovers.  If the Huskies can control the clock, run the ball, and win the turnover battle, I see no reason why they can’t win this game.  Throw in the fact Keenan Allen will not be playing, and I like the Dawgs in a close one between mediocre football teams.
UW 24 – Cal 23
Matthew
I hate predicting what these Huskies are going to do.  They should win this game fairly easily.  Cal is playing terribly, just lost their best player, and seems to have given up somewhat on the season.  But the Huskies are on the road, so all bets are off.  The hope is that the road woes are in large part due to quality of opponent and that the Huskies found a bit of attitude and character in the win over the Beavers.  A key will be Cal QB Zack Maynard, who is incredibly inconsistent but capable of a solid performance on occasion.  The Huskies need to get consistent pressure on Maynard.  The Cal offensive line has given up the most sacks in the conference, so this is a great chance for the young Husky D-line to grow up a bit.  Who knows if any of these things happen, but I’m betting the Huskies are finally ready to take a step forward.  Two obstacles go down Friday as the Huskies get a road win and score more than 21 points against an FBS school for the first time this year.
UW 31 – Cal 17
Dan
There are 2 ways I can think of regarding tomorrow’s game.  First, Cal just got thumped and ought to be desperate for a win (like UW last week), and the excitement of a Friday night game under the lights might propel them. On the other hand, it could be Cal just got thumped because they suck, Tedford is a lame duck coach, and without their best player tomorrow, UW has the advantage. I’m leaning towards the latter, not just because I’m hoping for the latter, but because I genuinely think the Huskies will win a low scoring game on Friday.  There’s not a team in America that has been tested like the Huskies, who are finally through a 7 week stretch  of 5 games vs. top 10 opponents (plus Arizona on the road). I expect an energized Husky team ready to win its first road game, and Keenan Allen’s absence really is the X factor in this one.

Huskies 20 – Cal 13

Go Dawgs!

Leave a comment

Filed under Huskies Football

Tagged as , ,

by | October 26, 2012 · 9:59 pm

UW vs. OSU Predictions

Far in the past, in the olden days of 2003, the Great Beaver Council gathered ‘neath the Wannahanatucket Dam. Times were dire. Beaverdom was in disarray, splintered and sputtering. There were not enough Dutch boys in the world to plug all the holes that threatened to drain the great Beaver nation of its peace and prosperity. Barring a miracle, the Beavers would disband this night, each going his own separate way. A beaver alone in the world amounts to nothing more than a pile of sticks.

Into their midst waddled one from the past. He was a quiet Beaver, genial but brilliant. Once he had led them, but his tail grew tired and his teeth longed for a harder tree to gnaw. He went searching for adventure. Stories of his time away were hazy, shrouded in wisps of rumor and awe. The newer beavers to the Council watched with eyes wide and teeth bared in respect. The quiet one began to speak, and the den grew still. He told stories of peaceful times past and yet to come. He talked of dams great and small, dams built to perfection, with a workmanship unshowy but stout and effective. The building would not be easy, he told them. He had seen a great many things in this world. He understood that beavers were not like the lions or elephants or the birds that flew over their dams. The beaver is a humble creature, noble in his own way.

To retain that nobility, to rebuild Beaverdom to the great society it once was, they would have to work, and harder than they had before. He spoke his vision of dams built far and near, with waters cascading down new pathways, bringing water to new lands. As he spoke, his fellow beavers began to nod. They would live this way; for the pride of all beavers, they would sharpen their teeth and pound their tails. They would draw together as one, and they would be unstoppable. They would not seek attention, but any who crossed them would know they were beavers. More, they would know what it means to be a beaver.

That day is long past, a memory for some, a myth for others. The quiet one still leads. No matter how wide the river or how thick the tree, he gazes calmly ahead, unbowed by the coming challenge. His beavers fall in line behind him. They know what they are and they know that behind their leader they will prevail. They are beavers. They build dams.

Joe

Last Saturday night was by far my most frustrating experience watching a Husky game since Sark took over. Words really cannot describe the level of frustration and anger I felt towards the UW. They got flat out dominated by a frankly mediocre Arizona club (I’m not buying UA overall, they have some nice pieces on offense but that’s it). I expected Arizona to move the ball on the Dawg’s defense, but the ease with which they did infuriated me. But the brunt of my angst was directed at the offense. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. Poor pass blocking against a flat out terrible pass rush, poor QB play (I won’t rehash Price’s night here, just Google if you are a glutton for punishment), complete ineptitude by all receivers not named Kasen or Austin and poor play calling not getting Bishop Sankey the ball more kills me. I love Sark. I’m one hundred percent in his corner and have always been okay with his play calling. But this year it’s different. He’s off. His mojo is gone. Possibly not having old buddy Doug Nussmeier helping him call plays has handicapped Sark a bit. I think there’s a lot to it. If Nick Saban thinks you can run Alabama’s offense, you gotta be good. Sark must adjust. He must commit to running the ball. A lot. Now. The passing game is shot. Price is a total mess. If UW expects to beat Oregon State, they gotta toughen up and run the ball, then pepper in play action to Kasen and ASJ. That’s it, that’s all they have. The spread offense is toast for this year. Time to load up with all you have up front and play ground and pound three yards and a cloud of dust Woody Hayes ball. If it kills Sankey, so be it, he’s young and clearly is okay with contact. If Sark does this, I really think UW has a great shot to win. But it’s a long shot. OSU practically makes no mistakes, they play hard and disciplined. They play straight forward, basic football that just plain works, which will be enough to win on the road against a box of chocolates UW team that’s completely unpredictable.

Benny 22 – UW 13

Matthew

It’s not impossible that the Huskies win this game. It’s not even crazy to predict it. For being undefeated, the Beavers are somewhat untested and unintimidating. Until they chew through the evergreen in your back yard and drop it through your bedroom window. The Huskies will have to play their best game since Stanford, and maybe their best of the season, to win this one. Being at home helps. Having Sean Mannion coming off knee surgery can’t hurt. What this really comes down to, however, is Keith Price finding his way back to enjoying football and trusting his teammates. Reports from practice this week have been good, but that only means anything if they play better in the game. I want to pick the Dawgs, and I think they could win, but it’s crazy to expect them to do so until they actually show something.

Beavers 31 – Huskies 17

Dan

WARNING: HOMER ALERT!
Apologies for the late entry. Let me start by saying I’m not an OSU believer, I’ve seen a lot of Beaver football this year and nothing stands out to me that would suggest they really are a top 8 team. They don’t beat themselves, granted, but I can’t imagine this same team which struggled against Utah last week is really going to stay undefeated until the Civil War. Tonight will be the first loss of what I expect will be a 2 or 3 loss OSU team by seasons end. UW is desperate, they are one uppercut from being knocked out, and people are questioning their heart. That’s a scary team to face at home on a Saturday night. I have a good feeling about tonight, for no good reason, except that OSU is due to lose, we are due to win, and my wife will be in attendance. The last 3 times she’s gone to a game which UW was the dog, they’ve won.

Huskies 31 – Beavers 17

Andrew

There are a lot of reasons I think the Huskies might pull an upset this week. Here are a few:
  • The Huskies are a different team at home. All in all, they’ve been a pretty good team at home. No, the offense hasn’t been up to par at home but they have done enough to win.
  • The Beavers are undefeated but they aren’t dominant. They’re a very good team who doesn’t make a ton of mistakes. But, the Huskies have been able to win close games under Sarkisian and at home I think the Dawgs have enough to take a win.
  • The offense can’t get much worse. Sooner or later, they are going to have a decent game where they score over 24 points. It’s bound to happen.
  • The defense is going up against a pro-style offense. The spread has caused them many problems but they’ve done pretty well against pro-style.
  • Matthew sent out an email asking for our predictions and he wrote, “Tonight, be brave and full of courage. Write like your fingers are afire with the flames of wisdom. Don’t let the man get you down. Send me your predictions.” That fired me up.
With that being said, I’m not going to pick the Huskies. After last weekend, I don’t see how I could. That team will win two more games this season max. Now, I think the Huskies are better than that, but until they prove it, I’m not going to pick them.
OSU 31 – UW 20

1 Comment

Filed under Huskies Football

Tagged as , ,

by | October 22, 2012 · 3:34 pm

A Few Thoughts On The Dawgs

I couldn’t bring myself to do an actual post-game analysis after the debacle against Arizona this weekend so instead you get an array of bullet holes.  No sense in wasting time, let’s get to it!

  • Saturday marked the low point in the Steve Sarkisian era and there’s no doubt that his seat is getting a little warmer than it was to start the year.  With that being said, everyone needs to step off the ledge for a moment.  Yes, this year has been a disappointment through 7 games and 8 wins doesn’t seem likely.  But, a 3-4 record is about what we all had the Huskies pegged at through this point.  Let the year play out and then make a judgement on the coach.  For the record, Sark won’t be fired this year unless the Huskies lose every single game (and even then it doesn’t seem likely).  It’s next year when the real expectations kick in and, frankly, I think that he’s earned that.
  • The offense continues to struggle and I think that it’s time to panic as far as that goes.  The running game is the only part that seems to be decent right now and, for whatever reason, the coaches went away from that in the last 2 weeks.  The offensive line looked awful, once again, in pass protection.  Micah Hatchie played his worst game of the season.  Drew Schaeffer even looks lost on blitzes.  When you can’t play with the same 5 guys every week there isn’t as much communication.  That’s a basic rule in sports and it’s coming into play right now as we see blitzers running right by linemen who aren’t blocking anyone.  The receivers are bad too.  They really should be better and I don’t know what to say about them.
  • Keith Price deserves his own bullet hole.  His head is muddled right now and he is just lost.  He is visibly upset after turnovers or bad plays and doesn’t seem to be having any fun.  It’s not the Keith that we saw last year or even in his first start of his career against Oregon.  Price clearly has the offensive line on his mind as he is just missing reads.  He isn’t trusting his receivers.  If you watched Matt Scott on Saturday, he threw the ball well before his receivers had turned or looked for the ball.  On fly routes the receivers would take off, Scott would find a spot he could throw it and the receiver would spot the ball in the air and just stop and make the catch.  Has Keith done that this season?  Maybe a few times early in the year but not lately.  He has the capability and flashes it a couple of times a game.  But, then he throws an interception, fumbles or just doesn’t trust anyone around him to make a play.
  • The defense clearly can not keep up with a high-paced, spread offense.  It’s interesting, because before the year that’s what I thought they’d be able to deal with best.  Thankfully, there aren’t really any of those teams left on the schedule.  The Cougars I guess could fit the bill but to put them in the same category as Arizona and Oregon is laughable.
  • Arizona is good.  They’re a scary team especially at home.  They’re not as good as the Huskies made them look, granted.  But, that was a good team the Dawgs lost to.
  • Oregon State now comes to town, in the top-10 and undefeated.  In a way, I think this Oregon State team is a year ahead of the Huskies.  They had a disappointing year last year.  Their receivers were talented but inexperienced, their running backs went MIA a lot of the time.  Their offensive line struggled but gained experience, their defensive line had bright moments but lacked consistency.  There are quite a few similarities and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Huskies took a similar route as the Beavers have.  With that being said, I think this will be a tricky game for Oregon State.  They have yet to blow the doors off of a team and Sark has proven tough in close games.  Sean Mannion will be back as the starter at quarterback for Oregon State and that is a big boost for them.  Like I said though, the Huskies have had much more success against these type of offenses as opposed to spread offenses.  Marcus Peters and Desmond Trufant will have to step up and the offense has to get rolling.  But, this has been a different team at home and it should be a decent game.  If it’s not, expect the boo birds to come out early.

I suppose that’s enough for now.  This is a defining moment in the Sark era and how the team responds will go a long way in telling us if we have a long-term coach or just one who got us to mediocrity.  Let’s hope for a pissed off Husky team to show up and play their best game of the season on Saturday.

Andrew

1 Comment

Filed under Huskies Football, UW Game Previews, UW Game Recaps

Tagged as , ,

by | October 20, 2012 · 9:33 am

UW vs. Arizona Predictions

Just a couple of quick thoughts before the predictions…

  • I don’t follow high school football real closely, but it seems the Seattle area is especially potent this year.  Bellevue is ranked #3 in the country by ESPN.  They have one current Husky commit, MLB Sean Constantine (who unfortunately just broke his arm but should be back for the playoffs).  Myles Jack is a terror at LB and RB, and while he’s currently committed to UCLA, people seem to think there’s a good chance he changes to the Huskies.  That’s not even mentioning junior Budda Baker, who will easily be the top recruit in the state next year as a RB/Safety.  Out in Sammamish, Skyline’s good like always and Max Browne is the top quarterback in the country.  At least two other quarterbacks are Division I commits, Bellarmine Prep’s Sefo Liufau to Colorado and Eisenhower’s (in Yakima, my hometown) Kolney Cassel to Southern Methodist.  I don’t know how good the teams are throughout the state, but there’s plenty of talent, led by Danny Mattingly in Spokane.  He’s committed to Notre Dame, but the Huskies and others are working on him.  And how about the kickers?  Mt. Si’s Cameron Van Winkle will be a Husky next year, and Austin Rehkow kicked a record 67-yarder in Spokane this week.  Congratulations to everyone so far, and get out and see a game if you get a chance.
  • We’ll get more into recruiting once December and January hit, but it’s shaping up to be a fun year.  The Huskies have 18 current commits, a class rated #2 in the Pac-12 right now.  It’s not expected they’ll take too many more than that, but experts have speculated that as much as half the class could be different by the time signing day gets here.  The good news is that the Huskies are still in on some big-time prospects.  I’ll try to put up a more detailed post if the Huskies have a big weekend of visitors soon.
  • On the basketball recruiting side, news is looking good.  PG Nigel Williams-Goss, a playmaking true point type, has been committed for a while.  This week, Darin Johnson, a shooting guard from California, committed.  Both are four star recruits.  The Dawgs will likely take two more players, and those will hopefully be forward Aaron Gordon and SG Isaac Hamilton.  Hamilton is the less likely of the two, but that’s fine if they get Gordon, who is possibly the best player in the country.  He’s a skilled high flyer who has been high on the Huskies for a while.  We’ll see if they can hold off Arizona and Kentucky, among others.

On to the predictions!

Andrew

This is a hard game to pick.  On one hand, the death march that is the Husky schedule is over.  They are now playing teams that they probably have more talent than and should be able to compete with and get some wins.  Arizona has a terrible defense and the Huskies will actually score tomorrow.  On the flip side, night games in Arizona are so weird.  They seem to use some sort of trickery down there in the desert.  Maybe the Sun Devil helps both teams?  I don’t know.  I’m getting off track.  Arizona’s offense is incredible and our defense is much improved.  Our offense is struggling and Arizona’s defense is terrible.  That all looks like a draw to me.  There doesn’t seem to be a clear advantage in the special teams department.  Maybe these teams will tie?  You can’t do that.  Today on KJR, Sark said that they’ve had this game circled on their calendar before the season started.  He said that they knew the second half would be incredibly important and called this game the biggest of the year.  It seems like he and his team know the importance of tomorrow.  I was going to pick Arizona until I heard that interview.  He won me over and now I think the Dawgs pull this one out.  The defense will need to get opportunistic stops and get tough in the red zone.  The offense needs to roll.  There’s no other option.  Keith Price can do it.

UW 38 – Arizona 31

Dan

The Dawgs roll into Tucson licking their wounds from the past 2 weeks. At 3-3, UW has gotten past the toughest part of the schedule, and it feels like they’ve approached a fork in the road. Tomorrow night’s game could propel the Huskies to a strong finish, and I will be rooting hard for that, but the schedule only gets slightly easier now and things could quickly unravel for the Huskies. The new and improved defense will have its hands full yet again against Rich Rod’s dynamic spread. Zona will score often, so to me this game will come down to whether Keith Price and the Washington offense can keep pace. I see a good ole Saturday night barn burner, full of entertainment, but ultimately Arizona has just enough firepower to beat this searching, beaten up Husky team.

Wildcats 38 – Huskies 34

Matthew

This game could very well shape the rest of the season, for both of these teams.  The Arizona offense is potent, but it’s potentially a better matchup for a Husky defense strong in the secondary.  The Huskies need to stay strong against an excellent running back in Kadeem Carey and find a way to muster a bit of a pass rush when Matt Scott holds the ball for any time at all.  I think the Huskies can hold them relatively in check, but the question is whether they will from the beginning.  That seems to always be the question with this team.  This game will likely come down to how healthy the Husky offense can get against a terrible Arizona defense.  I’m betting they feel pretty good by tomorrow morning.

Huskies 38 – Wildcats 28

Joe

The Huskies come into their Saturday night match up with Arizona as the worst passing offense in league. Not many followers of this program even thought that possible at the beginning of the year, yet here we are.  Keith Price has regressed from last season. Kasen Williams and ASJ have yet to make any significant impact on opposing defenses, and the remaining receiving corps have been very quiet. The reasons for this are manifold: the offensive line’s pass blocking has been sub par, Price simply does not look like the same QB from last year, losing starting tailback Jesse Callier and frankly the level of opponents has been strong. Throw all that together and you get a mess in the passing attack. The good news?  Arizona! The ‘Cats are simply terrible defensively, ranking near the bottom of the Pac-12 in every category imaginable. U of A simply cannot get pressure on the QB, and they don’t force turnovers. This will be the first game since PSU that UW should be able to move the ball, even in light of the above negatives casting a shadow on the offense. I fully expect Keith Price to find a rhythm and have a big game in tandem with Kasen Williams, who is flat out due to have an 8 catch, 190 yard 2 TD performance. Watch for the Dawgs to run as well, giving Bishop Sankey a heavy work load. I feel really good about this game despite the traditionally notorious and bizarre effect a night game in Tuscon can have on road opponents. I think the Huskies have more talent, top to bottom, than the Wildcats, which will lead to a wild, yet satisfying win.

UW 38 – UA 34

Go Dawgs!

Leave a comment

Filed under Huskies Basketball, Huskies Football

Tagged as ,

by | October 13, 2012 · 9:12 am

UW vs. USC Predictions

I’m already late putting this up, so I’ll just dive into the picks.  If you want a little more of an introduction, read Andrew’s post below.  Here we go!

Dan

In the Sark era, the Huskies have typically been extremely motivated to play the Trojans. UW has won 2 of the past 3 meetings, but it is hard to know which Washington team will show up tomorrow. Against top tier competition like LSU and Oregon, UW has not put up a fight. This is a trend that has developed over the past few years, with few exceptions. USC may or may not be in the same top tier category, but there is no denying the talent on their roster is second to none. CenturyLink Field is not the same home field advantage that Husky Stadium offers, and when it comes down to it, I see the Trojans making enough explosive plays and rattling Keith all day long. The Huskies will put up a fight, but fall short tomorrow.

USC-30, Washington-20

Joe

For some reason I feel good about this game. Maybe it’s just my optimistic side coming out, maybe it’s pure psychology after getting waxed by Oregon, or maybe it’s the fact that USC simply doesn’t have a stellar track record playing on the road in Seattle. Whatever the treason, I see the Huskies bouncing back this week and playing well.  USC obviously presents problems offensively. Lee and Woods paired with Barkley and Redd is potent. USC will score in this game. How much is the key. With the Dawgs offense struggling to find an identity, even a mediocre offensive performance by the Trojans will likely net them a win.  I hope to see Sark commit to the run early and often. Bishop Sankey has played well enough to earn the trust of the coaches and see more touches. I’m not high on USC’s defense, so I expect UW to move the ball. Unfortunately red zone offense has been poor and Keith Price simply hasn’t played like the Price we saw last year, mostly due to lousy pass protect.  In the end, even though my heart and a big part of my head says UW pulls the upset, I’ll go with Vegas on this one.

USC 33 – UW 20

Andrew

The Huskies will have to fight an uphill battle tomorrow against a team that is more talented than they are.  Yeah, what else is new?  When looking at the Husky schedule before the season we all hoped that the Huskies would be 3-3 after these first 6 games.  Sure, 4-2 would be great but it just wasn’t very reasonable.  Now, it doesn’t seem all that far away.  The Huskies play at home tomorrow where they have won 10 of their last 11 games.  The Trojan defense is giving up 26 points per game on the road and haven’t played any dynamic offenses yet.  The Huskies haven’t put together a complete game yet, no, not even against Stanford.  I see this game either going to the Huskies in a close win or the Trojans in a 2 or 3 score game.  As I’ve given you stats and information that suggests that the Dawgs might have a chance tomorrow, all I can think about Robert Woods and Marqise Lee.  We only have one really good corner and that’s the biggest reason I’m picking USC.  I hope I’m wrong.

USC 35 – UW 20

Matthew

Andrew’s written before about how terrible I am at making predictions.  In the heat of the moment during a game, as soon as I make a pronouncement about how the game’s going to go, the opposite happens.  So I’m always a little hesitant to pick my team, knowing my unique jinxing powers.  I’m also leading our Pac-12 predictions though, so I think this power only exists during games.  Anyway, I’m picking the Huskies to win today.  I’m by no means positive they will, but I think they have a great shot.  They’re slowly working on their issues.  The offensive line has improved and was fine against Oregon, not a strength but at least serviceable. The running game and defense are far ahead of where they were last season and early this year, respectively.  I’m betting today is the day the Keith Price and the Husky passing game explodes.  The Dawgs will have to cut out the mistakes they made at Oregon, but they do much better at that in Seattle and when the opponent isn’t Oregon.  I don’t think anyone feels that this is a game the Huskies have no chance of winning.  I think the Huskies play their best game of the year and pull out the upset.

UW 27 – USC 21

Leave a comment

Filed under Huskies Football

Tagged as , ,