Last Week: Andrew (2-2), Dan (2-2), Joe (3-1), Matthew (4-0)
Overall: Andrew (31-7), Dan (32-6), Joe (33-5), Matthew (33-5)
Week 6:
California—The Good Guys
Oregon—The Good Guys
Arizona—The Good Guys
Stanford—The Good Guys
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
I’m a few days late on this, forgive me. We’ve already covered the UW-USC game, so there’s only 3 to go over. Let’s do it!
Oregon 52 – Stanford 31
For a little while on Saturday it looked as if Stanford could win the national championship. They weren’t just beating, they were dominating the Ducks. It was 21-3. Then Oregon’s speed took over. Are these slow starts by the Ducks? Are they fast starts by their opponent? In 3 games, the Ducks have faced a double-digit deficit, but they’ve still beat everyone by double digits. Stanford’s stock didn’t fall in this game, at least it shouldn’t have. Oregon looks like they might be the best team in the nation outside of those guys down in Alabama. It’s amazing how explosive they are. One thing is clear, if you give Oregon any momentum then the game will be over before you know it. Just ask Stanford.
Oregon State 31 – Arizona State 28
Oregon State got back on the winning side in a game they should win. The Sun Devils put up another valiant effort but sooner or later close losses lose their meaning and winning becomes a necessity. ASU has reached that point. The Beavers defense played a solid game, giving up 364 yards (that’s good for a Pac-10 game this year). Jacquizz Rodgers ran all over the field, like people expected him to do at the start of the season. Also, Ryan Katz may have started to find some rhythm, which would make the Beavers offense very dangerous. As far as ASU goes, they are a good team that makes too many mistakes to win. They are the most penalized team in the nation. If they put together a full game, they’d beat just about anyone in the conference but right now there are just too many mistakes keeping them from winning. We’ll see if that changes, hopefully it won’t this week.
UCLA 42 – WSU 28
This game was weird. The Cougars have found a little something as far as a passing offense goes. But, I never really thought WSU was going to win the game even after they were ahead in the 4th quarter. UCLA seemed like they simply needed to wake up. When they did, midway through the 4th, it was game over. The Cougars gave up over 400 yards rushing. UCLA was playing with a backup quarterback, Brehaut, who is pretty bad. Kevin Prince should be back this week. The Bruins’ secondary should not be this bad. They have the best linebacker and safety in the league, but there have been several games this year where it seems as if they just forgot to show up. Even after beating Texas, I’m still not sold on the Bruins. The Cougars played competitively, which is more than they’ve been able to say in a Pac-10 game in about 2 years. We’ll see if they can keep it up at all.
This Week:
UCLA @ Cal- Two teams that are hard to figure out. It’s a big game for both of them if either of them want to make a bowl game.
Oregon @ WSU- After showing some hope last week, the Cougs play a game that they have absolutely no chance in. Oregon could put up 100 points if they wanted to.
OSU @ Arizona- This might be the most intriguing game of the week. OSU plays another tough road game and looks to get on the winning side. The Beavers have faced the top 3 defenses in the nation, statistically (Boise St, Arizona, and TCU). Arizona, meanwhile, tries to show they belong with Oregon.
Stanford @ USC- This is a game that I think most Husky fans will be curious about. It seems like USC has to put a game together sooner or later. But, Stanford is so tough. I think the Cardinal will be glad to be done with this road trip.
ASU @ UW- As always, we’ll have more on this later. But, can ASU finally turn the corner or will they finally roll over? Can UW’s offense be as good as it was last week? Will the defense show improvement? A huge game for both schools.
Power rankings after the jump! Continue reading
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
Second base has some questions coming into the season, but the long term outlook is maybe the most promising on the team.
Second Base
Under Contract
Chone Figgins- Listing him here is mostly a formality, because it would be a shock if he’s playing second regularly in 2011, at least in Seattle. I would imagine he’ll be the subject of trade talks, and if he’s back, it’ll likely be at third base, so I’ll talk more about him when I get to that post. Continue reading
Filed under Mariners
Congratulations to Roy Halladay on throwing a no-hitter in his first playoff appearance. It was only the second post-season no-hitter in history. He’s also just the 5th pitcher with two no-hitters in a season, and the first since Nolan Ryan in 1973. We got lucky in Seattle this year and saw two of maybe the top three pitchers in baseball, but Halladay just staked his claim to the top spot in about as clear a way as possible. Hats off to you, Mr. Halladay.
-Matthew
Filed under Uncategorized
Well, it took me 2 days but I finally made it through all of the USC game. I can only wonder how many times I would watch it if it wasn’t a busy week. Anyway, I came away with a few more thoughts that I’ll share before putting this game to rest and moving on to this week’s opponent, Arizona State.
More thoughts after the jump. Continue reading
Filed under Huskies Football, UW Game Recaps
You got worried when you saw that title, didn’t you? Well, don’t worry, I was just kidding! I feel like I should write something on the worst season in Mariner history, but I don’t want to, and I’m sure you don’t want to read it, so what’s the point? If you really want to read something, all of the local blogs and papers have something up. For instance, over at the Times, the two Mariner headlines I saw were Larry Stone’s “2010 will be remembered as worst ever for Mariners” and Geoff Baker’s blog post “Talent and Character: 2010 Mariners were devoid of both”. Good times!
I did like what Dave Cameron had to say over at USS Mariner when he pointed out that, while 2011 probably won’t bring a championship (or even the playoffs), it can still be entertaining. There’s a lot of room to move up the enjoyment scale after this season, and there’s no reason the 2011 M’s can’t jump their entertainment factor significantly. I want winning baseball as much as anyone else, but if I’m thinking about going to a game on a random weeknight, a few exciting plays and a line up with some crazy guys rate pretty high on my list. Just give me someone interesting to watch!
The 2011 Mariners aren’t going to win every game. But, if they can score 4 or 5 runs most of the time, it might feel like they win every game. And for that, we can thank the 2010 Seattle Mariners. Believe Big!
-Matthew
When we began the season, 2-2 was the record most people predicted after4 games, myself included. A win against BYU and Syracuse and then a team that would probably be out-matched by the talent of Nebraska and USC. That’s not exactly what happened, but it’s better this way.
After showing a serious amount of inconsistency the first 3 games, the Husky offense turned in a showing that all Dawg fans have been dreaming of since demolishing Cal last December. Because of this, the Huskies won their first road game in 3 years and started Pac-10 play with a victory against powerhouse USC.
Since many people have covered this game, and did a better job than I could, I’m going to keep this short. I’ll have more in-depth analysis once I watch this game again later tonight but for now, I’ll look at what this game means. As several coaches and players said, this win was huge for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look at those reasons.
More after the jump. Continue reading
Filed under Huskies Football, UW Game Recaps
Matthew:
In my opinion, this is the hardest game to call on the Huskies’ schedule. I’m nowhere near ready to join the “USC is overrated” crowd, but there are clearly a lot of questions about them. Sarkisian’s claims that they’re the most talented team in the Pac-10 are accurate or very close to it. Still, they have some turmoil and a little less momentum in the program than anytime in recent memory, and when a team finally knocks them down, they might stay there a little longer than we’re used to. Can the Dawgs deliver the blow? Sure, could happen. Will they? My head says no, but I’m going to say they will. This team is bound to pull out a game sometime, and I’ll take a stab that this is the week. Call it wishful thinking.
UW 24- USC 21
Dan:
When UW upset USC last year 16-13, little did I know it would be the beginning of the end for the USC dynasty. As it turned out, USC failed to win the Pac-10, Carroll left for Seattle, and the sanctions came down hard on the Trojans. Despite the unravelling, there are two staggering numbers that cannot be ignored in this game. First, USC has won an amazing 32 consecutive home night games. Second, the Huskies have not won a road game in nearly 3 years, dating back to November, 2007. Streaks are made to be broken, and the Huskies certainly have a shot tomorrow night, but I don’t see it. USC should be able to run at will on the Huskies, which will open up the passing game for Barkley. Revenge is also on the Trojans’ minds, after what happened in Seattle last year. As for the score, I see a shootout between two offenses that are ready to get on track.
USC 42, UW 27
(I might feel more optimistic if I wasn’t currently watching Utah State handle BYU 24-7 at halftime…)
Joe:
For some reason, I like the Huskies in this game. Everything, of course, is against them. A still talented USC team, night game in the Coliseum, two weeks to chew on getting whipped by Nebraska, the nations worst special teams kick coverage, a ton of downer press for Jake Locker, etc. I think these reasons are precisely why I like the Dawgs. They should come out with fire, us against the world, chip on their shoulder attitude. I think they will channel all the negative juju of the past two weeks and turn it into a fine performance. Look for Jake Locker to bounce back, as USC has nowhere near the secondary Nebraska has. I see a big game from Kearse, and James Johnson should be back for added help. Defensively, the Dawgs must keep contain and take correct angles in tackling. It’s really not that hard. Stick to the basics and you’ll be fine. I am still worried about the special teams, but Sark has made it clear they have focused on that team quite a bit at practice. Historic road win for the Dawgs. Yes, I still believe. UW 31 – USC – 28
Andrew:
I was going to pick the Dawgs in this game. I want to pick the Huskies to win. But, can they really do it? They are outmatched at just about every position except for quarterback, and that is even closer than I ‘d like to think. USC might pound the ball for what feels like an eternity and this game will feel lost before it ever begins. Or, maybe the Huskies come out and show a decent run defense like they had in the first two games of the season. Maybe the running game will finally get going a little bit. Maybe the Jake Locker that we all expected will finally show up. The secondary could play tight defense and the receivers could get some separation. All of this could happen, but I don’t see it all happening. I hope I’m wrong but for now I’m going to pick USC in a close one. This game could be devastating if it’s a close road loss.
USC 35 – UW 31
All of the Good Guys’ are 2-1 on the year with Husky predictions. Enjoy your Saturday and thank God for college football!
Filed under Huskies Football, UW Game Previews
Andrew Long
dpscansen
Joe Loughery
Matthew
The Good Guys Sports Blog 