The Monday Morning Wash

by John Berkowitz on Oct 13, 2008 12:07 AM PDT

It was nice taking off the weekend from watching the Huskies. Usually I hate bye weeks, but this year I have enjoyed them. First of all I got to watch a better brand of college football. I also don't have to sit there and try to write something positive about a team that isn't very competitive.

The first game I watched this weekend was Oklahoma vs Texas. I wanted to watch Muschamp match wits with Bob Stoops. It was a great game and Mushamp was able to slow down Oklahoma enough to let the Texas offense stick around long enough to win the game. I like upsets and it was fun to watch another undefeated team fall.

I watched as much of WSU/Oregon State as I could stomach. Is WSU that bad? Is Paul Wulff a terrible coach? Is UW potentially as bad as WSU? Will Oregon State put 50 on the Huskies at home next week?

My friends Kim Grinolds and Chris Fetters from Dawgman were at the Swamp this weekend watching Florida upset LSU. I am sure it was a treat for them to see an excited crowd and watch some excellent football, Another undefeated team bites the dust and the race for the BCS chanpionship is getting very interesting.

Notre Dame and Michigan lost this weekend. The Irish are actually getting better. They aren't top 25 better, but they are making some strides. How does Michigan lose to Toledo after beating Wisconsin? It is going to take Rich Rodriguez another year or two to turn things around. The players he has simply are not a good fit for his offense.

Gary Pinkel lost a tough one to Oklahoma State and another undefeated team bites the dust.

Arizona which looked pretty good only a week before fell to Stanford. When I watched the Wildcats wipe out the Dawgs I came away unimpressed. It was surreal watching a very average team with plenty of flaws score at will against Washington. Those impressions bore fruit this week when UA was defeated by an equally mediocre Stanford squad.

The final game of the day was Oregon vs UCLA and I was actually rooting for the Bruins even though a friend that is a Duck was in town. UCLA hung with them and came close to pulling an upset. The Ducks aren't a very good team at this point, but a "W" is a "W".

The sad impression i came away with this weekend is Washington has the talent to play with most of the teams in this league. The reality of it all is they are just going through the motions under Willingham. Perhaps a big loss to OSU this coming weekend will force Woodward's hand. The healing won't start until he leaves the sideline.

Pac Ten Lack of Power Ratings

1. USC...the Trojans shut out the Sun Devils and knocked Carpenter out of the game. The Trojan defense is rounding into mid season form.

2. California...A well deserved bye for the Bears this week.

3. Oregon State...They scored over 60 points and their QB escaped injury. that is reason enough to move up this week.

4. Oregon...Struggling to beat UCLA isn't a very good sign. The Ducks seems to be regressing every week.

5. Stanford...The Cardinal would probably rate ninth in the league in overall talent. Harbaugh is doing a great job on the farm. It is amazing what a team can do when they believe in themselves.

6. Arizona State...Giving 28 points to USC is nothing to be ashamed of. Getting shut out is.

7. Arizona...In typical Mike Stoops fashon they follow up a big win with a disapointing loss.

8. UCLA...They may have lost to Oregon but Neuheisel has this team competing each week.

9. Washington...Up next is Oregon State and the very real potential of another team hanging upwards of 50 points on the Dawgs.

10. WSU...I have seen some bad WSU teams over the years but this one is the absolute worst I van remember.

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

This is what we need...

This was taken from Steward Mandell’s SI article this morning…http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/the_sweep/posts/13521

5. That Tim Brewster is a miracle worker. When Minnesota originally hired its new coach two years ago, the initial reaction was: “Who?” When he proceeded to produce a 1-11 record in his first season, a lot of Gophers fans were asking, “Why (did we hire this guy?)” When he managed to woo a top-20 recruiting class to Minnesota, the whole country wondered: “How?” And now we’re left asking the same question now that Brewster has inexplicably turned the Gophers from 1-11 to 6-1 (even finding a way to mysteriously beat Illinois despite allowing 550 yards).

Having talked to Brewster, it’s easy to see why players buy into him. His relentlessly upbeat, energetic personality is contagious. Minnesota still has a ways to go in building up its talent level, but several of Brewster’s imports are already paying dividends. Freshman RB Deleone Eskridge ran for 124 yards and two TDs against the Illini, while juco LB Simoni Lawrence returned a fumble for a touchdown. Having already faced Ohio State, and with no Penn State or Michigan State on the schedule, the Gophers could well win eight or nine games. Can you say Coach of the Year?

by bigdave967 on Oct 13, 2008 6:25 AM PDT reply actions

Channel Flipping....

last Saturday. I watched the TX vs OK, Minn vs Ill, Mo vs OK St and some other games.

The Gophers would smoke UW as would everyone else

Just before the first bye someone at the tailgate asked what I was going to do that Saturday? I said, "Watch real college football’

It’s fun to watch teams that play fired up and with passion

The only reason we should beat the coogs is their QB situation, with “Mr Comportment” as our HC I think the coogs will win.

Jack

by T9ODawg on Oct 13, 2008 7:06 AM PDT reply actions

Add a thought..

John, I think you are letting your feelings about our Coach?, get the best of you. While there are few good young players, the overall talent is not up to the rest of the conference, except for the Cougs. Talent acquisition is the name of the game, and TW has not fared well. What we should see over the course of the season is an improving young team, working as hard as they can to get better each week. That is the part I do not see, and have not seen. When OSU gets to town, watch and see a team that historically gets better as the season goes along. One need look no farther to see what well coached really means.
I think it is a little early to condemn Wulff. Doba left the cupboard empty, and he has not had the chance to fill it. See above comments on Brewster. Pretty hard to judge that one yet.

by OlyDawgFan on Oct 13, 2008 8:26 AM PDT reply actions

Oly

the coach thing could be getting the best of me.

I don’t think that Stanford, BYU, and Arizona have more overall talent on the roster than Washington. I agree that Ty has let things slide from a talent and numbers perspective but this team is not performing to its potential. We will see what happens after this weekend.

by John Berkowitz on Oct 13, 2008 10:40 AM PDT reply actions