The Monday Morning Wash
by John Berkowitz on Nov 2, 2009 5:53 AM PST
42 comments
The bye weekend always gives you a chance to look at other conference teams a little closer. What we saw this weekend was more balance than I expected and a stunner in Eugene which paves the way for a new league champion this season.
Just about everyone picked USC beacuse of their defense to win a very close game with Oregon on the road. History was on the Trojans side. They tend to take care of business and be almost unbeatable this time of year. The experts were wrong and the Oregon offense rolled for 613 yards of total offense and a 47-20 thrashing of the #5 Trojans who fell to 6-2 on the season. That loss effectively eliminates USC from championship contention because the Ducks would have to lose three of their final four conference games for USC to pass them up.
When the season started we all thought the wheels were about to fall off in Eugene after a disasterous loss to Boise State which cost the Ducks their potential All- American running back. After stumbling for a couple of weeks and pulling out last second wins against Purdue and Utah the Ducks have been on fire. Nobody has been able to figure out how to stop their offense when Jeremiah Masoli is at the reigns.
Chip Kelly did a great job facing the challenges of holding this team together early in the season. The key to this team in comparison to Duck teams of the recent past is these guys can play defense. Special teams have also been a source of pride for this squad. The Ducks are playing as well as any team in the country right now. Chances are very good they won't lose another game.
Next up UCLA
With most of the conference now playing for second place the Huskies travel to Pasadena this week with hopes of keeping their bowl hopes alive. Washington has a 15 game losing streak on the road and until the team breaks that horrible streak they will be pretenders not contenders.
UCLA is the perfect place to get that all turned around. The Bruins have struggled on offense all season and are enduring a five game losing streak of their own. A defense which was supposed to carry them past the offensive struggles has had problems of their own.
This is a very winnable game for Washington. The Huskies need to win three of the next four to even their schedule and become bowl eligible. Coming off a bye week the Huskies should be a lot fresher than the Bruins. With two on the road and two to finish the season at home this is must win if the Huskies are going to accomplish that goal.
Around the Pac 10
Oregon 47 USC 20
Jeremiah Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown and ran for 164 more yards with another score and the 10th-ranked Ducks trampled Southern California (No. 5 BCS, No. 4 AP) 47-20 Saturday night, the Trojans' worst loss since 1997. Redshirt freshman LaMichael James ran for 183 yards and a score as the Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pac-10) racked up 391 yards on the ground against the Trojans, who came into the game with the fifth-best rush defense in the nation (79.9 yards a game).
California 23 Arizona State 21
Giorgio Tavecchio kicked a 24-yard field goal with 21 seconds left, and California (No. 24 BCS) rallied for a sloppy 23-21 victory over Arizona State on Saturday afternoon.Tavecchio's kick capped an 11-play, 74-yard drive that began at Cal's 19 with 3:16 to go. Golden Bears quarterback Kevin Riley was 5-of-6 on that march, and he finished with 351 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Golden Bears (6-2, 3-2 Pac-10) have won three straight.
Oregon State 26 UCLA 19
Jacquizz Rodgers had 112 yards rushing, 96 yards receiving and a touchdown pass, his brother James Rodgers ran for the winning score, and Oregon State had to scramble for a 26-19 win over UCLA on Saturday. UCLA tied the game at 19 after Prince threw for two touchdowns and two two-point conversions, but the Beavers marched down the field for a 70-yard drive that James Rodgers capped with a 17-yard run on a fly sweep for the go-ahead touchdown. That left Prince and the Bruins with 44 seconds and only one timeout to make a final drive, but time ran out after a completion to Taylor Embree at the Beaver 27. Sean Canfield was 25-of-34 for 305 yards for the Beavers (5-3, 3-2), who beat the Bruins at in Corvallis for the first time since 1999.
Notre Dame 40 Washington State 14
Jimmy Clausen threw two touchdowns, including a desperation heave that Golden Tate spectacularly pulled down to end the first half, and Notre Dame clobbered Washington State 40-14 on Saturday night. The Irish who beat Washington earlier this season have now proven to be the best team in Washington State. Perhaps we should just ship them the Apple Cup Trophy? The first half ended and the Irish were up 30-7 after three TDs in the second quarter...ouch!
Pac Ten Power Ratings
1. Oregon...The Ducks have the championship about wrapped up but keep in mind they still have four more conference games to get through. Pac 10 champions are made in November. Up next is a tough contest with Stanford on the road in Palo Alto.
2. USC...The Trojans hold on the Pac 10 championship trophy is pretty much over. There is still quite a bit to play for and up next is ASU in Tempe. If two loss teams are considered for BCS games the Trojans are always a big draw. Don't expect them to drop too much in the polls.
3. Arizona...The Wildcats are still in the race with only one conference loss so far this season. This coming weekend they get to beat the crap out of Washington State.
4. Oregon State...The Beavers weren't that impressive against a struggling UCLA squad. Once again the defense was suspect and almost let the Bruins get close enough to pull it out. This week the stakes are a lot higher since they hit the road to play a Golde Bear team that has won three in a row.
5. California...The Bears were even less impressive than the Beavers in squeeking out a last second win on the road against ASU.
6. Stanford...The Cards had the week off which is always a good thing at this point of the year. The bad thing is they get the Ducks at home. On paper these two teams match up pretty well so expect a closer game especially if Stanford can control the clock with their running game and Oregon has a USc hangover.
7. Washington...The Huskies need to win three of their last four to become bowl eligible. They head to Pasadena to take on a team that has lost five in a row and is in the same position.
8. Arizona State...The Devil defense put together a close but no cigar finish against Cal. This week they get to host some very angry Trojans at home.
9. UCLA...Rick returned to Seattle last season and picked up a W against a crippled Washington football team. His after the game antics were kind of pathetic considering the circumstances. This week Sark returns to his roots in LA trying to get his second win in his first season against the LA schools. Win this one and UW is back in the bowl picture and even more importantly it will make an impact in recruiting.
10. Washington State...WSU picked up $1.5 million of needed cash by playing Notre Dame at a neutral site. You have to wonder why then ND AD picked the Coug's and not a team from Texas for this one. Next loss is on the road in Tucson this coming weekend.
Pac 10 Offensive Player of the Week
QB Jeremiah Masoli of Oregon who threw for 222 yards and ran for another 164 in the victory over USC.
Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Week
The entire Oregon defense for shutting 327 total yards and only 20 points.
Quote of the Week
TJ Simmers of the LA Times:The Bruins still stink and remain a disgrace, a big-time school with a small-time football program. They are winless in the Pacific 10 Conference like Washington State, losers of five straight games and if you're starting to count moral victories, then why did they ever get rid of Karl Dorrell?
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Bruins
Watch out what you wish for. Karl Dorrell record looks a lot better at this point. We’ll see how it shakes out but sometimes a coach has to get momentum going early or it might never happen. I don’t know that Nueheisel has ever shown himself to be a program builder. In the past he’s taken over strong programs and did well with those. GO DAWGS!!…Beat the Bruins!!
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Program Builder
Great point…he has more or less taken his teams from high points with the player he inheirited to lower points with th e players he has recruited. I still respect Rick for his game day acumen. The Bruins will give UW all they can handle this weekend.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 2, 2009 6:25 AM PST up reply actions
Going to be a very tough game.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
While I think the UCLA game is winnable, it’s certainly not going to be easy. Their offense is improving, and every offense seems to get better against our defense lately. Their defense is pretty good. And we have that whole “15 straight road losses thing” plus the losing streak in Pasadena.
Huskies need to bring their “A” game to pull this one out, because I guarantee you the Bruins are looking at this game the same way the Huskies are – as a winnable game that can continue dim bowl game hopes.
agreed. a banged up Jake and a recent history of struggles in Pasadena makes this something other than a no-brainer
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Yeah, Jake being banged up isn’t helping my confidence level in this one.
I’d be surprised if Jake doesn’t start, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be somewhat limited physically, and you know UCLA will be targeting him hard (just like every defense does against us).
We sure could use a strong effort by the O-Line and Polk to supplement the passing game, and it’d be nice if our defense steps up and makes the Bruins offense struggle as they have much of the season.
Can't wait for game after BYE week
Oregon has my respect, I thought if anyone could shut them down, it would have been USC and their stable of athletes. Not so fast.
I for some reason haven’t felt this confident about getting a win against UCLA at the RB since 99, when we came off the win against AZ in Tucson and were palying a very patched up UCLA OL, in 2 spots using their 4th stringers. But then we face planted in overtime. If we take care of the football and run some long possessions, we will emerge with the victory. So far there is no quit at UCLA battling back at OSU to lose in the final seconds, so that concerns me as well as their D. Prince seems to be coming along and we have a terrible history of making QBs look like AAs. I still feel good about our chances, however.
We actually gave Oregon a better game than USC or Cal
Just saying.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 2, 2009 8:04 AM PST up reply actions
Trivia Question regarding UCLA?
Since Jimmy Phelan ended his HC career in 1941 at UW, we have had 10 HCs since not including Sark. Phelan was 6-2 career wins against UCLA. How many of the next ten coaches had winning records career wise against the bRUINs? And who were/was they/he? Answer later so you can look it up in the meantime.
Overall meeting records are for UW 29-37-2.
Nice trivia question
I think the only one is Don James…and that is taking a wild guess…he may have just been .500.
I think at one time under DJ we had evened the series up.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 2, 2009 8:06 AM PST up reply actions
I think DJ...
…actually had a losing record against the bruins. That was the only one however.
by doubledeucedawg on Nov 2, 2009 1:52 PM PST up reply actions
kirkd, u da man
a polite way of saying you must be as old as me, collecting SS and remember Cherberg and Royal and JOs tough dogs.
Ha! No, just turned 40. I didn’t actually know the answer, so I looked online at the year-by-year results and counted. Was a bit surprised to see DJ didn’t have a winning record vs. UCLA, but that’s partly explained by the fact that the years we didn’t play them under DJ were generally our best years.
Answer is 1 and Jim Owens
Disclaimer I have been drinking this afternoon . Phelan was actually first to play UCLA in 32 at 6-2. Rest follows:
Coach yrs record UW/UCLA all time series at end of reign
Ralph Welch 42-47 0- 3 6- 5
Howie Odell 48-52 2- 2-1 8- 7-1
John Cherberg 53-55 0- 3 8-10-1
Darrell Royal 56 0- 1 8-11-1
Jim Owens 57-74 11- 7 19-18-1
Don James 75-92 5- 8- 1 24-26-2
Jim Lambright 93-98 3-3 27-29-2
Rick Neuheisel 99-02 1-3 28-32-2
Keith Gilbertson 03-04 0-2 28-34-2
Ty Willingham 05-08 1-3 29-37-2
So the last and only winning coach against UCLA since Phelan was JO. Last time we had a winning record all time was under Lambo but he gave it back by losing in 97 & 98, his last two years. Before that had to go back to JO. DJ actually had a very tough time against Donahue. Both Ty and Rick were coaches of teams that lost games that we were heavy favorites.
Of course this all means nothing, but we have had a tough time winning road games against UCLA, maybe too many californians trying too hard to impress their parents or bad luck whatever. We need a victory here, it won’t be handed to us, UCLA has not quit. But we really need to gut them like Oregon did USC last week when given the opportunity, the KILLER INSTINCT. GO DAWGS
Please change the picture !!!!!
I have to say seeing that duck on people sholders for any reason other than, getting carried to a cliff makes me sick. I have to say that puttin it to slick rick in his house will make me feel a little better.I hope sark don’t get to complicted in his disire to smack chow in the chops
Team or player of the week
The team or player of the week in the Pac 10 gets the photo on Monday.
You may not like the Ducks but you can’t argue with the way they pounded USC.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 2, 2009 4:14 PM PST up reply actions
i think washington huskies beat up on a ucla bruin team that has already giving up
jake locker passes for over 300 yards and 4 td’s for a huskie 35 -24 win
by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 2, 2009 10:25 AM PST reply actions
That sounds about right Wolfman
I am thinking more in the range of 27-20.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 2, 2009 4:15 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, unless something dramatic happens, I think the only game on the schedule where we can realistically win big is WSU. If we beat UCLA, Oregon State or Cal, they’ll likely be close games. We just don’t have a good enough team yet to blow out teams that aren’t horrible.
I could maybe see a big win vs. Cal, if we’re at 5 wins and it’s win or sit home for the holidays, the weather sucks and Cal is already basically locked into their bowl slot and doesn’t really have much to play for.
Though I hate...HATE Oregon
Them beating USC like that took a litttttlllleeeeee bit of the sting away from the previous weeks loss. Also it was good for the conference, assuming that both teams win out. We NEED 2 BCS teams.
Not to rehash, but I missed it... living in Denver I pretty much blacked out last year's bleak season.
what was Rick’s antics after the game last year?
Bird Law in this country isn't governed by reason.
by whiskey chainsaw on Nov 2, 2009 11:07 AM PST reply actions
I’m having a hard time figuring how Stanford is a tough match-up for Oregon. I don’t see how Stanford’s defense comes close to slowing down Oregon’s offense.
Yeah, Stanford has a power running game that may succeed against Oregon’s defense, but if the Cardinal D is giving up points left and right, I don’t see their offense keeping pace.
I think the best bet for an Oregon loss in conference is in the Civil War.
They also have to go to Tuscon...
that could be a pretty rough game if Arizona can keep the offense rolling the way they have under Foles.
Arizona is very very good.
They probably are about the 10th best team in the country right now.
We were incredibly lucky to beat them. They could be a top 10 team right now. You realize their only losses were to us, at Seattle, behind an incredibly flukey play that might very well have been an incomplete pass.
The other loss? Week 3 of the season at undefeated Iowa, 17-27. Also they hadn’t switched QB’s at that point yet and their offense still hadn’t matured. They also won at Corvallis, never an easy task.
However, they are also somewhat unproven and could very much fall apart down the stretch. However, if they can run out the rest of their schedule, they deserve to be in a BCS game. They will go to Cal, ASU, and USC in coming weeks. They have Oregon right after Cal, so that probably plays in Oregon’s favor.
I so hate the BCS. I think a team with 2 losses in UofA deserves a spot ahead of a lesser conferenced undefeated team. However, it isn’t like basketball where the weaker conferences can get games against the better teams. The better teams are too busy playing teams with hyphens in their school name, and have nothing to gain. Ugh. Jeez. I sure wish it was simply a playoff and nothing else. Make the super-conference teams think twice about their matchups in the non-league games and everything else. Sorry, I digress…
Bird Law in this country isn't governed by reason.
by whiskey chainsaw on Nov 2, 2009 1:00 PM PST up reply actions
I don't see Oregon losing any more games...
However the Civil War is always interesting.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 2, 2009 4:16 PM PST up reply actions
Yep – Oregon is so locked in right now, hard to see them losing again. But you never know – if they lose focus, they can be beaten. I think back to 1990 and the UCLA game – no reason the Dawgs should’ve lost that game, but they did and it taught them a lesson that paid off in ’91 – never lose your focus.
I think we as Husky fans better get prepared for the possibility that many of the things we’ve lorded over Duck fans may go away in the next couple of years – no recent Rose Bowl wins, no National Championship. If this Ducks team keeps rolling this year, they will be top-5 at worst to start next season and will be a legit title contender.
Idiot
Well looking at the bright side, he won’t be tearing an ACL next week. Sometimes you weed them out before they sign.
“Weed them out”? Kids make mistakes all the time. From what I’ve heard about the incident, it’s not something worth revoking his scholarship offer over. It was a dumb mistake, but as long as he keeps his nose clean between now and signing day, not worth dumping him. And I’d say that regardless of his prospect status.
Lets hold off condemning the kid unless/until we hear official details of why he was suspended.
Agreed
Sometimes those are tough lessons but they can be invaluable for waking up a kid to how important it is to do the right thing. I hope that renews his focus on all the good things he has going for him.
by doubledeucedawg on Nov 2, 2009 9:06 PM PST up reply actions
Good Point
One of the local news channels was running a spot on a Principal who cancelled a dance because of previous “dirty” dancing. For all we know, he could have done something similar, and some principal wants to make a statement about it. There is nowhere near enough information available, we really have no idea how big, or how little of an infraction it might have been.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
A little harsh
Way to early to speculate on what happened.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 2, 2009 9:17 PM PST up reply actions
Agreed.
I’d hate to have to admit to the things I did as a teen.
What I was surprised to hear in the report was that he was the best safty prospect since Lawyer Milloy. Did they just forget about Taylor Mays, or is Young projecting to be THAT good?
Key Bankhead
Well I think what they are trying to get across that he is the best local kid since Lawyer that selected UW.
Chances are if he does get into UW he will end up at OLB.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 3, 2009 6:18 AM PST up reply actions
Young
If every football player in my high school would have been kicked off the team for showing up to a dance drunk….we wouldn’t have had a football team.
Still, Young needs to refocus on school, learn from his mistake, and move on in a positive way.
Sorry Dave
I have to delete that one…nothing in particular wrong with what you said but we aren’t going to speculate on what happened. It isn’t fair to the kid. The list of course is short…but lets wait till the player, coach, or school comments. We don’t want to spawn rumors that may be incorrect.
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