The Monday Morning Wash
by John Berkowitz on Nov 23, 2009 6:54 AM PST
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PrintFor the first time in 113 meetings, the winner of the Oregon-Oregon State game will be guaranteed a spot in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks have not played in a Rose Bowl 1995, when they lost to Penn State 38-20. Oregon State played in its last Rose Bowl in 1965 when the Beavers lost to Michigan, 34-7.
If you are a Husky fan there probably is no question which team you will be rooting for either. Since the game is at Autzen the Beavers will be facing an up hill battle but I think they can play toe to toe with the Ducks. This one is going to have quite a bit of build up because the game won't be played for two weeks. Not even the spectre of this weeks monster Apple Cup contest will diminish the excitement building for this one.
Speaking of the Apple Cup it couldn't have come at a better time for the Washington Huskies. If you are looking for some confidence and a positive step near the end the season the Cougars are the ideal visitors of 2009. WSU is a football program in trouble right now. The Coug's unless they do the unthinkable and beat the Huskies may go down as being the worst team in conference history other than the 2008 Huskies and 2006 Stanford Cardinal.
The problems over at WSU are talent, depth, and a coaching staff that doesn't seem to be getting the job done in year two. The Cougars roster going into the season looked like a police blotter and not much has happened during the last three months to change that perception. Wulff a WSU alum who was brought into clean up the mess seems to be more deeply mired in it than the previous staff.
Despite the lopsided losses the WSU athletic department announced recently that they were bringing Wulff and his staff back for 2010. One thing Wulff and his staff have going for them is they are economical and under contract. There are assistants in the league such as Washington's Nick Holt who make more than Wulff does.
Nobody expects the Coug's to go to a bowl next year but the expectation is they should be better on the field and spend less time in jail in 2010 because they really can't get any worse. If WSU can craft together a four win season next year and show some progress chances are Wulff will stick around for awhile.
As for this years Apple Cup the lines are out and the Coug's have the Huskies exactly where they want. Washington goes into the game as a 28 point favorite. No matter how bad the Cougs are we all know we can throw the stats out in an Apple Cup game because they always want it more.
Washington's last game was a blowout loss to Oregon State. What was disturbing about that loss other than the score was the fact that Washington didn't play like they really wanted to be there. For the first time all season Washington didn't show up for a game. If they do that again against WSU they are going to be in trouble. WSU actually played better against OSU than Washington did.
On paper there is no way for the Cougs to win this one. If they went head to head with Idaho they would lose by three touchdowns. The Huskies need to do what almost every Cougar opponent has done this season and that is put this game away early and coast to victory. If they allow the Coug's to hang around into the fourth quarter bad things are bound to happen because after all it is the Apple Cup.
Around the Pac 10
UCLA 23 ASU 13
Redshirt freshman Kevin Prince passed for 161 yards, UCLA's defense accounted for two touchdowns and set up a field goal, and the Bruins beat Arizona State 23-13 Saturday to become bowl eligible with their sixth win. Prince was 15-for-31 with no interceptions and no TDs for the Bruins whose last postseason appearance was a loss in the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl. They won their third straight, and will visit crosstown rival Southern California next weekend in a bid to solidify their selection to a lower-tier bowl.
California 34 Stanford 28
Shane Vereen ran for a career-high 193 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries and Mike Mohamed intercepted a pass from Andrew Luck at the 3 with less than 2 minutes left as Cal beat Stanford 34-28 Saturday. Andrew Luck was 10 for 30 for 157 yards and an interception. Toby Gerhart ran for 136 yards and four TDs in a losing effort. Stanford is 0-4 when he throws it at least 30 times.
Oregon State 42 WSU 10
The Beavers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and rolled to a 42-10 win on Saturday, setting up the possibility that their rivalry game against Oregon on Dec. 3 would decide the Pac-10 representative for the bowl game.
Oregon 44 Arizona 41
Masoli tied it with a touchdown pass to Ed Dickson with six seconds left, then won it with a 1-yard run in the second overtime as No. 11 Oregon defeated Arizona 44-41 on Saturday night and took a big step toward the Pac-10 title. Masoli threw for three scores and ran for three more as the Ducks rallied from a 24-14 deficit early in the fourth quarter.
Facing relentless pressure from the Wildcats, Masoli struggled at times, fumbling twice and throwing an interception that led to Arizona's first score. But Masoli was there when the Ducks needed him most. He was unstoppable late in the game, then took over in overtime.
Pac 10 Power Ratings
1. Oregon...The Ducks are in the drivers seat but OSU is closing quickly in the rear view mirror.
2. Oregon State...Beavers enter the last game of the season for the second year in a row with a shot for the Rose Bowl.
3. California...Suddenly the Bears are one of the hotter teams in the conference.
4. Arizona...Two overtimes and no cigar for the Wildcats who let the Ducks off the hook.
5. Stanford...A surprising loss to Cal in the Big Game. Next up is putting the last nail in Charlie Weis's coffin.
6. USC...How the mighty have fallen. Trojans need to beat their crosstown rival to end a bittersweet season.
7. UCLA...Neu has the Bruins bowl eligible. Next up is a shot at giving some notice to Pete Carroll and the Trojans.
8. Washington...Huskies face off against the first team they have been favored against since Idaho.
9. Arizona State...Dennis Erickson has never had two losing seasons in a row until now.
10. Washington State...Husky fans rejoice! Paul Wulff and his staff have been given another year.
Pac 10 Player of the Week
California running back Shane Vereen rushed for a career-high 193 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries in the Bears upset of Stanford.
Quote of the Week
Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli commenting On Arizona fans preparing to rush the field with six seconds left in the game: "I saw it and I actually smirked," Masoli said. "It was kind of funny. I wasn't really worried about it."
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Comments
Yep, that was the only thing I liked about
the Ore/Az game. I thought it was really premature of the fans to jump the fence to be ready to storm the field. I mentioned to my wife that I hope Az blows it , just to teach those dumb kids to stay seated til its over, regretted saying that later tho. Once again, my Nostradamus prediction skills prevailed as I tubed most of my picks.
I really hope our team comes ready to play and puts WSU away early, if wwe let them hang we will be in trouble. Cal looks like a beating at this time.
California surprised me
I thought Stanford would mop the field with those guys…that was a surprise.
As for the UO/AZ game I was surprised the Wildcats had the game basically put away in the fourth quarter. I thought the Ducks were going to smoke them. I was even more suprised when UA basically choked and let them back in the game…Wow.
WSU actually played Oregon State better than we did the previous week…something to really ponder going into the Apple Cup.
I think UCLA has a good chance of beating SC in their finale even though they aren’t even close to being the better team.
Never know for sure
Your rivarly game is BIG. And even though a program might be down in the gutter, HEY they come to play and if they play harder then the other team, they’ve always got a shot. That is the beauty of college football.
All I saw was purple
Apple Cup
Look for wsu to pull out all the stops to try to get this win….gee is this anything we haven’t heard before! They have nothing to lose and everything to gain, though the same could be said for us. I think the motivation is a wash this year. The Huskies have lost the last two, they’re coming off an embarrassing performance against OSU and I think they’ll “get er done!” Locker needs to step up and play his A game and our defense has got to show that they can dominate a moribund opponent. GO DAWGS!!
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Put them away early
The key in this game is to score early and often.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 23, 2009 10:06 AM PST up reply actions
Nothing to lose is the concept
You’re right dawgfan, WSU doesn’t have anything to lose. I see them entering the field very loose, but not overly confident.
But they’ve been in this game before and know what it means. Wulff and staff will try to keep the Cougs loose and ready to play. It might get ugly at times, but don’t think for a second WSU won’t have their game faces on. Ugly or not, this rougue bunch will play to win. I just hope we have a winner’s mindset as we come out of the tunnel. Play loose, confident, and crisp.
All I saw was purple
Two examples of coaches outsmarting themselves
Stanford had plenty of time, and the ball down close. Why did Harbaugh put the game in Lucks hands, and the best offensive player in the conference not even touch the ball down close? Seems to me you give it to Gearhart until they stop him, which they had not done.
Arizona moved the ball well most of the night, with a combination of runs and short passes. So at the beginning of the second OT, why the shot to the endzone on first down? Now you are behind the eight ball, and forced into a situation you are not good in. A field goal was never going to be good enough there. Stay with what had been working all night.
COUG BOWL
Remember year after year this is the only bowl, the Apple Cup, game the Coug-its qualify for. But they have an incredible record of upsetting the Husky favorites knocking them out of the Rose Bowl two years in a row.
Washington field goal kickers seem to go lead foot against the Cougs. Just ask Chuck Nelson. I just watched a replay of the 1996 Apple Cup where the Huskies missed two field goals and had one blocked but won in overtime after giving up a 24-0 lead.
There are three teams the Huskies are almost guaranteed to lose to when they are overwhelming favories: UCLA, ND and the COUGs. I am not counting the Oregon State loss in HUSKY STADIUM when they were 38 point favorites.
Oh yah, that prevent defense really works doesn’t it? And you throw in shanked kicks and the three and out line plunges, a must in the prevent offense, you get what you ask for. They need to go all out because believe it or not they, the Huskies, are the underdogs here mostly by choice of the Coaching staff!If they don’t get QB pressure and sacks look for another Heisman performance for the wrong team.
96 Apple Cup
Wow Purpledawg, you brought back some good memmories. I was at the Apple Cup in 96. Colder then hell, had to use my car keys to try to scrape off the 1" thick ice covering my seat at Martin. Wind chill factor was outragious.
But what I remember the most about that Apple Cup was the fact it was the very first Apple Cup to be sent into OT. Great game, but a dissapointing blowing of a 24 point lead. I believe Leaf was a sophomore then.
All I saw was purple
Just wait. . . .
I did a flight to Pullman just over a week ago, snow on the ground, swirling cold winds, and that was mid November. Can you imagine what the weather is going to be like if they actually push next years Apple Cup in Pullman back to December 4th??
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Schedules
I don’t even like playing them AFTER Thanksgiving. This thing should be a done deal AND we still have Cal to play! That is just WRONG! The Apple Cup should be the last game of the season!
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
When that ACTUALLY happens
I’ll actually believe in global warming!!!
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
3 reasons why schools schedule after Thanksgiving
I’ve noticed this trend of scheduling games after Thanksgiving for quite some time. It was spawned from the concept of conference championships and the ability to compete against them. Why?
Reason No.1- EXPOSURE to pollsters. A last look at your program in dominating fashion could potentially move you up a few notches in the season ending polls.
Reason No.2- Has become a way to influence bowl commitees for more prestigeous bowls.
Reason No.3- EXPOSURE to potential recruits. A late season game may be able to entice a potential recruit to take a better look at your program. You want to continue playing as close to the recruiting dead period as possible.
North-based schools are at a disadvantge due to extreme weather conditions. But if Northern-based schools used this to their advantage it could actually influence more top shelf recruits to sign with more Northern-based schools. How? Its easy…
Promote your northern-based location as a way of gaining more and more NFL experience. Have you ever noticed most of the best NFL teams are located in the North where it is extremely cold for playoffs in January? In college football most of the power is in the South, where it is warm. Northern-based schools are not using their locals and promoting it to recruits enough so that they can gain more pro experience.
All I saw was purple
You’re missing a big one – expanding the length of the season enables teams to schedule byes in the middle of the season. It’s why the UW has moved the Cal game after the Apple Cup the last 2 years.
Forgot that one
The bye weeks are a new trend too- thanks kirkd. byes have beome increasingly important to programs but not so favorable with the fanbases. But the byes are extremely important to keep players healthy or mend up when needed. The object is to use the bye to get better, not worse.
In our recent past, we’ve used our byes to get worse while other programs have found away to continue to improve, i.e. Oregon State and USC.
All I saw was purple
John Anderson
Is one example of a mondo Husky kicker in the Apple Cup.
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Touchdown flip
Was it just my imagination, or did Oregon flip the ball high into the air during the 2OT touch down? Did the refs see it and ignore it because they could smell those cheeseburgers, or has common sense taken over? Maybe they decided that technically the game was over and the penalty would have to be applied to next year’s game.
And I’m not a duck fan, but when the AZ QB grabs the face mask to hold off the defender, why is that a penalty on the defense? That’s all I saw that kept AZ alive in the first OT. Our Pac10 refs once again didn’t disappoint us.
I am sure the cougs have the Las Vegas point spread on
their bulletin board for added motivation. We cannot let them into this game. Like johnb said, score early and often and don’t let up until you have a 40 point lead.
Jake has never won nor lost nor played in an apple cup game. The cougs have never won more than 2 in a row, they have 2 as of right now. We better be ready to play smash mouth.
The poor ST kicking in the 96 apple cup was part of what did Lambo in, as Lambos STs were following DJs superbly prepared STs play. He finally learned and recruited J Anderson, just wasn’t around to enjoy the fruits of his labor (waited too long to fix the problem).
When Was The Last Time...
…the Huskies were favored by this many points?! We may be the better team and we are playing at home but are we that much better?
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Agreed John
But I don’t like your use of “and coast to victory”. Usually this concept comes back and puts a damper on things by losing [see Arizona’s loss to Oregon, up by 10 late].
I think we should put the pedal to the medal and don’t let off the gas until it is conceivable that this game is completely and totally out of reach. I don’t have a problem with Harbough going for a 2 point conversion with a 2 TD lead. Some teams can come back if given the right amount of time.
Leave no doubt! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
Agreed Crazi
Jump on them early and keep the heat on! GO DAWGS!!
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Couldn't disagree more . . .
don’t EVER take the foot off the gas!!! It’s the Cougs, run up the score!!!
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Kavario Middleton-Getting It Going
"we plan on scoring at least 50 points.’’
“we want to put up 50 points, run the score up, put on a show. We’re just trying to make a statement that we are the real deal.’’
Middleton also said that the Huskies want to make sure they keep the Cougars in their current place at the bottom of the Pac-10 standings.
“When they are down, we want to keep them down, push them lower,‘’ Middleton said. "Make it known we are going to be reckoned with.’’
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Talk the Talk...
…so now you better step up and have your best game of the season!
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Agreed
I love the emotion, but he better back it up!!
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
What do you disagree with?
I said the exact same thing you did. There you go again-skimming over another post.
All I saw was purple
WSU doesn't have anybody that frightens me
The only thing that really scares me just a little in this year’s Apple Cup is if WSU can make a big play. That one big play seems to always get them motivated. And when a team is motivated, the other team is in trouble. The last two WSU wins were not the result of one or two outstanding players. Rather WSU’s play was ugly at best. Ugly or not the ball found its way into the hands of a freakin’ Coug receiver.
- Personnel for WSU doesn’t frighten me.
- WSU schemes don’t scare me.
but “motivation” does and it hurt the last two Apple Cups. I say don’t give up any ugly big plays.
All I saw was purple
Turnovers...
…are going to be huge! They’re huge regardless and if it’s raining expect more of them.
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Stanford & Notre Dame
Did the furd get caught looking ahead? I was ultimately surprised that Cal beat them.
On Harbough-
I don’t see Notre Dame going after Jim Harbough. The last time ND hired a Stanford guy it was Ty Willingham and we all know how that worked out for the Irish and us. I just don’t think it’s a good fit, because of the relationship factor Willingham had with Stanford and now Harbough has with Stanford. I just don’t think the ND faithful are going to want to relive that part of their history.
Brian Kelly is the guy. Maybe the Iowa coach, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Bob Stoops started nosing around South Bend. Urban Meyer is NOT going to South Bend. I threw Big Game Bob (Stoops) in the mix just because maybe the expectations of SoonerNation might be a little too much to deal with. Keep in mind the Stoops brothers were born and raised in the MidWest and all played special teams at Iowa.
Or will the Irish go the NFL assistant way again. It can be a good idea to go after top NFL assistants for many reasons. But the two that stick out to me the most are-
- the ability of offering recruits NFL experience as a college player.
- the school doesn’t have to sit and wait for a newly hired coach to be done w/ their bowl games.
All I saw was purple
I'm not convinced ND will make a move
Why wait until after the Stanford game? If you’re going to make a change then surely it is best to get it done early so that you can capitalize on recruiting that is just around the corner. It makes no sense to wait until after the clash with Stanford.
I think this is Swarbrick’s way of keeping Charlie Wies afloat. Guarrenteed if Wies is ousted, then surely Irish QB Clausen is going to leave for the draft. Will Swarbrick bring back Wies in order to bring back Clausen- is that even conceivable? But to keep dangling a carrot in front of us with Wies is rediculous. Both Willingham and Davie had better winning percentages then Wies currently has. And the “that’s not good enough” speech was the ultimate slap in the face in regards to members of the coaching fraternity. You just don’t say crap like that no matter how awful the team played.
Keep dangling the carrot Swarbrick, but as Wies said in his initial press conference when he was hired 5 years ago- “you are what you are and that ain’t good enough”. Wies is a glorified coordinator that is not a man of influence. He belongs in the coaches box where he can work his magic with the Xs and Os.
Swarbrick’s decision could make or break the ND program that can have a great effect on it for decades to come. ND better get this one right or they might have to eventually join the Big East Conference just to stay afloat with the big boys.
All I saw was purple
ND Coaches
I think Meyer is a 50/50 shot. ND will be interested, the only question is will Meyer be interested? Don’t count him out, he has a known love for ND, who knows could go either way.
Kelly is the most likely candidate, and his offense would be a great mix with Clausen.
Harbaugh is possilbe, I agree that his connection with Stanford will hurt his chances.
Either way, should be fun to watch Charlie get fired!
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
I think if ND...
….was absolutely committed to getting him, they could do it. I think it would be very expensive and I don’t think they’ll go there.
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Very, very expensive
Just depends on how bad they want to win.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
I was thinking about ND today...
And I came up with this.
Notre Dame needs to go after a guy that can recruit defensive players. Either a defensive minded head coach or a top shelf defensive coordinator. Why do you ask?
Because it’s no secret that ND can bring in a truck load of offensive talent. It has become customary to think statistically offensive recruits are much better in the classroom then most of your defensive recruits. That was Wies’ biggest issue in recruiting- he could get plenty of offensive kids that qualified academically, but had zero chance of landing many defensive kids that could qualify. If ND has no problem bringing in offensive kids, but has problems getting defensive kids, the writing is on the wall.
Now a defensive minded head coach or a top shelf defensive coordinator would run into the same road block, but he would have a better then average chance of recruiting many defensive kids that “could” qualify. How do you continue to bring in offensive kids without skipping a beat?
The newly hired defensive minded head coach would then hire a savvy offensive coordinator on the way up that has been visual to recruits. If Defense is where they struggle in terms of recruiting and we all know they do because no Domer defense has been good for the last decade- then ND should go after a defensive minded coach.
All I saw was purple
Notre Dame
They didn’t get there guy “Meyer” last time so I would expect they will take no chances this time. I expect them to get a proven guy. Kelly would be the one IMO. Although Stoops might be in the mix like you said. Both of these guys have shown the ability to build something out of mediocrity. My gut tells me Kelly is the first guy they’ll go after. Meyer is not going anywhere. The ND admin will not play the game that it takes to pull Urban Meyer out of Florida.
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
I would think Kelly would be the most likely choice
by John Berkowitz on Nov 23, 2009 1:28 PM PST up reply actions
I'm taking Kelly off the list ... It's all about the BIG!
Notre Dame is BIG! And being BIG requires a BIG hire. The Cincinnati gig is small potatoes compared to the “Hale Marry … Pray for us” program. Same reason why Peterson won’t get a look.
I honestly think ND should hire a defensive minded coach. Will they? Chances are they haven’t even explored the rational as to why they aren’t winning. The problem is they can’t play defense, because they can’t get good defensive players on campus. As a result they will probably go after a BIG FISH, i.e. Meyer, Stoops, or Miles.
Kelly is logical, but not BIG enough for the domers.
All I saw was purple
I don’t think the biggest issue with Brian Kelly is whether he’s “big” enough – he may well be the biggest name they have a realistic shot at.
I think the biggest issue would be going from Weis’ pro-style offense to the spread offense Kelly favors, and the adjustment period that might be needed. From what I’ve seen of Cincinnati, they don’t ask their QB to run nearly as much as Oregon, but I’m not sure the pro-style QB’s that Weis has recruited are ideal for Kelly’s system.
And I think you may be on to something with the idea that Notre Dame ought to focus on a defensive-minded coach.
Should be interesting to see what they can attract. Those that think Notre Dame would shy away from Harbaugh just because of the last guy they grabbed from Stanford are not giving Irish fans and administration enough credit – I think they can all see that Harbaugh has a lot more substance to him than Ty did. Not sure if that’s a gig Harbaugh wants or not, but he’d be a pretty good choice IMO.
I’m sure there will be talk of NFL guys too like Gruden.
QB's and Coaches
Although Kelly like mobile QB’s, his system does not require it. Tony Pike is not a mobile QB and he is doing great in Cinncinnati’s system, his only downfall is that he’s a wimp who would rather play touch football. I think ND’s QB’s would do just fine in Kelly’s system.
I think Crazi has a good point, they definitely need to be more defensive minded. What they really need is a good head coach who understands BOTH sides of the ball. We are currently in a very similar scenario, our head coach is great with offenses, but seems to lack an in depth understanding of how to run a defense. A good coach will put as much thought and effort into both offense and defense.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
One or the other
ND will either hire a big name or they will go after a defensive minded coach, who can bring in a top shelf well-known guy to run the offense.
Again I think Kelly is logical and I think Harbough could change the culture. What about the UCon coach? Is he a candidate?
Yet I disagree with you in part on coach Sark. I think you can be a master in one area of football as a head coach and hire someone to ochestrate the other. When head coaches are masters of one side and hire someone for the other, they’re not just letting it all go out the window. They initially hire a coordinator that can duplicate the philosophy of what the head coach wants. And I have a hunch that Sark knows that Holt can duplicate the style of defense he (Sark) wants to incorporate here. Same with Mack Brown at Texas and Les Miles at LSU. Will Mustchamp and Gene Czick aren’t just throwing stuff out their on a whim. It’s part of the head coaches defensive philosophy or it isn’t going to be put in.
All I saw was purple
My optimism
has been slightly shaken this year. But I think I can truly say “expect to win” against the Cougs.
Mush you Huskies!!! Go Dawgs!!!
Expect to Win!!!
Shaken not stirred
It was there…it really was there…4th quarter mishaps against ND, ASU, and UCLA were unfortunate.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 23, 2009 12:40 PM PST up reply actions
An Emotional Roller Coaster
Yeah the sour taste of losing really hurt this season. I think it hurt more this season as compared to last season when the team quit. It is alway emotionally disturbing when you lose in heartbreak fashion and we found ourselves picking up the pieces of our hearts off the ground more then once this season.
It has been an emotional roller coaster this season. Starting out with the hard fought loss to LSU, the not-knowing-what-to-expect win over Idaho, the monsterous win over USC, a deflating loss at Stanford, the emotional train wreck losses at Notre Dame, Arizona State, and Ucla, to the surprise shoe polish play for the victory over Arizona, and the two humblings from the state of Oregon.
If anyone of us were members of the Washington Husky football roster, we’d all need some serious therapy. It’s been an emotional roller coaster season, but ultimately some tough lessons to learn. We’ll get better. Learning how to win is the key to restoring the program, that and going after top shelf recruits.
All I saw was purple
Hahahahaha
Very clever, John! I like that “shaken not stirred.” perhaps that’s what Bonds us together…..
The ND game really got to me. I was watching in a bar in Bellingham & the power went out in about half of the city. I don’t drive anymore ‘cause I have Parkinson’s. Fortunately, the devididing line of power & no power was a few blocks away, so I ran up to another place with power and lucked out with a seat right in front of the big screen….. where I watched Polk’s TD get reversed, and the “miraculous” ND two point conversion. I was not a happy camper.
Expect to Win!!!
The Weather
This could be a huge factor depending on how nasty it gets. Jake may need to provide that second running “option” to just keep moving the chains.
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
MASOLI v. JAKE
All I hear is protect Jake he is so fragile. How about Masoli? Isn’t he a QB? The man is a human wrecking ball and has no fear. Maybe that is why he doesn’t get injured. He does have a line that opens holes and a very accurate passer.
He has been injured a fair amount
and it helps when you have a line that blocks.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
On Masoli
Other then that thought of actually having a decent offensive line to block for you, Masoli has as good if not better skills of running the football as compared to Jake.
Take for instance his low center of gravity. That by itself doesn’t offer a defender much of a tackling surface to cream him. Also the guy is very shifty and elusive and he can make people miss. Jake struggles in that department, he usually tries to out run you to the corner and doesn’t realize enough that everybody is fast at this level. Jake sports a 4.4 in the 40, but when a LB runs a 4.5 40 and has the proper angle of pursuit- Jake is dead meat pal.
Also from what I’ve seen is that Masoli has a better understanding about when to run and when to stay in the pocket, it’s still very vague to Jake in that department. And lets not forget about Oregon’s scheme vs. our scheme. Oregon’s version of the spread offense is a masterful work of art (that coming from a known duck hater and a person that is not in love w/ the spread). If you care to look at Oregon’s offense- it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. They do a beautiful job of disguising everything. And when everything is perfectly disguised, it makes spotting the guy with the ball that much harder to define, which allows Masoli a chance to scamper off big chunks of yards whenever he calls his own number. Many reasons to look at if you look … you just have to take the time.
Masoli in the pros? Maybe for mop up duty at a new position. But Jake has the potential to be a franchise QB.
All I saw was purple
Masoli is tough, has the low center of gravity like you mention, and he’s outstanding with his ball fakes. That right there buys him and his RB’s critical fractions of a second as defenders are unsure who has the ball. Doesn’t matter that Masoli isn’t as fast as Jake – he does a far better job of freezing or faking out defenders with his ball fakes and as a result gets a better jump than Jake does. Jake doesn’t fake anyone out on our spread-option runs.
Masoli might have a future in the NFL as a Wildcat formation specialist.
Keep in mind Purpledawg
Masoli is not staring at a multi-millon dollar contract once he decides to leave for the pros. How much pressure do you think has been put on Jake this season? How much does Locker want to trust his offensive linemen, his own pocket awareness, and receivers to catch he ball? How do we know that Sark doesn’t want Locker running to avoid injuries (both minor and severe)? Sark can’t risk Locker running himself into an injury. If Jake were to get hurt the offense would be plaqued as it was last season. Also Sark wants Jake’s pro stock to go thru the roof! The stock isn’t going to grow while he’s on a stretcher. Why does Sark want Jake’s pro stock to grow? Because it is attractive in recruiting. Again I’ve said it before and I’m saying it now … We are in a win/win situation if Jake leaves after the season or comes back for his senior season. One way or another Jake’s pro stock is going to be beneficial for recruiting. But it will bottom out if we get him hurt.
We’re still in the rebuilding phase of things. This isn’t the best Husky team you are going to see under Sark. Rather it’s probably going to be the worst.
Let’s change the culture folks … quit being so dam negative about things. The future is bright with or without Jake.
All I saw was purple
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