The Prediction - UW 35 WSU 28
by John Berkowitz on Nov 25, 2011 2:43 PM PST
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PrintI hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had twenty plus relatives over to the house for turkey and all the usual trimmings. Now that the crowd is gone and the belly is full my thoughts once again return to college football, the final week of the Pac 12 season, and of course the Apple Cup which is being played at a neutral location this season.
The Cougars seem to have all the momentum on their side heading into this game even though they were eliminated from bowl consideration last week in an overtime loss to Utah. They hate the Huskies and they always save their best for the Apple Cup.
The Huskies are a bit harder to figure out at the moment. They started the season by winning six out of their first eight games but now are in a tailspin after suffering three consecutive losses. Last weeks loss to Oregon State hurts the most because it was a game that they were very capable of winning.
You could blame last weeks loss on the absence of QB Keith Price but the ugly truth is that the entire team stunk it up last week in Corvallis. His return this week should provide some added spark to the offense but the defense also needs to show up to power the Huskies past WSU.
The Cougars have lost six of their past seven games and two starting quarterbacks within that same time period. They picked up some serious style points for breaking a five game skid by beating ASU 37-27 at home and taking Utah to overtime last weekend in Pullman in a 30-27 loss.
The Cougars are 1-4 on the road so far this year but that really shouldn't be a factor this weekend since the game is being played at a neutral site. Where would you rather be on Thanksgiving weekend if you are football player? Seattle or Pullman?
The Cougars are capable of putting points on the board. They are are averaging over 30 points per game. QB Marshall Lobbestael affectionately known as the "Lobster" is a good QB who has picked up the bulk of the starts this season.
WR Marquess Wilson is the Lobster's favorite target. He has 75 catches so far this season. When The Cougs need to move it on the ground they hand it either to Ricky Galvin or Carl Winston who have put up respectable numbers this season.
Defensively the Cougars are similar the Huskies. They stink and they give up an average of over 30 points and 400 yards per game. You would think that Keith Price and Chris Polk should be able to do some damage against these guys but that won't happen unless the UW offensive line starts blocking.
Vegas likes to Huskies by approximately nine points going into this one which is logical because Washington is a lot better than the Cougars on paper. The Apple Cup however is never played on paper and the victor is usually the team that cares the most and plays its hardest.
I am betting that the Huskies return to form this week and beat the Cougars in a close contest led by the solid running of Chris Polk and the play making ability of Keith Price. Kids like Cort Dennison, Everrette Thompson, Quinton Richardson, and Alameda Ta'amu go out in style with a solid day of defensive play. ...Washington 35 Washington State 28
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If it's O****n I hope UCLA wins...
Otherwise, totally indifferent.
Go Bruins!
Keeping New-Weasle at UCLA seems just right.
by The Dude 4 Real on Nov 25, 2011 7:27 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, I hate Neuweasel too
but I don’t hate him so little that I want him to be head coach anywhere. I want him gone. I want him out of collegiate sports entirely.
the notion that he should be successful enough to stick around sickens me.
Da Math
UCLA + The Weasle = mediocre. :-)
by The Dude 4 Real on Nov 25, 2011 8:02 PM PST up reply actions
Ok ... I'm not a fan either...but this is drama queen-ish, no??
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
by Gekko Mojo on Nov 25, 2011 9:16 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
He protected a rapist at UW
That’s enough for me.
by kalon on Nov 25, 2011 11:28 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
you really want to go there?
I suppose we should make all kinds of suppositions about the criminals at Oregon, because all we need is accusations rather than convictions right?
It's not really a supposition.
Jerramy Stevens settled with multiple defendants out of court. There were traces of his semen on the victim and witness accounts of the victim looking uncooperative and unresponsive. I don’t see how this is particularly up for debate, especially if you’ve read the police report or the articles.
if you really believe that morally it is the same to steal a laptop or drive fast as it is to rape – and you also believe that the penalties against the Oregon athletes have been less severe than a half-game suspension – I don’t know what to tell you.
it's still a supposition
No prosecution, no conviction. We can all make assumptions based on circumstantial evidence, but nothing was proven in a court of law.
Your boy Kelly has had quite a few issues with discipline. Alonso playing basically a full season after two bad drinking incidents? Your boy Cliff Harris? Your QB who always seems to be around when people are busted behind the wheel for having weed? Your former QB that liked to steal things and couldn’t stay out of trouble?
You’re throwing stones inside a glass house, and I’d suggest you cool it before you start getting accused of trolling.
No conviction doesn't mean no innocence
He was arrested for rape. He wasn’t convicted, but don’t you think it’s a bit odd that he’s not suspended at the time? You don’t think that he raped the two women despite paying them about a million dollars? Really? The evidence is a bit more than circumstantial – a rape kit revealed semen in the victim’s vagina and anus that matched Stevens. The results of the examination revealed lacerations consistent with a rape or a forced attack. And that’s not including things like the letters that he wrote ex-girlfriends threatening them of rape, the multiple assault charges, etc. It’s a bit more than supposition and circumstance.
Kelly has had issues with the kids doing bad things. I never denied that. So has Sark. That is going to be a product of having a high-profile program at the end of the day. As stated, Cliff Harris’ ‘discipline issues’ include driving without a seatbelt.
The difference between Kelly and Neuheisel is how the issues were dealt with afterwards. Masoli was suspended for a year after his first incident (and he wasn’t convicted of anything either) and kicked off the team after his second (same; he was arrested, not convicted). Cliff Harris was suspended indefinitely (including for the LSU game) after speeding, then suspended indefinitely again after getting a ticket for not having a seatbelt. Alonso wasn’t convicted and was suspended three games. Thomas is troubling, but if you really want to equate rape with weed I’m not sure there is a rational discussion to be had.
In all of these situations the police were not encouraged to give the kids an extra break. They were not encouraged to drop charges. The players in question were high profile players who were at the time hugely important to the team and were suspended without any second thought despite what negative value.
kirkd, I respect you and think you’re a good poster. I’m also a fan of the Huskies. I don’t understand the vitriol or desire to protect Neuheisel’s behavior or Stevens’ actions. This isn’t a UW/UO thing. This isn’t me saying that my school is better than yours. This is me thinking people like Neuheisel have no place in college sports and that anything that protects people like Stevens should be reprimanded.
If Kelly ever shows something like this – a willingness to occlude the law, a desire to hide facts or make it harder for the police to do their jobs, doing ‘convenient’ suspensions when big games are coming up – I’ll be the first on the podium to decry him. I don’t like that some of the kids have done bad, but the two coaches are not the same.
my point is this
For every incident that gets publicized, you can be pretty certain there is one that never gets reported. Did Stevens rape that girl? More than likely, but I’m going to hold off calling him a “rapist” until he’s convicted of such and/or admits to doing so.
I’m not happy with how Neuheisel handled discipline while coaching at the UW, but there’s an argument to be made that he’s changed his approach. Him basically booting Josh Shirley, Shaq Richardson and Paul Richardson – all highly talented players he really could have used – for an alleged theft that (so far as I can tell) was never actually prosecuted shows that perhaps he’s changed his approach.
You seem to think Kelly has handled his discipline issues well. I happen to think he’s been too soft, but so be it.
Stevens clearly had a number of issues, both before, during and after his time with the Huskies. Some of them resulted in convictions, some didn’t. There’s plenty to criticize him for based off what we know for certain he did. But I’m not comfortable calling the man a “rapist” without a conviction and/or admission – there are alternate explanations for the circumstantial evidence on hand. And whether or not you are a “fan” of the Huskies, I think I’m not alone around here in being sensitive to the whole Jerramy Stevens issue and would appreciate you leaving that one alone, especially when making assertions of truth when you don’t know the truth, but are only making assumptions.
Oookay
Dunno why you’re sensitive about Stevens. I’m not particularly sensitive about Masoli. But that’s fine; I’ll leave it be.
I don’t think that Kelly’s handled all his decisions perfectly. I think that he waited too long to hand down the suspension on Masoli and I think that the Alonso situation should probably have resulted in him getting kicked off the team. I am disappointed that for whatever reason this keeps happening and I’d rather curb the behavior than punish it after the fact. But that still does not mean that he’s in the same stratosphere as Neuheisel.
Also note
I’m not blaming the UW organization. I’m not saying that the Huskies are a bunch of criminals. One of the reasons that I like Sark (and I appreciated Ty) was that he so far appears to be good at discipline and reasonable about his decisions.
Neuheisel has never been that way. Neuheisel has had this kind of taint wherever he goes. The blame’s on him, not Neuheisel. I don’t understand why you’d want to defend him or exonerate him. He was and remains a cancer in the NCAA world, the kind of person that enables the Sanduskys of the world. This is the sort of thing everyone should be happy to root out – the institutionalized criminal behavior and acceptance of things just to gain wins.
I don't think you want to go there...
….since you have multiple active behavioral problems in program that is about to go on probation.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Nov 26, 2011 8:08 AM PST up reply actions
Having behavioral problems is one thing
Actively protecting said problems or dealing with the problems in a ‘special’ way compared to other people in the town is something else.
Put it this way: Cliff Harris got suspended indefinitely for driving without a seatbelt. Yes, it’s a problem that he’s a fuckup. Yes, I don’t like that we’re getting more kids that seem to have some discipline issues. However, I don’t see a single example of when a kid was allowed to skate because he was playing on the team or given his position got preferential treatment. Masoli wasn’t given a half game suspension – he was kicked off the team. Harris wasn’t given a half-game suspension – he’s effectively disappeared.
Not comparing Sark to Kelly
Sark, so far, has been exemplary in discipline. No arguments.
Jerramy Stevens, as far as I’m aware, did not play for Sark.
Talk about stones in glass houses...
… If that is your criteria, how do you not hate Chip?
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
Chip makes Rick look like...
Mother Theresa!
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Nov 26, 2011 12:21 PM PST up reply actions
Point me to the rapists at Oregon
And I’ll agree with you.
Just show me one example of that kind of behavior – and show me an example of Chip shielding the players from legal pressure. Just one.
You really need convictions?
First, if you haven’t, read this Seattle Times reporrt on Stevens:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004147460_rbstevens270.html
Second, I’ll say it again: this isn’t about the UW. This isn’t about my team being better than your team (I’m a Duck and a Husky and am fans of both teams, not that that matters). This is about hating the kind of insular crap that enables people like Stevens to get off scott-free. And that’s what Neuheisel is.
I read that hack job
Piss-poor reporting, and I’m usually one to defend the press (even when it’s critique of the Huskies).
Trying To Believe -
That we can beat the Cougs. But I do not think or feel good about this upcoming game. If we come out flat again, there will a lot of hand-over-face time tomorrow.
Got some good seats for the game. Am looking forward to being able to tell the PAC-12 refs how shytee they are.
by The Dude 4 Real on Nov 25, 2011 7:32 PM PST reply actions
We have the score....
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Nov 25, 2011 10:30 PM PST up reply actions
Key to the game: Win the coin flip!
I’m being a little sarcastic, but think about it. When we get down early the defense tends to mail in the effort and concentration. Win the coing flip and take it to the house. We need the lead early and keep it so the defense stays charged. If we get behind early, it’s anybodies ballgame (somewhat serious).
All I saw was purple
by crazidawg on Nov 25, 2011 10:43 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Turnaround Time
Let’s get the “W.”
GO Huskies!
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