Hard to believe but game week is here once again as the Huskies prepare to open the season on Saturday night against San Diego State at Century Link Field in downtown Seattle.
Season four of the Steve Sarkisian era features a young talented team led by one of the better QB's that we have ever seen wearing purple and the gold.
Keith Price enters the season as one of the best QB's in the country. How he plays over the next twelve games will play a big part in determining how far this team will go this season.
Price is a point guard out on the field...a true playmaker who makes things happen instantaneously on every play. He isn't the most physically impressive kid that we have ever seen at the position but he is an exceptional artist who is absolutely in tune with the other ten guys he is playing with.
Keith Price is the straw the stirs the drink and observers who have been fortunate to watch practices during the pre season are telling me that he has improved in about every area of his game. If the offensive line can protect him and keep him healthy we expect big things from Keith Price in 2012.
Defensively Washington has struggled on defense for the better part of a decade. They gave up a whopping 67 points to Baylor in the Alamo Bowl. That resulted in most of the defensive staff getting fired soon after the game. Sark hired DC Justin Wilcox, LBC Peter Sirmon, DLC Tosh Lupoi, and DBC Keith Heyward to help remedy the problem.
The early returns in practice have been promising so far. The defensive coaches seem to have more depth and talent to work with than their predecessors. They also seem more in touch with putting that talent in the right places than the old staff. That being said we really won't know if that is true until they get a couple of games under their collective belts.
The Huskies are favored by at least a couple touchdowns over San Diego State but the Aztecs aren't exactly a pushover. There is talent on that squad and head coach Rocky Long who was at New Mexico for years is one of the better coaches in the region.
Former OSU QB Ryan Katz will be making his debut at QB for the Aztecs. He transferred to SDSU after losing his starting job at OSU early last season. Katz is a quality QB who reminded quite a few people of Jake Locker when he arrived in Corvallis four years ago.
The key to winning this game and having a successful season is for the Husky defense to show dramatic improvement starting in game one. They need to show that they can shut down Katz and SDSU because over the next six weeks they will play games against four schools who could be playing for all the marbles at the end of the season.
Playing LSU, USC, Oregon, and Stanford over the first six weeks of the season is pretty brutal and most of the experts feel that the Huskies will start the season 2-4.
As Lee Corso says...not so fast...I expect Washington to be competitive in all four of those games. I expect the Huskies to be competitive enough to still have a chance to win those games in the fourth quarter.
I think our offense can score on anyone. The key to success is for our defense to make enough stops to let the offense win the game.
Direct TV
As we enter Monday morning of game week there is still no agreement between Direct TV and the conference to carry the Pac 12 Network which is bad news for those of us living East of the Rocky Mountains. Jon Wilner said late last week that a deal will be made and that the two sides are pretty close to making it happen.
Bud Withers of the Seattle Times contradicts that. Pac 12 network president Gary Stevenson was quoted by Withers as saying: "I wouldn't characterize it as close or imminent." That isn't what we all want to hear but I still think they get a deal done by Thursday.
How quickly can the Pac 12 Network be on Direct TV after a deal is made? From what I have been told it would only take 3-4 hours to get the feed in place.
Where can you watch the game if you can't get it on your TV?
The UW Alumni Association has published a list of sports bar locations across the country where you will be able to view the game in the company of other local Husky fans.
(Check out the list after the jump)
Viewing Party LocationsNote: Locations noted below as "All televised games" will show all games picked up for broadcast. We'll try to keep this page updated as more games are added, but check with your local contact or see the GoHuskies.com schedule page for the latest updates.
Alaska
Anchorage, AK
When: 9/8 vs. LSU, 11/23 vs. WSU
Where: Buffalo Wild Wings, 3400 C Street, Anchorage, AK 99503 (map)
More information: Garrett Parks, parks.garrett@gmail.com
Arizona
Phoenix, AZ
When: All televised games
Where: The Skeptical Chymist, 15688 North Pima Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 (map)
More information:Heather Wilde, wilde.heather@gmail.com
California
Los Angeles, CA
When: All televised games
Where: Sharkeez Manhattan Beach, 3600 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 (map)
More information: Steve Vo, svo@uw.edu
Orange County, CA
When: All televised games
Where: Silky Sullivans, 10201 Slater Ave., Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (map)
More information:Ray Price, rprice@trendoffset.com
Palm Springs, CA
When: All televised games
Where: Crab Pot, 70030 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 (map)
More information: Gerard Gonzales, Gerard@albertmgt.com
Palo Alto, CA
When: 9/1 vs. SDSU, 9/8 vs. LSU, 9/27 vs. Stanford, 10/6 vs. Oregon , 10/13 vs. USC, 10/20 vs. Arizona, 10/27 vs. OSU, 11/10 vs. Utah, 11/17 vs. Colorado, 11/23 vs. WSU
Where: Old Pro, 541 Ramona St., Palo Alto, CA 94301 (map)
More information: Andy Liao, al3935@yahoo.com
San Diego, CA
When: 9/1 vs. SDSU
Where: Pacific Beach Bar & Grill, 860 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109 (map)
More information: Don Sciascia, sdhuskies@yahoo.com
When: 9/8 vs. LSU
Where: Guava Beach Bar & Grill, 3714 Mission Blvd., Mission Beach, CA 92109 (map)
More information: Don Sciascia, sdhuskies@yahoo.com
San Francisco, CA
When: 9/1 vs. SDSU, 9/15 vs. Portland State , 9/27 vs. Stanford, 10/6 vs. Oregon , 10/13 vs. USC, 10/20 vs. Arizona, 10/27 vs. OSU, 11/10 vs. Utah, 11/17 vs. Colorado, 11/23 vs. WSU
Where: Lightning Tavern, 1875 Union Street, San Francisco, CA 94123 (map
More information: Michael Bo-Linn, mbolinn@gmail.com, Sam Selby selbysh@gmail.com.
Colorado
Denver, CO
When: All televised games
Where: Blake Street Tavern, 2401 Blake Street, Denver, CO 80205 (map)
More information: Michael Wong, rockymtnhuskies@gmail.com
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Two different locations!
When: All televised games
NoVa: Crystal City Sports Pub, 529 S. 23rd Street, Arlington, VA 22202 (map)
Washington: Lou's City Bar, 1400 Irving Street, N.W., Washington D.C., 20009 (map)
More information: Alexis Babcock and Ryon Lane, dcdawgs@uw.edu,
Illinois
Chicago, IL
When: All televised games
Where: Game Keepers, 345 W. Armitage Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614-4710 (map)
More information: Ryan Priest, rmpriest13@gmail.com
Nebraska
Omaha, NE
When: 9/15 vs. PSU, 9/27 vs. Stanford, 11/2 vs. CAL, 11/23 vs. WSU
Where: Fox and Hound (Western Crossing Shipping Center), 506 N 120th St., Omaha, NE 68154 (map)
More information: Mellissa Maday, melis35@hotmail.com
Nevada
Las Vegas, NV
When: All televised games
Where: Jackson's Bar and Grill, 6020 W. Flamingo Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89103 (map)
More information: Troy Anderson, supert1980@hotmail.com
Reno, NV
When: 10/6 vs. Oregon, 10/27 vs. OSU
Where: Sully's Sports Bar, 13101 South Virginia St., Reno, NV 89511 (map)
More information: Austin Sweet, sweet.austin@gmail.com
New York
New York, NY
When: All televised games
Where: Feile, 131 West 33rd St., New York, NY (map)
More information: Colin Trovato, ctrovato@gmail.com and Jim Beebe, jamesmbeebe@gmail.com
Oregon
Portland, OR
When: All televised games
Where: Macadam's Bar and Grill, 5833 SW Macadam Ave., Portland, OR 97239 (map)
More information: Ty Okamura, tyece.okamura@gmail.com
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
When: All televised games
Where: Cavanaugh's, 199 South 39th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104 (map)
More information: Dustin Shiling, dustinje@mail.med.upenn.edu
Texas
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
When: 9/8 vs. LSU, 9/27 vs. Stanford, 10/6 vs. Oregon, 10/13 vs. USC, 10/20 vs. Arizona, 10/27 vs. OSU, 11/2 vs. CAL, 11/10 vs. Utah, 11/17 vs. Colorado, 11/23 vs. WSU
Where: Humperdinks, 3820 Belt Line Rd., Addison, TX 75001 (map)
More information: Wes Wheeler, wrwhusky@yahoo.com
San Antonio, TX
When: All televised games
Where: Lion and Rose Club, 700 E. Sonterra Blvd. #318, San Antonio, TX 78258 (map)
More information: Cindy Comfort, cindylcomfort@yahoo.com
Washington
Bothell, WA
When: 9/8 vs. LSU
Where: Dub Pub, 11516 124th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98033 (map)
More information: Sean Marsh, smarsh@uwb.edu
Seattle
When: All televised away games
Where: Jillian's, 731 Westlake Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98109 (map)
More information: Kevin Cavanah, kevinc25@uw.edu
Spokane, WA
When: 9/8 vs. LSU, 10/6 vs. Oregon, 11/2 vs. CAL
Where: CI Shenanigans, 332 N Spokane Falls Ct., Spokane, WA (map)
More information: Dan Johnson, daniel-johnson@juno.com