Grading the Game - LSU

This is what you call domination. Washington faced the best defense in the country and didn't measure up very well. LSU held Washington's high powered offense to only 170 total yards and three points. I didn't expect a victory but I did expect a couple of TD's to go along with that FG to help keep things interesting.

This loss is all on the offense and not the defense even though they allowed 437 yards and 41 points. You can't keep your defense on the field all night in hot and humid environment and expect a different result. Sure I saw a couple of blown coverages but overall these guys are much better than they were in previous years.

LSU is simply a lot better than Washington is right now. This was a bad match-up. They have a lot more talent, experience, size, and depth all the way across the roster. That is why I truly believe they have what it takes to make it back to the national championship game again this season.

For those saying Sark needs to win a PAC-12 by next season, then you better fire him now. This team is no where near that level. Period. Anyone saying "5 years is the normal time it takes to produce a conference champion" doesn't understand this situation. We were not a 7 win type team before Sark took over. We were winless, we had won 18 games the 6 seasons prior. UW in 2009 was the same to me as a very nice, old elegant house which was destroyed by a hurricane, then caught fire and a few pieces of the foundation were left. It takes time to build it back.

Dave Samek "The Dawgman"

Quarterback - This was the second consecutive sub par performance in a row for Keith Price. To be fair he was running for his life most of the night and his receivers had a real difficult time getting open. When they did get open they dropped the ball way too many times. I counted five drops in the first quarter which is amazing. I think those early drops took a real toll and knocked his confidence level down a couple of pegs. I think if he gets seven points on that first drive the team offense settles down and he plays better. Mechanically Keith's biggest problem last night was simply getting his feet set which was a product of being chased around the backfield. He played too tight for the second week in a row. He needs to relax out there and have some fun. Grade D

Running Backs - The Huskies were unable to run the ball on LSU's front seven. You could say that the blocking wasn't there but also absent was the second and third efforts we took for granted when Chris Polk was here. Bishop Sankey isn't impressing me right now. He isn't keeping those legs pumping. He isn't giving me that power wiggle. Dezden Petty made his debut and was pretty much stuffed. For the second week in a row I saw a spark in Erich Wilson. I am sure the coaches will notice that spark in the game film and start giving him more carries. We really miss the Jessie Callier...get well soon Jessie! Grade F

Wide Receivers - Dropped balls...missed blocks...failures to get open...that pretty much sums up the efforts of this not ready for prime time group. They really miss the leadership and experience that James Johnson could have provided. Jaydon Mickens left with a sprained toe...look for him to rest next week. I would really like to see what Kasen Williams could do if he got the ball in space. When is Kasen going to blow me away again? Kevin Smith had four catches and seems to be returning to form. That will be big for upcoming games. He was shook up on a tackle but the coaches say he is fine. We miss Kearse and Aguilar a lot more than I thought we would. Grade D

Tight Ends - ASJ gave UW their only offensive mismatch against the Tigers. LSU responded by jamming, chopping, and double teaming him the entire night. He still had six catches for 51 yards but he never came close to breaking the big one or converting in the red zone. I would have utilized Hartvigson more but I imagine his role was more blocking last night after Kohler was injured. Grade B minus

Offensive Line - James Atoe and Mike Criste were obviously overmatched playing against a NFL caliber defensive line. Micah Hatchie needs to get a lot better. He completely missed one block that resulted in Keith Price getting pounded into the ozone. The early loss of Erik Kohler was big. He dislocated his knee cap again which means that it is becoming a chronic problem. He won't play next week but he should be ready for Stanford. Colin Tanigawa is our best linemen. He continues to show nasty on every play. This line doesn't communicate very well with each other. Grade D

Defensive Line - I thought these guys played well. Danny Shelton was all over the field and continues to move well sideline to sideline. Semisi Tokolahi seems to be close to where he used to be we could have used more of him earlier. Talia Crichton has made some progress and is playing better. I like the flexibility of Andrew Hudson who is playing well inside and out. They gave up 242 rushing yards but they were out there on the field a long time last night. Grade C

Linebackers - John Timu may have lost his starting job last night to Thomas Tutogi. Timu looks better getting off the bus but Tutogi takes better angles and wraps up better. Travis Feeney left early with what appeared to be a dislocated shoulder. Grade D

Defensive Backs - I love the aggressive play of our corners.Tre Watson was robbed by the SEC refs on the 70 yard fumble return that was called back. Sean Parker continues to emerge. Shaq keeps getting better with each repetition. How come we haven't seen James Sample in the first two games? Glenn and Shamburger both played a lot last night. Why aren't our safeties taking better angles to the ball? Was LSU that much faster? These guys are flashing some talent but they can play a lot better than they did last night. - Grade C

Special Teams - Travis Coons hit a FG and did a nice job with most of his kickoffs. Korey Durkee is hurting this team. He needs to get a lot better. I think last night helped him because he got a lot of reps in a hostile environment. That will help any freshmen grow. Our kick coverage was good and we picked up a fumble caused by a good hit on the first play of the game that ended up resulting in three points. The return game is non-existent...they need to work on that. Grade C

Coaching - I don't know what Sark could have called to make the offense run better. After the Huskies dropped five passes in the first quarter the wheels came off early. One thing I would like to see him do is stretch the field earlier in the game to help out the running game. Defensively I thought Wilcox called a good game but there were still some glaring mental mistakes that led to some big LSU plays that were simply unacceptable from a veteran secondary. The Huskies had eleven penalties last night. That is way too many and it shows that overall preparation could have been better. Seven quarters without an offensive TD tells you all you need to know abou this team right now. Grade F

Scott Woodward - Playing in big games is part of the allure of playing for Washington but most of us shook our heads when Woody and Emmert had the gall to schedule this series. To me it was all about scheduling two automatic losses for a fragile program that was rebuilding itself in exchange for being able to schedule a couple of tailgate weekends with old friends on a home and home basis. Will Washington be able to bounce back and recover from this or will this loss be the beginning of a tailspin? Grade Incomplete