Dot...Dot...Dawg (Movin' On Edition)

Jackson knew that something was amiss.  He had done what he always did when sitting before this plate:  a dash of pepper, a few turns of the fork and a scoop of peas with the first bite.  But the smell was off and the taste was more "Milano" than "Napoli".  His look of dismay betrayed his sense of self preservation as his father stiffened.  "Yeah, I made 'em my own way.  So shut up and eat your Dots, kid."

That's how I feel today

Dots - the other white meat

• Christian Caple has the beat report of the day with the observation that Steve Sarkisian has some plays that he'd like a do-over on from last weekend's loss to Oregon.


• Jack and I debated the positives and the negatives coming out of the weekend over at Pacific Takes.


• One of the things that has been debated here in the 'Pound the past few days was whether or not the Huskies played well and lost or played poorly and got crushed.  John McGrath makes the argument for the former and points out the phenomenal performance of Marcus Mariota as the difference.


• As the page turns, Tim Booth points out that the Huskies, still ranked, are now putting their attention towards a second half rebound following two physically draining losses.


• Bishop Sankey was a clear "bright spot" coming out of the Oregon game.  In fact, Bishop had over 160 yards rushing through three quarters, but only got one more carry for the entirety of the fourth quarter.  Bad strategy?  Perhaps.  Regardless, Bishop was noted by CBS as a player who saw his NFL draft prospects rise last weekend.


• ESPN did their midseason All-American list, and the Pac 12 is well represented including a certain Husky running back.  Frustratingly, a certain candidate that we all expected to see on this list is nowhere to be found (time to work on that Coach Sark).  Kevin Gemmell has some commentary on his blog.


• Paul Myerberg at USA Today (he is excellent, by the way) also had Sankey in his mid-season All-American team.  Note that Lache Seastrunk is also on this list.  Could you imagine the Ducks last weekend if they had also had Colt Lyerla and Lache Seastrunk?  Hay-zeus
  

  My midseason AA team: QB Mariota; RBs Seastrunk, Sankey; WRs M. Evans, Cooks; TE Amaro; OL Matthews, Richardson, Ikard, Su'aFilo, Kouandjio.

  — Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) October 15, 2013



• Also from the ESPN Pac 12 Blog is a mid-season report for the Huskies.


• Our friends at House of Sparky have a comprehensive "first look" at the Huskies from an ASU point of view.


• The DC for the Sun Devils, Paul Randolph, did a Q&A with a local beat reporter and touches on the challenges he is facing as he prepares for the Husky offensive attack this weekend.


• The success of both Gary Pinkel and Nick Saban over the first half of the season has inevitably led to some examination of their common relationship with Coach Don James.  Given the Dawgfather's recent health struggles, his name has come up in various outlets.  In fact, it was really nice to hear Lee Corso's kind words for Coach James during last weekend's ESPN Gameday.  Brock Huard recently asked a question to Nick Saban and tweeted his response:
  

  Nick Saban just asked me about Coach James. He said quote "I wouldn't be a coach today without Coach James. He is why I am here."#Dawgfather

  — Brock Huard (@BrockESPN) October 12, 2013

Other Dots

• With the NBA season nearly upon us, lots of Husky alum are popping up in various preview articles.  Here is a nice look at the season ahead for young Terrence Ross.


• The Huskies Men's Soccer Team is making some noise and is in the hunt for an elusive conference title.  This piece was written before the game against Oregon State, which the Huskies won 1-0 on a goal by Cristian Roldan.


• The Women's Volleyball team is also trying to get the big 'mo back and a sweep over the ASU Sun Devils is a good place to start.

Question of the Day

It's been coming up in various circles, so let's hash it out here.  Is this weekend's game against ASU a must win for Steve Sarkisian and his Dawgs?  I'm going with "no" ... but I'm guessing I'll be in the minority here.