Morning Husky Links: Washington Husky Football Improves to 5-0

A non-Washington Huskies sports note first: We all woke up today to the horrifying news of the Las Vegas shooting last night that left more than 50 dead and 500 injured. On behalf of all of us at UW Dawg Pound, we hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy, and we share in the grief of those whose lives have been ripped apart by this act of senseless violence. If any of you are affected by this tragedy, please reach out to me, Chris or Jeff via email or Twitter. We are a community of Washington grads and fans, and communities come together in times of need. Please don’t be strangers, and stay safe.

Now, your morning dots.

• The weekend’s big development, of course, was Washington’s improving to 5-0 thanks to their decisive 42-7 win over the Oregon State Beavers. Despite the final score, Washington didn’t earn much in the way of style points among the national media types, as they went into halftime with just a 7-0 lead over an OSU squad that claims college football’s 128th-ranked scoring defense. The Huskies are one of just three teams in America that claim a top-10 scoring offense and scoring defense — the others being the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Central Florida Knights — but thanks to first-half struggles against weak teams like Rutgers and Oregon State as well as their possession of one of America’s most unimpressive slates of non-conference opponents, the Huskies are setting themselves up to be last among equals in the eyes of the College Football Playoff selection committee.
• A replay of the Washington vs. Oregon State game is up on YouTube (enjoy it before the copyright gremlins take it down!), and we collected the best highlights of the contest for your viewing pleasure.
• Percy Allen offers his first look at the upcoming Washington vs. California Golden Bears game Saturday, which will mark Justin Wilcox’s first time at Husky Stadium since serving as the Dawgs’ defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2013. I imagine he’s practically salivating at the thought of his return trip.
• Our own Chris Landon posted a superbly argued takedown of Heather Dinich’s ranking of the Pac-12 as the least impressive of the Power Five conferences.
• Washington and the Washington State Cougars sit atop the ESPN Pac-12 Blog power rankings. That’s an arrangement I would love to see stay the same all the way until the Apple Cup.
• Paul Myerberg thinks the Cougs are a better team than the Huskies. So does Bruce Feldman.
• Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert is reportedly out of action for four to six weeks after suffering a broken collarbone on his non-throwing shoulder. Let’s put aside our hatred of all things UO for the moment and wish Justin a speedy and healthy recovery.
• And finally, nobody gives fewer effs than Jay Cutler.