BYU vs. Washington Broadcast
SB Nation — 130-team S&P+ rankings, where Washington’s the next top-tier challenger
Bill Connelly’s S&P+ rankings have elevated the Washington Huskies from No. 7 to No. 5 on the strength of their 35–7 beatdown of the then-ranked BYU Cougars. The Dawgs are effectively in a class of their own among Pac-12 teams, as the next conference teams in the rankings are the USC Trojans at No. 28 and the Stanford Cardinal at No. 31.
The Seattle Times — What we learned from the UW Huskies’ 35-7 victory over BYU
Adam Jude examines the lessons we learned about the Dawgs from their dominant performance Saturday. His key takeaways include the continued improvement of Jake Browning and the Huskies defense, Salvon Ahmed’s electric playmaking potential, and questions about whether the Dawgs are still the favorite to win the Pac-12 North.
The Athletic — Final thoughts from Washington’s 35-7 rout of BYU
Christian Caple came away from Saturday saying that aside from a new nitpicks, UW’s special teams play being one of them, the Huskies played exceptionally well Saturday. In particular, he singles out Washington’s stellar defense, the emergence of Cade Otton and Drew Sample at the tight end position, and UW’s dominance of a ranked opponent.
The Athletic — ‘I like sneaking up on people’: Doubt, authenticity fuel Washington AD Cohen
Jayson Jenks has a wonderful profile up this morning of UW athletic director Jen Cohen that illustrates in glowing detail the singular challenges she faces as a woman in a position dominated almost exclusively by men:
“I can handle the coach’s wife more than the player’s mom, even though I’m old enough to have a kid that age,” Cohen, 49, said. “I’m like, ‘WHAT?!? ME!?!’ I’m all pissed. Happens all the time.” One guy walked into a suite and asked if she could point out Washington’s athletic director. Another asked her to get him ice cream. When she traveled with the baseball team to Ole Miss, the NCAA rep called her the coach’s secretary.
The whole article is worth your time, and I encourage you to read it from start to finish.
Sports Illustrated — The Recruiting Prize Every Title Contender Covets? A Quarterback Willing to Wait
After Kelly Bryant decided to transfer and retain his 2018 redshirt eligibility, Clemson faced a nightmare scenario Saturday when true freshman Trevor Lawrence had to leave the game versus Syracuse due to an apparent concussion, and Chase Brice — who just one week ago was buried down Clemson’s depth chart as the third-stringer — was forced into action late in the second quarter, down nine points against the visiting Orange. Andy Staples uses Brice’s example to illustrate how in today’s transfer-happy culture, there’s oftentimes no more important player than a talented backup quarterback with the patience to wait his turn:
Clemson players and coaches had no choice but to believe in Brice, who was only in that situation because he believed in himself. He might have been an heir apparent at Arizona State or Michigan State, but he chose instead to fight it out with the five-stars at Clemson. In the process, he became the player that every national title contender needs—the less touted quarterback who chooses a school because he likes the school and not because he expects to play right away. Sometimes, those guys end up saving seasons. Sometimes, they also become stars.
Dots
- The Washington volleyball team dropped its first conference match of the season to the visiting Utah Utes.
- The BYU Husky Honks postgame show is worth a listen if you haven’t heard it already.
- Washington remains at No. 12 in the USA Today weekly re-rank.
- The Huskies remain in George Schroeder’s “A Few More After That” category of College Football playoff contenders:
Washington – Blowing out a ranked BYU team (which, you might recall, popped Wisconsin) is a credibility-builder for a team (and a league) that needs it.
Also included in that category are the Oregon Ducks, who are on bye this week before the Dawgs head to Autzen Stadium on Oct. 13.
- Check out the week five recap episodes of The Solid Verbal and Podcast Ain’t Played Nobody.
Since 2016 only 4 programs have been ranked every single week (38 straight appearances):
— WestCoastCFB (@WestcoastCfb) October 1, 2018
Washington
Alabama
Ohio State
Clemson