Dots: College Gameday for Week 1 is set

It’s Monday. That means Dots.

Just like most days, in fact.

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Shunned again.

The opening weekend game that pits #6 Washington versus #10 Auburn on a “neutral” field in Atlanta is the only opening weekend game that matches two top 10 teams. Normally a draw like this is a perfect situation for an ESPN Gameday location.

Not so fast, my friends.

In fairness, ESPN is looking to celebrate GameDay’s 25th anniversary and going back to the site of its first broadcast has a certain appeal. Covering a legendary rivalry is also not a bad thing.

But ESPN is missing an opportunity to set up the season with an in-depth look at two conferences seemingly on opposite sides of the Power 5 continuum. Let’s be honest here: there is only so much rehashing of Rudy stories, Gipper quips, and Schembechler anecdotes that any college football fan can handle in their lifetime before nausea sets in.

The fact of the matter is that GameDay is missing out on hosting interesting debates on things like the merit of 8- versus 9-game conference scheduling, the SEC’s unwillingness to take a game outside of their time zone, and the widening gap between the PAC 12 and others when it comes to financing.

There is a lot of meat on the bone there that is being wasted just so we can see Lee Corso put on his leprechaun outfit.

What a waste.

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Day 3 is in the books.

Adam Jude’s practice reports are heavy on highlights but light on details regarding things like schemes, rotations and appearances.

The guys at Dawgman.com are a little light on highlights, but heavier on the analysis. ($$$)

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Saved his soul.

Larry Stone put up a nice piece over the weekend. Taking advantage of the attention being put on Urban Meyer given his apparent struggles with, at best, lapses in judgement and, at worst, unethical behavior, Stone addresses the Chris Petersen approach to coaching and to managing his program.

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Catching on.

Are the UW receivers being overlooked this season? The UW Daily takes a look.

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Was he this good at football?

Former UW tight end and current pop culture celebrity Joel McHale threw out the first pitch at a Mariners game this weekend. The form looks pretty good. I wonder if he ever got a look at QB?

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The view from down south.

It is always fun to read about what our colleagues in other conferences think of the PAC. Our friends at Shaking the Southland (Clemson fan blog) posted their preview of the PAC and, needless to say, they like them some Dawgs.

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Listen Up, Dawgs.

Our friends over at the DawgPod put out their latest effort last week. It is a full rundown of the PAC 12 North and is interspersed with some interesting dialogue concerning things like the Zone, Stanford coaching, and Chip Kelly’s return to Eugene this season. Fun stuff for a morning commute.

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Strugglin’ Scott.

Awful Announcing posted a decent deep dive into the ongoing woes of the PAC 12 Network and Commissioner Larry Scott as they break down the current situation as it has been reported by Jon Wilner and others.

This topic warrants more analysis (classic foreshadowing) but, needless to say, is starting to evolve into an urgent situation. Every business has to understand when a failure to produce is a lack of execution of a poor strategy. With every day that goes by, it appears more the latter than the former.

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Public Service Announcement for PSA’s

I don’t tweet at recruits. I don’t Facebook them. I don’t email them. I don’t text, call, or page them. But I would be remiss if I didn’t at least post this reminder as to what it playing football at UW is all about. #GreatestSetting

Thanks to Shelby Newton for such a great shot.