Monday Dots: Vikings Raided

They burned down the gambling house

It died with an awful sound

Funky Claude was running in and out

He was pulling kids out the Dots

• In his post-game notebook, Mike Vorel looks at Richard Newton, who returned from an ACL injury with his trademark bludgeoning style in full effect. Newton adds crucial depth and physicality to a running game that looked significantly better in week two. Vorel also gives updates on other injured players and when we can expect to see them back.

• In a separate piece, Vorel profiles the bond between Jalen McMillan and his late grandfather. Herl McMillan, who was an inspiration and major part of his grandson’s life, passed away in August after a battle with two forms of cancer. Saturday’s dominant performance by Jalen will go down as a fitting tribute.

• Larry Stone examines the trajectory of the Husky program through the first two weeks of the Deboer era. Given the massive improvement in QB play from Michael Penix, Stone believes the Huskies have a chance to have a special season. Of course, the real proving ground will be next week against a very strong Michigan State team.

• Christian Caple has his own takeaways from the PSU drubbing for The Athletic. Caple focuses on some of the offensive fireworks, including a much improved run game and the first game with two 100-yard receivers since John Ross and Dante Pettis in 2016. Of course, Caple also mentions that the secondary, minus Jordan Perryman, continued to provide more questions than answers even though the defensive line didn’t let Dante Chachere get comfortable enough to find his open receivers.

• If you’re interested in learning more about Michigan State, our brethren at The Only Colors have tons of content to get you ready. Here is a recap of their 52-0 win over lowly Akron over the weekend, and here is a summary of coach Mel Tucker’s comments after the game.

• Dawgman provides some post-game quotes from a few of the Husky stars of the game. Notably, the unstoppable force that was Bralen Trice was more hard on himself than proud after a dominant performance.

Not sports related, but worth it.