We be bowlin'...

The Huskies finished the season 7-5, good enough to land into the bowl madness that comes about each December and January. No, we aren't playing on New Year's Day or even the weekend leading up to what used to be considered the greatest day for college football each year. But, considering the meltdown that occurred in Pullman this year, heading off to Vegas playing against a ranked Boise State team is not half-bad.

No words to describe

This is the most challenging and depressing blog post to date, and could be one of the toughest I will ever have to do. There are not many words to describe how it feels three days after one of the most frustrating and embarrassing losses these Huskies have ever seen. High expectations, heavy mismatch, overwhelming momentum, a blown lead and much more describe what could have been and what ended up not being. As a longtime UW fan I have gotten used to disappointment, it kind of comes with the territory and is what makes Husky fans who they are (which is very special). But this one seems tougher for a lot more reasons than "we should have beat our rival". What hurts so bad is looking at what this season could have represented. Eight, maybe nine, wins, a decent bowl game, great play from a backup running back, a complete 180 from our defense, hype and momentum going into next year and, finally, something to be proud of. What do we have now? Seven wins, maybe eight, likely against Navy in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, a loss to the G-D Cougars, a fire brewing underneath Coach Sark's seat as head coach, possible recruiting setbacks and a bunch of angry fans. Not exactly what we were hoping for heading into our new digs on Montlake next season.

Leave it to the Beavers

Monday morning over the last few years has been reserved to looking back over the weekend and thinking about what could have been. You wake up and think about our beloved Huskies losing another game they could have and should have won, and then get hit below the belt by remembering that the next day, Sunday, the Seahawks would lose another close game. This has been the life of the Seattle sports fan for quite some time. But look at us now. Monday morning you woke up in your Husky pajamas, looked at your UW alarm clock and dried off in your Harry the Husky bath towel thinking, "We just beat a very good Oregon State team that was ranked #7 in the country!!! Who cares if the Hawks lost, they'll be alright because they are pretty darn good football team, too." You then walked over to your sink and picked up your toothbrush that has a UW logo on it, and while brushing came to this realization, "The Huskies are 4-4 after a really tough first 8 games, and things are looking pretty good from here. Might we sneak back into the Alamo Bowl despite losing three weeks in a row? Yes we can! Yes we can!" After eating breakfast you decide it just seems like one of those work days where a traditional tie is not going to do it, so you pull out that tie that is either purple with gold stripes, or the one that has the huge UW logo in the middle of it. Why are you wearing that today? Because we are proud of our team that played so well on Saturday and you want to show the world that you are a Husky fan, a proud Husky fan, and you are LOYAL to these dawgs.

How we beat the Beavs? It's on the fans

Need all the help we can get tomorrow against the Beavers. Oregon State comes into tomorrow's game inexplicably ranked #7 in the latest BCS rankings after starting the season 6-0. Quite possibly the biggest surprise of this college football season, the Beavers have remained unbeaten after hosting Wisconsin and beating BYU on the road in Provo. A win on the road against Arizona has looked good or bad depending on the week, and that's about it for big wins. Outside of those three wins, this team may be the most overrated of any team in the country. In fact, if you measure this team up against any other in the top 10, you would have to wonder why Oregon State is even there to begin with. Yes, going 6-0 is not an easy thing, even with Oregon State's relatively easy early slate. The real test, I think, begins with UW at the CLink tomorrow. Last time the Beavers came into Husky territory it left Husky Stadium with its tail between its legs after failing to convert a two point conversion, unnecessarily, in overtime.

Bear Down? Hopefully Not.

Before the season started Husky fans looked at the Stanford game as the most important game in determining how far this program has come along since the days of Keith Gilbertson and his run-run-pass-punt offense and the disappointing days of Tyrone "Coach Rone" Willingham. Halfway through the season the Huskies are 3-3, and, on paper, just about where people thought they would be. However, if you've watched every game, you know that this team should be better than the record would indicate, and the potential for success has not been achieved in any way conceivable, minus the Stanford game. UW beat Stanford, a win that fans thought at the beginning of the season meant this team is on its way back. But after a bad loss at Oregon and a disappointing performance against USC at "home", we Husky fans are scrambling a little bit.