Define Important...

A million apologies to the Husky Loyal Army for my absence over the last few weeks. The Husky Loyalist has some other things going on in his life, and sometimes the most important thing in life (this blog) needs to be put on the back burner. Alas, here I am, a month later and our Huskies are in a very interesting situation. 6-3 (3-3) with the chance to upset a very good UCLA team on the road. UCLA has been so good, in fact, that despite their back-to-back losses to Stanford and Oregon (remind you of a team we know), they are sitting at #13 in the nation according to the BCS standings. This is a very solid team.

The Bruin defense is led by an outstanding foursome of linebackers which include Anthony Barr, possible All-American, and Bellevue’s own Myles Jack. Jack was a prime target of the Huskies this time last year, and while many thought he would choose the school closest to his home and a program which is on the rebound and ready for big things, instead he chose UCLA. It’s not my place to bring up any kind of Judas comparisons, because that just wouldn’t be fair to the young kid (I guess that technically counts as bringing up a Judas comparison, oops, ah well). Jack has been a great player for the Bruins all season as a Freshman linebacker. So impressive on defense, in fact, that  when UCLA was banged up at the running back position this last weekend they decided to use Jack as a running back for six plays. What did he do? Not much. Oh wait, that’s right, he went off for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns on SIX carries, one of which was on a 66-yarder for a TD.

 Look, I am very happy with the personnel at the University of Washington, we have a solid team with a bright future, but if we are going to start winning Pac-12 North division titles anytime soon we have got to lock down local talent like this guy. Having said all that, I don’t think Jack will be a factor on offense today. Yes, he was effective last week, but it was a gimmick, and we will be ready for it. Plus, even 18-year-old kids slow down after that much playing time on both sides of the ball. I don’t see UCLA pushing Jack into a situation where he ends up not being effective on either side of the ball. That just leaves star QB Brett Hundley. This guy is pretty dangerous as well. He doesn’t line up on the other side of the ball as well like Jack, but he is enough to handle on offense. He has the size and speed of a Marcus Mariotta, but without the weapons around him. I feel like he can either put up monstrous numbers against us, or do nothing at all. Nothing in between that, trust me.

Our defense has really come together this season despite a couple of blips (see fourth quarter against Oregon and not showing up against ASU) and can shut down a good QB like Hundley. Our offense really does seem to be clicking, don’t you think? You know the kind of clicking when you are playing beer pong and the cups look bigger and bigger while the ball gets smaller and smaller, and the girl watching is getting more and more impressed with your ability to not only drain shots but also come up with witty comments like “it’s not how you make the shot, it’s what you do with it when you put it in”. I really like this offensive system the Huskies are playing in and it makes the team as a whole better. It will be tough to get behind those linebackers, but Sark will have something ready for them.

I have mentioned in the past how it appears the Huskies have way too many “direction of the program” games, I am sorry, that’s just where we are at. Sitting at 6-3 when we could or should be 7-2 stings and it has come down to a game like today that tells us whether or not we are close to beating good teams on the road and finishing in the upper echelon of the Pac-12. Lose, and all of a sudden we are looking at a very strong possibility of ANOTHER 7 win regular season, that just can’t happen with this team at this point. Win, and in my eyes it makes up for either the Stanford or Arizona State loss and it gives you the confidence to go into Corvallis next week and finish this season on a 5 game win streak and 9 wins (assuming we beat WSU, I mean, come on). It’s possible. It has to be possible, because that is what Sark and his team have told us.

Expectation and reality have often been adversaries when referring to the Huskies, why can’t we have a season where the expectation of a 8/9 win season plays out? It’s what the players deserve, it’s what the coaches deserve and Dawgfather dammit it is what the fans, the Husky Loyal Army, deserve. Come home in three weeks against Wazzu with something to play for. Show us and the nation we haven’t wasted nights crying with 14 beers around us and cheese dip clinging to the end of our socks while your wife debates whether or not to sleep at her sister’s place. Let us know that all this passion, all of this love for the Huskies, means something. 

Wet, Windy.....Win

If you haven't looked outside today either you are still struggling to get passed that hangover you deserve after partying too much at your high school homecoming game you were too old to go to, or you are like lots of Seattleites who keep the windows closed up until spring when the sun comes back out. Spoiler alert: it is disgusting outside. The Husky Loyal Army from across the country knows this weather, we grew up in it, walked through Red Square on the way to class in it and urinated in an alleyway on a late, Thursday night for the first time in it. This is what we live in. Husky teams practice in this weather and know this weather very well (they also grew up in it, go to class in it and pee in alleyways in it) and are much more prepared than the Arizona Wildcats. We all looked at the forecast and saw heavy rains, strong winds and thought, "The tailgating is going to suck, but atleast our team just increased its home field advantage." And to a certain extent, you are right. This is exactly the kind of thing we need when playing a team who is used to 90 degrees and a dust storm (named a Haboob, yeah, that's right, a Haboob). My biggest issue with a game like today's with this kind of weather is the Husky balance of offense calls for the team to have an effective passing game to free up the running game, or vice versa. Arizona has a STRONG rushing attack led by Ka'Deem Carey. I mean, one of the stronger rushing attacks in college football coming in at 14th in the nation. Arizona has relied on their rushing all season against the worst non-conference lineup I have ever seen (see Northern Arizona, UNLV, and UT-San Antonio). Good offense is good offense, so there is something to worry about there. Contrarily, the Wildcats have one of the worst passing attacks in college football, so they will be running the ball 3 out of 4 plays. What does this mean for UW? Well, for one, if you go back and click the hyperlink that will tell you Arizona is ranked 14th in the nation in rushing, falling just 4 spots below at #18 are the Huskies. We can run. We can run real well. On top of that, we can pass in a multitude of ways that will allow us to spread the field and open the middle up for Bishop Sankey to do what he does. On top of that, the head coach of Arizona is Rich "I now suck" Rodriguez. He does not care about defense. UW is going to run and pass all over it. On defense, the Huskies will get to load the box to dominate that rushing attack led by Carey, and it is starting to look like UW is in good shape.

I made my prediction in the season preview, and I am sticking by it. I would've liked for the weather to be better so we could pad some stats for Keith Price and Sankey, but I will take a lower scoring rout of Arizona and the W; taking UW to 4-0 and a showdown with a likely undefeated, top 5 Stanford. Here is to celebrating tonight with a urination session in an alleyway off of the Ave.

GO DAWGS!!!!!!