Getting on the Bandwagon

Local journalists seem to have jumped on the bandwagon as Art Thiel, Steve Kelley, and Jim Moore all wrote positive articles this week after the UCLA win. The reporters also seem to be feeling good as Condotta, and Yanity are positive as well. Will have to wait till the end of the week for their predictions on the Arizona game. Bud Withers of the Times voted UCLA #25 in the AP while not also giving a vote to the Huskies. I don't think the Huskies deserve a ranking at this point, but what is the logic concerning UCLA?

On the Net AAndy's weekly Meanderings post on Dawgman was downright giddy as he backed off his 4 win prediction and suggested that the team had a really good chance to win as many as eight games! Look for Race Bannon to jump on as well. Since both these guys follow every move the team makes it isn't exactly fair to say they are jumping on the bandwagon...I would say they are just going to be more pleasant to drive with.

The excellent staff at Dawgman didn't exactly feel this would happen going into the Fall, and I think it is more of a case that it is one thing to eat the sausage, but a whole differnet thing to watch it getting made. I am sure they get to close to the sausage machine.

People are actually declaring that this team has turned the corner, and Ty feel the turning point was last year in the second half against Arizona. I have to agree since the team is 4-2 since then which represents a high point. A win this week in Tucson should leave the Husky nation feeling pretty giddy going into L.A. 4-1 to face USC on the road.

As I said in my last post, we should beat Arizona. They are going to be fired up, they feel it is a must win game for them. I am sure when they looked at the schedule to begin the year Washington was circled as a probable win. They are going to want some revenge for the whooping we put on them last year. Still, if we can score three TD's it should be more than enough to win.

No TV this week so the radio is the only option if you aren't flying to Tucson. We will be on the tube for USC.

Announcements were made today regarding the roster and Hasty, and Mason are in while Palmer is enrolled in a local CC trying to get his credits in order for Winter Quarter. Chancellor Young is gone. Mason will redshirt this year, Hasty will lose a year but can practice, and Palmer will have two left to play if he gets in this Winter.

A couple of things going for us so far

No major injuries....a few guys have been banged up, but all will be available in the short term. On a team with limited depth this is a big plus as we head into the meat of conference.

DB's are jelling.....we took away a lot of stuff from UCLA last week as the game went on, and I was surprised that they didn't try to attack us long. The play from the DB's, especially Wallace who is playing at an AA level is fun to watch, each week these guys get better as a unit.

Offensive Line....The Achiles heal has been consistent so far health wise, and performance wise. Run blocking is still a concern after a strong start, but the shot gun spread is giving IS a lot more time to create whether he is passing, handing off, or running. All five starters have played every single down this year.

The crowd....The stadium isn't full, but it has been far from empty, and they have been loud which has helped the team so far this season. If you win, they will come, and they will yell.

IS....He has had a few rough quarters, but overall he is improved over last year with last Saturdays second half being one of his best. The Pac Ten knows that to beat UW you need to make him pass, and take away the run, so they are going to keep doing it till he starts burning them long. We need to stretch the field a little more.

Defense....Guy's like Mateaki, White, and Ala are having excellent senior seasons. Gunheim is rounding into stride as we saw when he chased down the ount returner. We are getting better pressure off the edges, and the Roy Lewis Corner Blitz sack was fun to watch. The increased speed at LB is showing, and Taj has been solid in the middle. This is a group that is jelling, they shut down UCLA in the second half, and kept UW in the game during the first by forcing FG's rather than giving up TD's.

Leadership at WR....Shackleford and Russo have had great starts. Sonny had a career day against UCLA. Reese was absent last week while Ellis got some reps. Williams still hasn't done anything incredible, while Quinton Daniels, and Marlon Woods are getting more involved each week. We didn't expect Reese to really catch on till mid season even though he has had some good catches. There are some guys ahead of him who have been here for awhile who have really put in the time and effort to improve. I only counted one drop last week, and it wasn't exactly the easiest pass to catch.