Washington's loss to ASU in overtime at home for the second straight week has to be one of the most dissapointing games in recent memory. It was never an artistic masterpiece as the Dawgs never got rolling till the 4th quarter offensively. It featured yet another Husky QB getting knocked out of the game, and another coming in off the bench to do a superb job only to be let down by a big play by ASU in overtime through the air.
Washington tends to play at the level of the opponent they face, that is both good, and bad as we have seen the last four weeks. The first three quarters we just simply couldn't move the ball. You can say that once again we came out flat. Coming out with a higher level than your opponent is a tough lesson to learn for these guys, and it is the main reason we are all sulking around this morning.
What is dissapointing about this losing streak is that the team has performed better than expected this year, much better, but for some reason we haven't been able to finish in the last four games. The reason for it is simple, it is depth, and the lack of a playmaker, or two. Washington's depth seems to drop a bit more each week which makes it hard to pull it out at the end. While paper thin I still admire this team for doing it's best and showing up each week prepared to compete, and win. The losses are tough to take, but I choose to criticize only fate, and the attrition of depth that every football season brings.
I wasn't surprised to see Durocher go in there rather than Locker. The coaches made the right decision, and Johnny did not let us down, in fact he looked pretty damn good out there. This team isn't Jake's legacy, this team belongs to the kids who have been through hell to get here, trying to make the program respectable again.
So anyway as I sit here watching the sun rise this morning I feel dissapointed, a little sad, but not cheated or angry. I feel for the players, and what they are going through right now. We have three games left, and yes, all three are winnable, and yes, I still like our chances.
Tidbits
USC finally went down for the count against OSU yesterday. Like the Huskies they could not lick the Beavers. I guess Potato Salad booster man should have kept his mouth shut about Coach Riley. If the Beavers keep winning I wouldn't be surprised to see him move on to another opportunity.
WSU knocked off UCLA and is quietly having a great season east of the mountains. The 37-15 win on the road shows the Coug's are getting better every week and the offense has finally jelled. Continuity in coaching helps keep that program respectable.
Oregon had little problem with Portland St as expected. It was a romp, and stomp!
Four Pac Ten teams are now bowl eligible, Cal, USC, Oregon, and WSU. OSU, and ASU need only one more win to get a bid. UCLA and Washington both still have a chance, but in the Huskies case 6-6 probably won't be enough to do it, they will need to win out to get to a bowl with all the parity ahead of them.
Texas held off Texas Tech yesterday in a game I thought would be closer than it was. the Longhorns rallied from 21 down to win. Like USC it is just a matter of time till someone knocks them off...I am thinking A&M.
Oklahoma St took it to Nebraska, you have to like that, and Oklahoma extinguished Missouri in a game that never was really close. Opportunity was knocking for Mizzou and they didn't answer the door. Too bad for Coach Pickle.
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In lieu of spending far too much time trying not to curse excessively, I'll just say we had it in our hands and failed. Kudos to JD and Braunstein, but we spent our defense getting to the point where those plays mattered. I was hoping adrenaline would carry them through. It didn't.
I wouldn't call it sulking. For me it's more like steaming. SO...DAMN...CLOSE...
cheers Daviddawg, I think you would have enjoyed this season if for no other reason than the numerous reasons it would have given you to annoy us with your ALLCAPS. John asked on dawgman about embarrassing posts and although there are many of mine to choose from, once I discovered why you did so, mine bitching about it embarrassed me. My dad does the same in emails. I think you'd like the fight in these guys. They've put up with a lot during their careers and for them to still want the games this much speaks well for their characters. SLBOB hasn't changed. I don't remember how you felt about Ty, but he's doing good things. The coaching isn't perfect, but like John says, we're not very deep and you can only do so much before young bodies hit a wall. They hit the wall hard though.
Sorry for the tangent...found something positive and went with it.
RIP Mr. Grant, except for frustrating and exhilirating Dawg Days. We're heading for the latter!
I miss DAVIDDAWG too.
I have to tell you it was really rough for me at the end. I was just stunned and numb. We had guests over at the house so I had to behave myself, but it put a damper on it for me.
This team does have a lot of fight, and I feel they can win the next three games. At least that is what I am going with. We are pretty banged up heading into Oregon, but I think we will get a few guys back so we will be ok.
You can probably tell from your access logs how many times I've tried to post something and rejected the attempt. Most of them read like pages of "Ball Four" with me sounding like Joe Schultz. If you haven't read it, more or less two four letter words easily reversed as far as which one comes first. That and pounding Budweiser...
Oh well, on to Oregon, who are hopefully overconfident. I was hoping they'd be questioning themselves after PSU put up a fight, but they didn't so now I'll hope they've forgotten how to fight.
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