The Monday Morning Wash

The head of Pac Ten officiating has announced that there were no errors made in the last seconds of the game, and the fake field goal was perfectly legal after reviewing the films. Washington also decided not to lodge a formal protest, but even though they aren't exactly happy, they are just going with Ty's regular weekly report that is submitted to the league office on officiating. That is what is called taking the high road.

"I see nothing wrong with either of those two plays," said Pac Ten head of officials Verle Sorgen Sunday who was wearing a green, and yellow Nike leisure suit. "I consulted with Phil Knight, and he agree's too! We also took the extra step in consulting with the Fonze who was on the sidelines, and he also agreed we made the right decision."

Seriously, you can interpret it any way you want, but there should have been five seconds left on the clock, not two, and Washington should have been able to get the snap off with even only two seconds left if there was less confusion on the field. Even with two seconds left the officials were not consistent during the last snap. Sorgen was predictable in his comments, because the rules made it tough on all parties concerned.

The new rule is a bad rule, it is unfair to the players, and the officials. The clock should be stopped during the last two minutes of the half on first downs, and when the ball is out of bounds. It is too tough to call if you don't adjust the rules to do that. This was a TV rule simply made to speed up games. Ok fine, speed up the game, but let them play in the final two minutes of each half.

One final note on the game is Washington had plenty of chances to win. UW dropped a couple of possible interceptions on SC's final drive which would have dramatically changed the outcome. You have to play a little better to beat USC at home, but I thought it was a great game and I am very proud of how the team played. I really feel that if UW had gotten the last play off they would have won. USC had a player (Taylor "Traitor" Mays) down in the end zone injured. We would have been throwing against a 10 man team since they wouldn't have been able to get him off the field.

Oregon State

Oregon State is the next game on the Husky schedule and what distinguishes the Beavers is that they are probably the sloppiest team in the Pac Ten right now. The Beavers love to turn the ball over, and did that four times versus Washington State this past weekend. The Beav's kept it close in a 13-6 loss, played hard, but still came up with the loss because they found Cougar defenders more than the endzone last Saturday.

OSU is capable of beating Washington. There are no laughers for Washington this year. UW has to go out and play hard every Saturday to win, and the Beavers aren't going to lay down for the Dawgs. I can tell you one thing, OSU is going to show up ready to play Washington. The Beavers are down to playing for pride, and the second best team in Idaho is capable of pulling the upset.

Keys for beating Oregon St

1. Turnovers....UW has to keep the Beaver turnover machine working. The Beavers tend to self destruct, and Washington's defense needs to convert on those opportunities.

2. Avoid Letdown...Losing a game the way Washington did on Saturday can lead to a letdown for some teams. Just ask Michigan St. The Huskies need to focus on the next opponent rather than what shoulda, woulda happened last Saturday against USC. Ty choosing not to file a protest is a good sign that the team realizes that moving on and excepting the defeat graciously is the best way to move on.

3. Fix the punting game...UW arguably has the best punter in the country, but if he can't get the ball off, out kicks the coverage, or has to field a high snap the advantage is rapidly negated. Morovick just gets punded necause of his lack of size and strength, that is what is causing the bulk of the problems. Only a year in the weight room and taining table with solve that. Douglas has a great leg, but he isn't exactly the most mobile, or athletic guy on the field. He needs to get his punts off quicker when he has to go up for the high one.

4. Adapt to Isaiah's injury...We aren't going to see the same IS for at least a few weeks because of the hip pointer. Washington has to protect him to keep him from further injury. The kid is tough, but he won't be running as much the next couple weeks. The hook slide will be in vogue. UW needs to have a great game from their running backs, and the receivers need to hold on to the ball.

5. The Husky Stadium crowd...The stadium has rocked pretty good all year, and that is a big advantage for the home team. The 12th man needs to show up and shake up the sloppy OSU offense. Noise definitely leads to turnovers.

Odds and Ends

In the polls Florida has moved up to #2 after a solid win over LSU. USC's penchant for close games over the past few weeks kept them from moving up in the AP. It matters little, all the Trojans need to do is keep winning. California moved up to #10 with a bullet. The Golden Bears just may be the best team in the country right now. They have it going on both sides of the ball. the Oregon game was never in doubt. Washington is still hanging in the top 30, and should move into the Top 25 with a convincing win over OSU. Oregon fell to #18, and UCLA, like UW, is hanging around the top 30.

Arkansas stunned Auburn in the biggest upset of the 2006 season. This was an Arkansas team which was crushed by USC in the opening game. It would be easy in the immediate aftermath of this shocker to say that Arkansas got lucky. After all, Hog quarterback Mitch Mustain's one touchdown pass in this contest was a ball that should have been knocked down by an Auburn defender. Moreover, Courtney Taylor - a veteran receiver for Tommy Tuberville's Tigers - flat out biffed an accurate long ball from the left arm of Brandon Cox. Auburn was a body-snatched team that unconvincingly trotted through the motions on Saturday, and even then, Arkansas generated little sustained offense. One could say that the Hogs caught lightning in a bottle on three or four single plays, maximizing Auburn's breakdowns more than anything else.

Texas shut down Oklahoma 28-10 which means the Sooners are now out of the BCS and headed to the Holiday Bowl. This game was put to bed when the Sooners once again got victimized by instant replay in the most outrageous fashion imaginable. A forward pass by Sooner quarterback Paul Thompson - who clearly released the ball at his own 11 and a half yard line and hit Adrian Peterson at the OU 12 - was somehow ruled a lateral, for reasons that defy all logic... not to mention the gods, who are not smiling on a team and a coach who can only wonder how they could be so cruelly treated over and over again. There's no question that the blown call (and, once again, the blown replay) will leave a bad taste in Sooner fans' mouths.

Florida upended LSU 23-10. While Florida thrived with the help of great coaching, LSU drowed in a sea of foul-fingered fumbling and frequently foolish football follies. Whether it was JaMarcus Russell committing yet more big-game turnovers, or 12 men being on the field in the red zone, or kicks being botched, the Tigers continued the nasty habit of leaving gobs of points on the field in a high-profile, big-stakes ballgame.

Wake Forest showed that their team isn't a mirage in giving Clemson everything they could handle in a 27-17 loss. It's weird, Wake Forest showed a lot more quality and effort than Clemson for most of the afternoon, but the Deacons made the mistake of giving a sleepwalking opponent some smelling salts, and once that happened, the wake for Clemson turned into a funeral for Forest. No ACC team remains unbeaten, but Tommy Bowden's Tigers - thanks to a Temple of Doom - remain in the driver's seat for a division title.

Final Notes

Fresno State (1-4) is off to an uncharacteristic poor start, and in losing to Utah State (1-5) 13-12 the Bulldogs are off to worst start since Pat Hill took over. Idaho killed Utah St, just how bad is Frsno right now? It isn't talent, they played both UW, and Oregon to the last snap, somehow the teams spirit is broken. "Pat Hill, Steve Hagen, and Dan Brown are not getting the job done. Of course all of this will fall on Pat Hill because he is the head coach and he is not preparing the Dogs the way he has in the past. The Bulldogs do not look ready when they come out on the field anymore. Not only do they not look ready to play, they also have no fire."

NC State upset Florida St and retirement is looming for Bobby Bowden just in time for one of his son's to take over. Big game for Amato who just a few weeks ago was under siege. It just goes to show you that coaches don't turn things around overnight, it takes time. Patience is a virtue becaue as Coach Baird says continuity is the thing that helps your program the most.

Stanford has improved over the last two weeks giving both UCLA, and Notre Dame trouble in the first half. Walt Harris is a good coach, and if given the time will get things running smoothly on the Farm. I would take Stanford this week against Arizona because Mike Stoops teams get worse each week, while Walt Harris teams get better.

West Virginia and Louisville have kept the Big East in the forefront of college football, and don't forget that Rutgers who has been always a sleeping giant is now on track to go to a bowl. Pitt is 4-1 too. The ACC on the other hand seems to be eating it's own this year. The Big East has not slipped to mid major status, while the ACC has lost some of it's glitter in the confusion.

Missouri had no problem beating Texas Tech this week. coach Pinkel is on track for a defining season in Columbia. Everyone is talking Nebraska in the North, but Missouri is going to beat them soundly this year. The reward of course is losing to Texas in the championship game and heading to Dallas to play in the Cotton.

Ohio State is not going to win the Big Ten title, you read it here first. Even though they play Michigan at home I don't see the Buckeyes who were exposed a bit at Bowling Green beating them.

Boise State keeps winning....yawn...if you don't play a single ranked team during the year you shouldn't be ranked high enough to get a BCS bid.

Indiana beat Illinois a week after the Illini upset Michigan St. Just shows you how down MSU was after the Notre Dame loss. They didn't show up again yesterday against Michigan.

Colorado moved to 0-6 after losing to Baylor. Rough start for the Buffalo's who have been in every game only to come up on the short end of the stick. Hawkins will turn this around. Colorado is going through what Washington did the past two years. The culture must change.

Dennis Erickson is working his magic again in the Palouse. After a very slow start the Vandals are now 3-3 after beating New Mexico St 28-21. How long will he stay in Moscow? Will he be content to finish out his career at Idaho? Will he even stay 3 years?