The Weekly Poll Question

It is unanimous, and no surprise that 21 of 21 readers voted that USC would be in the Top Five of the Pac Ten this year. One person dissented on Cal and predicted a fall, and while Oregon was close, they finished with 13 votes, one shy of inclusion into the top five. UCLA picked up quite a few more votes than I thought they would, while Washington pulled in 15 votes to sit behind them in fourth place. ASU under first year head coach Dennis Erickson was picked to struggle as they only netted 3 votes. WSU, Arizona, and Stanford came up with a goose egg.



I picked USC, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington. For some reason UCLA, despite the talent, doesn't impress me, the Bruins still seem like a work in progress on offense.



Who will be the top five teams in the Pac Ten this year?



1. USC (21 Votes)


2. California (20 Votes)


3. UCLA (16 Votes)


4. Washington (15 Votes)


5. Oregon State (14 Votes)


6. Oregon (13 Votes)


7. Arizona State (3 Votes)


8. WSU (0 Votes)


9. Arizona (0 Votes)


10. Stanford (0 Votes)



This weeks question is:



Who was the Greatest Running Back in Husky History?

Who do you think was the greatest running back in a history of Husky football that goes back over 100 years? We all have our favorites, but don't forget guys like George Wilson, Chuck Carroll, and Hugh McElhenny who were consensus All Americans during their time. Here are a couple of links to follow concerning their careers at UW.


My dad thought McElhenny was the best, in fact some think he may be second all time in the pro's to the great Jim Brown. It is pretty tough to find anyone alive today that saw Carroll, and Wilson play, but Wilson outplayed such legendary players as Red Grange, Ernie Nevers, and Johnny Mack Brown.


George Wilson played football at the University of Washington from 1923 to 1925. He ran, passed, caught passes, punted, and played linebacker on defense, a 60-minute player. In 1925 his teammates selected Wilson as the Flaherty Award as the team’s most inspirational player. During his three years with the Huskies they won 28 games, lost three, were tied three times, and went to the Rose Bowl twice. Wilson was named by Grantland Rice (1880-1954) to the 1925 All-American backfield along with Illinois’ Red Grange (1903-1991) and Stanford’s Ernie Nevers (1903-1976).


Chuck Carroll recently passed away near age 100, and was a legendary figure in King County politics.


Chuck Carroll was an All-American halfback (1928) is one of just three Huskies to have his number retired and was called by Pop Warner the greatest player he had ever seen. Pop Warner saw a lot of great players up to that time including Jim Thorpe, George Wilson, Ernie Nevers, and Red Grange.



Here is a snippet on Hugh from Malamute's site.


McElhenny was the greatest runner in Husky history. One publication put it this way, “He was the kind of runner who could make more magic, write more stories and paint bigger pictures in the span of five yards than practically anybody else could do in 30, 40, or 50 yards…In all the history of football, perhaps only Red Grange before McElhenny and Gayle Sayers after him made open-field running such a spectacle.”