UW travels to USC

Will Pete Carroll and his team go easy on the Huskies? With a team that hasn't been able to compete all year except in the BYU game, with a team that has been plagued all year by injuries including their all world quarterback Jake Locker and with a team in turmoil over their head coach and his "firing" as of the end of the season will they be able to even stay on the field with the might Trojans? Two weeks ago USC absolutely demolished Washington State 69-0 and they went easy on them in the second half playing many reserves. I believe the Trojans will score at least 60 and try to shutout the Huskies, I just hope for the sake of the lowly Huksies the Trojans show some mercy and not score 100.

Ty Finally Gone...Well Almost

The Ty Willingham era finally came to an end Monday, well almost. The :University of Washington announced that Ty Willingham is resigning at the end of the 2008 season. I am not sure of why they are using the word resign, when this is plain and simply a firing, with the agreement that he would stay for the last five games. Scott Woodward, the UW Athletic Director said in an interview with Dave "Softy" Mahler on KJR radio that Ty Willingham's contract was being terminated, as in fired, at the end of the season. It was also announced that he would be paid a one million dollar buyout for the remaining year of his contract. Apparently the decision had been made to terminate Willingham after the Oregon State game and Willingham was notified at that point, but the announcement was delayed as details were ironed out for Willingham to coach the rest of the season. Now the search for a new coach begins. There are several names that are already being thrown around, of which the the most intriguing would be Jim Mora who has already been announced to be the successor to Mike Holmgren. The others are Lane Kiffin, Pa Hill of Fresno State and Gary Pinkel.

Notre Dame is in town

I am headed off to Husky stadium today for my first look ever at Notre Dame. I have been very fortunate over the years to have covered some very storied programs, but I don't think there are any that equal the history and tradition of Notre Dame This is just one of those highlights "WOW" moments in a career.

The state of major college football in Washington state

Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN College GameDay said of Ty Willingham and the Huskies,"They have not recruited well and have not been able to bring in the high caliber athlete to compete with USC." He also said as he called the USC game last year, "there is not one player on the UW team that could dress for USC--with the exception of Jake Locker."

"Washington is not a hot bed for college football" says Lee Corso of ESPN College GameDay.

More on UW to come!!!!!

The Battle in Seattle

I am headed off today to shoot an NCAA Division II game at Qwest Field.   "The Battle in Seattle"  Western Washington University and #11 Central Washington University both of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  CWU (5-1 overall, 4-0 in GNAC) has won four of the five games played in Seattle and is favored over WWU(3-2, 3-1). 

College Football, UW and more...

Another shake up at the top of the NCAA polls.  This morning, the #5 Texas Longhorns beat the high powered #1 Oklahoma Sooners 45-35 in a shootout.  Who will be the new number one?

 

Fresno State--They suffered a heart breaking loss last week at home to Hawaii 32-29  in OT, in a game they had a chance to win with 43 seconds to go in regulation.  Although they were ranked #21, the Bulldogs fell out of the top 25 with the loss.  They take on Idaho tonight at 7 pm at Bulldog Stadium in their Homecoming. 

 

UW Huskies--The Huskies have the week off, so at least they won't lose.  I turned on KJR Radio in the car the other day and the topic was "who should replace Ty Willingham?"  I had to rush home and check the online newspapers because I thought I had missed his firing.  I didn't think the Huskies morale could get any lower than it was after the Stanford loss, but with another poor showing down in Arizona last week,my guess is this maybe an all time low for them.  Former UW quarterback Hugh Millen says this about the team, "It's the worst Husky football team I've ever seen.  Former Husky coach Dick Baird had to go back 39 years to 1969 to find a team he thought was as bad."  KJR radio personality Dave "Softy" Mahler says, "This is the worst atmosphere I have ever been a part of around this program."

My feelings:`Ty must go. All along I didn't feel he was the right fit here.  Now he seems so beaten down and at a loss that I don't see him turning it around.  The Dawgs can't go through another year of "let's just give him one more year."  His first senior class is not very good, if they were, half the starters wouldn't be freshmen.  What? We should wait for this great crop of freshman to turn into great players?  I don't think any of us are that patient.   The Huskies had their chance a year ago with Jim Mora just across the lake, but they let him get away.  I wonder who the next coach will be? 

Photo by Rob Carlson/sportsmedianorthwest.com

Injured UW quarterback Jake Locker

After the Stanford game:

What does the future hold for the UW football program?  The quarterback that was supposed to resurrect the program and bring it back to national prominence has broken his thumb. 

Dick Baird said after the loss, "This just is not a very good team".

As I sat and watched Ty Willingham at the post-game press conference after the game, I saw a beaten man.  Hugh Millen said, "The bench looked like a beaten team with no life and no enthusiasm." He added, "How the Huskies bench acted during the game is a reliable indicator of the state of the team." 

This is Willingham's fourth year and his first recruiting class are finally seniors. The program was supposed to be on the verge of turning the corner. Looking at the starting line ups--offense and defense--against Stanford, there were only five seniors in the lineup, but there were six freshman both true and red shirt.  That's a lot of inexperience! You can't win big time football with that many inexperienced starting players.  Jim Harbaugh told his team in a post game speech that they physically dominated the Huskies in every aspect of the game.  Ty was asked if this was the toughest position he had ever been in as a head coach and his answer was, "Without question." He continued, "What is it that hasn't allowed us to get it together?" 

Here is a great piece by Kevin Hulten on the state of UW football

Purple and Gold Pigskin: One year later, and Husky football continues to nosedive