Game 1 - BSU

[WizardHawk]

Phil Steele is in the process of putting up his top 40 team previews and in at #33 is Boise State.

Not that we need much of a preview as we should be as up to speed on who they are and what they do as anyone after being their last opponents. Still, if you are a junkie and can't wait for the season this gives you something to chew on for a minute or two while we wait.

Is coming in at 33 lower or higher than you would have them? Should UW beat a team that low coming into their new house? Price > Southwick?

 

[mcnabb7542]

Its game one, rankings are not really set, the bottomline is simple they should have beat the Broncos in the bowl game last year and I expect them to beat the Broncos on opening day, in the new stadium...

 

[BoiseMike19]

Guys, can't wait I'll be there. Gonna be a good one fo sho.

 

[WizardHawk]

Well I hope the fans around you are respectful BM. It should be a great evening for college football, but night games bring in more drunks and I'm sure some will be stupid to the opposing fans. It really is the dark side of college football.

 

[BoiseMike19]

When and where can you gather 30K to 70K+ and not run into numerous cement heads. I'm sure BSU will represent the "I'm an idiot club" in direct proportion to the number of fans in the stands. It's all good. I'll be sitting with my sister and brother in law (both UofW grads). Will be golfing in the morning and trust me, BSU stands a better chance than I do. Rocky is a sratch golfer that played for the Huskies in the early 90's. Good luck to you and me.

 

[WizardHawk]

I think the new stadium is supposed to hold around 69k and I'd be shocked if it isn't filled to capacity for that game. The energy should be unreal. I hope you enjoy your time at the new stadium, but not enjoy it too much. ;-)

 

[TheDayMan]

Back to the Price question... There seemed little doubt the job is very much his to lose in Spring. Is all forgotten/forgiven? I've liked him since he backed up Locker, but there were a couple of games decided after some huge Price mistakes last year.

 

[WizardHawk]

Back to the Price question... There seemed little doubt the job is very much his to lose in Spring. Is all forgotten/forgiven? I've liked him since he backed up Locker, but there were a couple of games decided after some huge Price mistakes last year.

Price is the guy unless he gets injured. There is zero chance any other kid wins the job. That is as set in stone as anything else.

Why? Sark is going to a new no huddle up tempo offense (like half of the rest of the conference) and you don't throw a first year kid into a brand new offense where they have to make adjustments at the line on the fly and expect success. Also in spring you could see the kids behind him have moments of brilliance, followed by too much inconsistency and stupid mistakes. Miles or Williams will probably be the face of the team in '14 and either will probably be up to speed and ready to go, but they have a lot of work to do this year to get there.

These are all Sarks decisions and as we have already seen with how he dealt with Holt we have to wonder if his sense of loyalty is clouding his best judgement about how to win with this team. The problem with the offense last year wasn't the system, it was all the injuries to the line and losing Johnson so there weren't enough weapons to throw to. Is going to an up tempo the right choice? Was the more pro style mixed with read zone a better offense? If his choices don't work his goose is cooked.

Price's problems last year are said to be caused by him trying to force things because he figured he had to with that bad line, but he was a pure fumble machine for the last 4 games. He told us post game after post game that he would tuck that ball next time AND THEN DIDN'T. Keith is as good of a QB as there is anywhere in the conference when it comes to delivering the ball on normal plays, but he was flat out terrible on broken plays last year and that has to be a concern.

 

[TheDayMan]

I don't like the "he had to force things because of injuries" excuse. There's a difference between having a lower completion percentage and more interceptions and completely blowing it (or dropping the ball) and being unreliable late in close games.

Price can definitely bounce back and have a season like he did a couple years ago, but I'd rather see the opportunity for competition in the off-season than a new system if it will prevent that.

 

[WizardHawk]

I don't like the "he had to force things because of injuries" excuse. There's a difference between having a lower completion percentage and more interceptions and completely blowing it (or dropping the ball) and being unreliable late in close games.

Price can definitely bounce back and have a season like he did a couple years ago, but I'd rather see the opportunity for competition in the off-season than a new system if it will prevent that.

Well my thoughts on it were that Sark feels the heat of 9 straight losses to Oregon and knew if he is going to beat them, he has to join them. That is, if he wants his defense to have any real chance at slowing them down he has to build a unit that can play with their style and then has to be able to have them practice against it. I think the no huddle they are putting in is as much so the defense can play against it all spring/fall as it is a real new toy for the OC/Sark.

I watched a bunch of the post practice videos on the seattletimes during the spring season and there were lots of questions to the defense about playing against that new offense and all of them said they now get it. There is a lot you ask of your defense to deal with the narrow windows for substitutions and the adjustments on the fly and this sure does help them prepare for it. The coaches are in flow for those fast substitutions and the players are getting comfortable with it.

Now of course the problem is if they are going to this full time on offense against Oregon they know how to defend it probably better than anyone else in the country as their D has to go up against their O all year long. Sark is going to need to bring something different to the table on offense AND have his D dialed up if they are to even sniff a win against them. But even if they don't beat them this year I think the changes to the offense are clearly signs that they feel they need to do more to catch up to them. He just better hope if they lose it isn't another blow out at home or all of this was for nothing.

Not sure what the rest of you think, but Oregon isn't the focus of the season anyway. Sure, no one wants to see the streak hit 10, but beating Boise State and WSU are far more important and I'd argue beating Arizona and finding a way to steal a win vs Stanford or OSU are also more important than the zeds. Beating Oregon would just be the icing on the cake.

 

[mcnabb7542]

Not sure what the rest of you think, but Oregon isn't the focus of the season anyway. Sure, no one wants to see the streak hit 10, but beating Boise State and WSU are far more important and I'd argue beating Arizona and finding a way to steal a win vs Stanford or OSU are also more important than the zeds. Beating Oregon would just be the icing on the cake.

I would say it does matter, but at a later date....

This offense needs to come out blazing, defense needs to keep getting better. This schedule is set for this team to get better each week, ( Boise st right off the bat isnt a "cupcake game") but it does give this team serious confidence with a win, in a remodeled stadium, and could very easy have them sitting undefeated when it comes to the week of Oregon. Then you have Cal and Colorado, very good games to work out certain things not working before UCLA, and OSU....

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Beating Oregon would just be the icing on the cake.

Ah for christ sakes Whiz...Their aint a UWub alum out there, cept maybe 1, that doesn't have that Duck "inked" in gold as a ballgame they would choose to lay the hammer down on. Your right about Sark tho, that bastard "needs" to win a big game like that 1!

Baby steps 1st..avenge last years bowl loss and go from there, but the diamond at the end of the tunnel is definitely the Ducks.

 

[WhiteMamba]

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Lolz Mamba!

 

[blstoker]

Ah for christ sakes Whiz...Their aint a UWub alum out there, cept maybe 1, that doesn't have that Duck "inked" in gold as a ballgame they would choose to lay the hammer down on. Your right about Sark tho, that bastard "needs" to win a big game like that 1!

Baby steps 1st..avenge last years bowl loss and go from there, but the diamond at the end of the tunnel is definitely the Ducks.

I love to see the Ducks get a smack down, and it has nothing to do with the fact my Cougs haven't beaten them since 2006. I just can't stand Duck fans, and having to live next to Portland for the last 6 years has given me the opportunity to be around more Duck fans than I would care to. The only games I root for the Ducks on are when they play the SEC, but I cheer for anyone over the over-hyped SEC.

 

[WizardHawk]

Ah for christ sakes Whiz...Their aint a UWub alum out there, cept maybe 1, that doesn't have that Duck "inked" in gold as a ballgame they would choose to lay the hammer down on. Your right about Sark tho, that bastard "needs" to win a big game like that 1!

Baby steps 1st..avenge last years bowl loss and go from there, but the diamond at the end of the tunnel is definitely the Ducks.

The team is making it a focus for sure. Why else would they be working so hard on the no huddle hurry up? As a fan of course I'd be happy to have them off our sack, but for this team to make a step forward Oregon doesn't have to be a step this year.

UW needs to show it can play better on the road. They have played very well at home, but they still have problems playing at the same level away from Seattle. They also need to show they can curb stomp lower competition instead of having low quality teams hang around until the 4th quarter.

The question is can this be considered a successful season without beating Oregon and to me the answer is yes. So that's why I said it doesn't have to be the ultimate focus as fans. They do need to at least show improvement against them. Giving up another 50+ points and losing by 3 scores would be bad for Sark, but if they lost a closer game something like 35-28 or something at least they are showing they are still building.

Would beating BSU, UA, and say Oregon State on the way to a 9 or 10 win season, but losing to Oregon be a successful season? I know there was a time when anything less than a rose bowl wasn't successful and those days may return soon, but as long as this team keeps moving up fans have to temper those desires and accept the reality around us.

It takes recruiting and coaching to reach elite status. The recruiting is getting there and the jury is out on Sark's ability to take them over the top. They are still a few years away from having the kind of depth that Oregon and Stanford have.

Of course the fact that Oregon still has more/better athletes doesn't mean they will still win this years game. They will be favored for sure and the odds will be in their favor every time they meet until UW finally does something about it. This year they have the new stadium and what will be a guaranteed sell out crowd and they have a veteran QB with a lot of tools for him to make magic with. The defense has been improving and they have been working like crazy on defending the Oregon style offense. Add that Kelly is gone and this won't be the same team without him and anything can happen. Also add that Oregon won't have faced a real challenge until that game. Their only road games before UW are at Virginia and at Colorado. Neither will make them work up a sweat.

This is the best chance they have had in years to overcome it, but I won't grade the season based on just this game. To me BSU and Arizona are games that if lost hurt worse and could end up putting Sark on a hotter seat than losing to Oregon.

 

[mcnabb7542]

UW needs to show it can play better on the road. They have played very well at home, but they still have problems playing at the same level away from Seattle. They also need to show they can curb stomp lower competition instead of having low quality teams hang around until the 4th quarter.

Would beating BSU, UA, and say Oregon State on the way to a 9 or 10 win season, but losing to Oregon be a successful season?

1) Yes a better road record needs to happen this year, you look at the growth of a program and this is the time for Sark and company to turn this page...

2) As to the question of a 9 or 10 win season, I dont give a darn who the wins are against, yes it would be great for them to beat Oregon, but lets not forget that the Cougs beat them last year also... Bottomline is the wins better be better this season, there running out of time, and excuses......

 

[Olyduck]

Ah for christ sakes Whiz...Their aint a UWub alum out there, cept maybe 1, that doesn't have that Duck "inked" in gold as a ballgame they would choose to lay the hammer down on. Your right about Sark tho, that bastard "needs" to win a big game like that 1!

Baby steps 1st..avenge last years bowl loss and go from there, but the diamond at the end of the tunnel is definitely the Ducks.

Lay the Hammer down? UW could win by 1 point on the last play of the game and the celebration would be bigger than winning the Super Bowl and World Series at the same time. and at that point according to most UW fans it was a route and killing.

 

[WizardHawk]

Lay the Hammer down? UW could win by 1 point on the last play of the game and the celebration would be bigger than winning the Super Bowl and World Series at the same time. and at that point according to most UW fans it was a route and killing.

First part sadly true, second not so much. I'm sure there would be a celebration if they won by even a point and fans would be rushing the field. I sure wouldn't, but I know it would happen. Many of the kids don't even remember the last time we beat Oregon, more or less when doing so was nothing major.

As for what the fans would make of it, they would figure it is a signal that the team has returned from the dead, but I don't know that anyone would call a 1 point win a killing.

What we do know is if UW were to win Duck fans would still be saying 'but what about the last 9' and we will hear about the 9 in a row for the next 50 years. There is no way in hell they will be able to deal in the present despite all the flack they give UW fans for bringing up the past. We know they won't walk their own talk. Just won't happen.