Is Steve Sarkisian making enough progress?

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies have been in the news lately having fired defensive coordinator Nick Holt and hiring a new coordintor in Justin Wilcox. For Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian who will now be entering his fourth season as head man at Montlake there seems to be some doubt whether he is the guy who can carry this program to a Rose Bowl title. In the Seattle Times recently there was an article how Sarkisian is losing out on the prime in state recruits and currently the Huskies recruiting class isn't very good. Neither is the fact that in year three the Huskies were still getting blown out and the defense has still been terrible. In this following post I'm going to compare Sarkisian with the previous Husky coaches Don James, Jim Lambright, Rick Neuheisel and Tyrone Willingham. What I'll do is post their W-L records, what the teams record was before they took over and what it was three years prior to take over. I'll also post how many times their teams allowed 30 points or more, 40 or more, 50 or more and yes even 60 or more. I'll also post how many times they lost by 20 points or more, 30 or more, 40 or more and 50 or more. I'm fully aware that offenses have evolved and each coach took over the program had a different time far as program strength. This is just to give everyone an idea of where the program is at with Sarkisian going forward.

Don James (1975-1992):

Previous three seasons prior to arrival: 15-18
Previous season prior to arrival: 5-6
First season record: 6-5(+1 win improvement)

Coaching W-L: 153-57-2(.728)

20+ losses: 8(3.7%)
30+ losses: 2(0.9%)
40+ losses: 1(0.4%)
50+ losses: 1(0.4%)

30+ PPG allowed: 25(11.7%)
40+ PPG allowed: 6(2.8%)
50+ PPG allowed: 1(0.4%)

You can see why Don James was such a legend. In his third year he took the Huskies to a Rose Bowl championship and in his fifth year he had the Huskies winning 10 games, sixth season another Rose Bowl and seventh season a Rose Bowl title. During his eighth and ninth season had the Huskies going for a Rose Bowl until being upset in the Apple Cup and in his 10th season had the Huskies ranked 2nd in the nation. He rarely if ever got blown out and his teams always played good defense. James set the bar very high for every coach who followed him as he won four Rose Bowls, an Orange Bowl and a National championship.

Jim Lambright (1993-1998):

Previous three seasons prior to arrival: 31-5
Previous season prior to arrival: 9-3
First season record: 7-4(-2 wins)

Coaching W-L record: 44-25-1(.637)

20+ losses: 6(8.5%)
30+ losses: 2(2.8%)
40+ losses: 1(1.4%)

30+ PPG allowed: 20(28.6%)
40+ PPG allowed: 7(10.0%)
50+ PPG allowed: 3(4.2%)

Jim Lambright of the coaches walked into the best situation far as talent having taken over the team after James suddenly retired two weeks prior to the 1993 season. Lambright took over a team who had gone to three straight Rose Bowls. He also took over a program facing two years bowl ban, plus other sanctions including loss of scholarships for two seasons. The biggest obstacle Lambright couldn't overcome was the shadow of Don James despite the fact as you'll see he was the second most successful coach for the Huskies although never going to a Rose Bowl in six seasons he could never live up to James. Lambright was shown the door after six seasons despite winning 63% of his games at the school he once played for and guiding the Huskies through those tough probation years.

Rick Neuheisel (1999-2002):

Previous three seasons prior to arrival: 23-13
Previous season prior to arrival: 6-6
First season: 7-5(+1 win improvement)

W-L record: 33-16(.673)

20+ losses: 5(10.2%)
30+ losses: 1(2.0%)
40+ losses: 1(2.0%)
50+ losses: 1(2.0%)

30+ PPG allowed: 15(30.6%)
40+ PPG allowed: 4 (8.1%)
50+ PPG allowed: 1( 2.0%)
60+ PPG allowed: 1(2.0%)

Rick Neuheisel took over the program after the sanctions had finally wore off and he was very successful at first. He won a Rose Bowl during his second season finishing ranked 3rd in the nation. The next two years he struggled by Husky standards going just 15-10 as the defense was declining and it had appeared the talent level on defense was decreasing as well. The perception due to that 65-7 loss to #1 ranked Miami on national t.v. was that Neuheisel was getting blown out too much which as you can see simply wasn't the case. Neuheisel was caught gambling in a pool and was fired. Keith Gilbertson took over and went 7-16 for two years. The thought was the program needed to be "cleaned" up which set up the shittiest years in UW football history.

Tyrone Willingham (2005-08):

Previous three years before arrival: 14-22
Previous year before arrival: 1-10
First season: 2-9(+1 win improvement)

W-L: 11-37(.229)

20+ losses: 16(33.3%)
30+ losses: 6 (12.5%)
40+ losses: 3(6.2%)
50+ losses: 1(2.1%)

30+ PPG allowed: 25(52.0%)
40+ PPG allowed: 14(29.1%)
50+ PPG allowed: 5(10.4%)

As you can see the Willingham era was clearly the worst era in Huskies football history. Willingham inherited a program on the rocks having just gone 1-10 but he made the program worse somehow finishing his career off going 0-12 and losing his last 14 games as Huskies head coach. While the Huskies were competitive during his second and third seasons there wasn't enough wins to show for it. When Willingham was finally fired the Huskies were searching for their fifth different head coach in an 11 year span.

Steve Sarkisian (2009-present):

Previous three years prior to arrival: 9-28
Previous year prior to arrival: 0-12
First season: 5-7( +5 win improvement)

W-L: 19-19(.500)

20+ losses: 9(23.6%)
30+ losses: 5(13.1%)
40+ losses: 3(7.8%)

30+ PPG allowed: 19(50.0%)
40+ PPG allowed: 10(26.3%)
50+ PPG allowed: 4(10.5%)
60+ PPG allowed: 2(5.2%)

Sarkisian of the coaches I just named did the best in his first season in improving. While James, Neuheisel and Willingham all improved by one game Sarkisian improved by five games.  Sarkisian has guided the team to back to back bowl games after not going to a bowl game in six seasons. Now looking at these numbers though Sarkisian is closest to Willingham. They are getting blown out roughly the same and allowing the same big defensive numbers. Sarkisian is winning more games than Willingham as he is simply a better coach so the Huskies are winning almost all of their close games. Although I don't think Sarkisian is like Willingham instead he reminds me of a different Huskies head coach.

In conclusion, Sarkisian reminds me most of Rick Neuheisel. I think both are great offensive coaches, good game day coaches, good play callers, average recruiters and average program builders. I think had Sarkisian taken over when Nueheisel did his record would be on par with Neuheisel. I don't think Sarisian is the guy to take the Huskies to a Rose Bowl title unless he has a fluke year like Neuheisel did in 2000 when the Huskies went 11-1 but had eight fourth quarter comebacks that season. Sarkisian experience a similar season in 2010 when the Huskies went 7-6 but won four games on the final play of the game. I feel as if Sarkisian is the guy who will continue to put the Huskies in a bowl game much like Neuheisel was. I just don't think Sarkisian is on James level or even Lambrights level as the defense was somehow been worse in his era than even Willingham's. Sarkisian has a lot to improve on heading into year four but we are starting to see a trend develope and he is shaping up to be another Neuheisel where every passing record will fall but the team only wins seven to eight games a season.

Huskies take on Heisman Trophy winner

By Kshell

For this bowl game Washington Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian will be under the spotlight of the nation. The nation won't be watching the Alamo Bowl tonight to watch the Huskies though as they'll be watching Robert Griffin III who is the heisman trophy winning quarterback from Baylor. This will be the first time since Tim Tebow won the heisman in 2007 that a heisman trophy winner isn't playing in a BCS game. RGIII which is what most call him led the Baylor Bears to a 9-3 record as he completed 72.4% of his passes for 3,998 yards(10.8 YPA). He threw for 36 touchdowns to only six interceptions during the season. His passing stats alone are terrific then you factor in his 644 yards rushing(4.0 YPC) with nine touchdowns and you can see why he won the heisman trophy. This won't be the first time the Huskies have faced a heisman trophy winner in fact the Huskies have only beaten the Heisman twice in their history. They have lost five games in a row to the Heisman trophy winner which had three of them being coached by Sarkisian at the time.

The Huskies recently haven't played well against Heisman trophy winners as they've been blown out as well. The last time the Huskies played an eventual Heisman winner was in the trainwreck season of 2008 when Sam Bradford  came to town. Oklahoma destroyed the Huskies 55-14 as Bradford was 18-21 passing for 304 with five passing touchdowns and also rushed for a touchdown. In 2005 the mighty USC trojans came to town featuring eventual heisman winner Reggie Bush. The Trojans won 51-24 as Bush ran for 51 yards on just eight carries with a touchdown, also caught two passes for 18 yards. He also electrified college football with a spectactular 84 yard punt return for a touchdown. The year prior the Huskies faced the Trojans again losing 38-0 in 2004 as Matt Leinart who won the Heisman that year was 24-43 passing for 217 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. In 2002 the Huskies faced the Trojans losing 41-21 as Carson Palmer was 21-34 passing for 348 yards with four touchdowns three of which were to Mike Williams. The Huskies faced a Heisman winner seven years prior in Eddie George as the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Huskies in 1995 over in Columbus 30-20. George ran for 212 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 149 with a touchdown at halftime as the Buckeyes led 23-7 over the Huskies. The two previous times the Huskies faced a heisman winner though they actually won those games.

Heading into the 1992 Rose Bowl the undefeated Washington Huskies led by Don James were hoping to win back to back Rose Bowls and win a National championship. Standing in their way was Heisman Trophy and future Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard of the Michigan Wolverines. The Huskies won that game 34-14 as Howard was held to just one catch which was late in the game too. Mario Bailey of the Huskies scored a touchdown and he possed for the Heisman. Despite having 18 receiving touchdowns Bailey was snubbed from being invited to New York that year. Howard was the first heisman player the Huskies had faced in a decade as in 1981 Marcus Allen and the USC Trojans came to town again with the Rose Bowl on the line. The Huskies won 13-3 in a rain storm as Allen had 155 rushing but would lose to the Huskies for the second straight year after scoring the winning touchdown in 1979. That year the Huskies lost to the Trojans and eventual heisman trophy winner Charles White. The Trojans won 24-17 at Husky stadium as White ran for 243 yards on the day but was held out of the endzone. Don James actually went 2-1 against Heisman trophy winners while no other Huskies coach has defeated a heisman trophy winner.

In conclusion, every heisman winner with the exception of Howard had a good game against the Huskies. Look for Griffin III to have a good game as well. Sarkisian is hoping Griffin III has a good game instead of a great game as the Huskies pull off the upset. Defeating a heisman trophy winner is difficult but that is mainly because they are also on the national championship team. That isn't the case this game as the Baylor Bears already have three losses. The Huskies are going up against College Football's best and were already routed by the runner up Andrew Luck 65-21. The Huskies defense has been scary bad this year which will be quite the test given this is best player they have faced all year which is saying something considering they already played Luck, Matt Barkley and LaMichael James. Hopefully the Heisman jinx starts a little bit early at 6 p.m. PT tonight in the Alamo Bowl and Sarkisian can join James as the only Huskies coach to defeat a Heisman trophy winner.

Oregon closes out Husky Stadium with win over Huskies 34-17

By Kshell

The #6 Oregon Ducks(8-1,6-0) defeated the Washington Huskies(6-3,4-2) 34-17 in the final game at old Husky Stadium. The Ducks who rushed for 212 yards were led by LaMichael James who ran for 156 yards including a touchdown. The atmosphere was electric as the Huskies honored their 1991 National Championship team amongst others. Unfortunately, the Huskies couldn't suit up the 1991 team and their current team struggled offensively. For the first time all year Steve Sarkisian saw his team struggle which was highlighted by Keith Price throwing two interceptions in the opening half which set up 14 points for the Ducks. The Huskies battled the Ducks but once again came up well short of the victory against their rivals and against top tier opponents. For the Ducks this win sets up a Pac-10 showdown this week as they take on undefeated Stanford Cardinal.

The game started off terribly for the Huskies. After Keith Price completed a 13 yard pass to Chris Polk down the middle it was all downhill from there. Price two plays later threw an interception which was returned to the Huskies 38 yard line. Darron Thomas completed a pass for 13 yards to the Huskies 25 yard line. Then LaMichael James took over first rushing for seven yards to the Huskies 18 yard line. James then finished off the drive with an 18 yard touchdown run to give the Ducks an early 7-0 lead. On the following series the Huskies offense continued to be shutdown and went three and out. The Ducks would take over possession with the ball on their own 35 yard line.

That is when the Huskies caught a break. The Ducks Darron Thomas went back to pass but fumbled the ball. The Huskies recovered on the Ducks 32 yard line. Price immediately completed a 13 yard pass to Jermaine Kearse. After that the Huskies would go backwards and would have to settle on an Erik Folk 42 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. On the ensuing kickoff DeAnthony Thomas busted it 69 yards and was tackled from behind by Justin Glenn to the Huskies 21 yard line. The defense got tough and pushed the Ducks high powered offense backwards. The Ducks would have to settle on a 40 yard field goal to give them a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Huskies were driving into Oregon territory after the teams had traded punts. The Huskies were on the Oregon 43 yard line when Price threw another costly interception which was returned 49 yards to the Huskies 34 yard line. James started the drive off with an eight yard run to the Huskies 26 yard line. James again ran for 16 yards to the Huskies 10 yard line. Darron Thomas kept it for six yards to set up second and goal from the four yard line. Thomas then hit David Paulson for the wide open four yard touchdown to give the Ducks a 17-3 lead. The Huskies offense continued to struggle on the next possession giving up another sack. While this time the defense three and outed the Ducks giving the offense the ball back at midfield with over six minutes left in the half.

The Huskies would go on a perfect drive which ate up all the clock so Oregon could respond. The drive began with four straight runs to Chris Polk which he gained 19 yards to set up a third and one from the Oregon 30. Price on a play action hit fullback Tim Tucker for a gain of five yards to move the chains. Once again Price was sacked for a loss of two but Polk would gain eight yards back setting up a crucial third and four. Price hit Jesse Callier in the flat for a gain of five yards to the Oregon 14 yard line. After a short run by Polk the Huskies once again went to the pass as Price connected with Kearse for a gain of nine yards to the Oregon three yard line. Sarkisian called for a fake to Polk and have Price keep it which appeared Price scored a touchdown but was ruled out at the one yard line. On the next play the Huskies faked the fullback dive to Polk as Price hit a wide open Michael Hartvigson for the one yard touchdown pass. The Ducks would drive down but would run out of time as they missed a field goal. The Huskies were only down 17-10 at halftime.

The Ducks began the second half with the ball first. After a penalty the Ducks were starting on their own 10 yard line as well. James began the drive with a 22 yard run  to the 32 yard line. Thomas completed a 12 yard pass then James rushed again for 16 yards to the Huskies 40 yard line. Thomas completed back to back passes to the Huskies 26 yard line. Facing a third and six from the Huskies 26 yard line Kenjon Barner rushed for eight yards to pick up the crucial first down. James ran for six yards to the Huskies 12 yard line setting up a third and four. Barner would again pick up the first down with a gain of eight yards. Facing a second and goal from the one yard line Barner would cap the drive with a touchdown to give the Ducks a 24-10 lead. The Ducks went on a 12 play drive for 90 yards to open up the second half to silent the Huskies crowd. The Huskies were once again trailing in the second half by 14 points to the powerful Ducks team who had crushed the Huskies by over 20 points the previous seven meetings. The third quarter was typically the Ducks big quarter as well so the Huskies offense had to respond to the score.

The Huskies knew the Ducks offense was about to wake up so they had to respond. After an incomplete pass from their own 25 yard line Polk ran for 14 yards to their own 39 yard line. Price completed a seven yard pass to Polk. Facing a third and four Price hit Polk again for six yards to the Ducks 49 yard line. True freshman Bishop Sankey then had the longest run of the game for 19 yards to the Ducks 30 yard line. On the next play Price would hit Devin Aguilar over the middle for a gain of 20 yards. The next play Price threw an out route in the back of the endzone to true freshman Kasen Williams. Williams went up and caught the ball while dragging his feet for the touchdown. After the review the play was confirmed Williams made the spectatular touchdown catch to pull the Huskies within 24-17. For Price he bounced back from two interceptions with two touchdowns giving him 25 touchdown passes on the season which puts him at three behind the school record. More importantly the Huskies answered the Ducks touchdown with a score of their own hoping to make this a game unlike the past seven years. The Huskies defense would have to make a key stop on the Ducks offense to truly make this a game.

The Ducks were facing a crucial third and nine from their own 31 yard line. The Huskies defense had a chance to three and out the Ducks after scoring a touchdown. That is when the Ducks made the play of the game when Thomas hit Paulson down the middle for a gain of 34 yards to the Huskies 35 yard line. Thomas completed a 19 yard pass to the Huskies 16 yard line. James ran for seven yards to the Huskies nine yard line. The Ducks called an option play as Darron Thomas pitched it to DeAnthony Thomas for the nine yard score giving the Ducks a 31-17 lead. The Huskies on the following drive after Price hit Aguilar for a gain of 14 yards were at midfield. Trailing by 14 points the Huskies were facing a fourth and four from the 49 yard line. That is when Price was under pressure tried to shovel pass to Polk but he was stopped well short. The Ducks then put the game away going on a nine play drive ending in a field goal putting them up 34-17. The Huskies fumbled on the following drive but the Ducks missed the field goal.

The Huskies had one last chance to make this a game in the fourth quarter. Price completed a pass to the fullback Tucker for a gain of seven yards to the 27 yard line. Price on the following play was sacked and was laying on the ground appearing to have hurt his non throwing shoulder. Nick Montana came into the game facing a third and 10 from the 20 yard line. Montana completed a long pass down the sideline to Kasen Williams for 53 yards down to the Oregon 27 yard line. Price then immediately came in for Montana and hit Kearse over the middle to see Kearse drop the ball. On third and 10 Price had Kevin Smith in the endzone wide open but Smith had the ball hit his number for the drop. On fourth down Price was rushed out of the pocket and threw an incomplete pass. From there on out the Ducks ran out the clock for the 34-17 victory over the Huskies.

The Ducks won the game 34-17. They were led by LaMichael James who ran for 156 yards(6.2 YPC) with a touchdown. Kenjon Barner ran for 41 yards(4.1 YPC) with a touchdown as well. Darron Thomas was 13-25 passing(52.0%) for 169 yards(6.8 YPA) with a touchdown. David Paulson had three receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. For the Huskies their offense struggled behind Keith Price who was 24-35(68.6%) passing for 143 yards(4.1 YPA) with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Nick Montana in relief was 1-1 passing for 53 yards. The running game struggled as Chris Polk rushed for only 80 yards(3.3 YPC) but did have six receptions for 31 yards. Bishop Sankey had 21 yards rushing on two carries including the longest run for the Huskies. Another true freshman had a breakout game in Kasen Williams who had six receptions for 79 yards(13.2 YPC) with a touchdown. The receptions and yards were a career high for Williams. Aguilar was next in line with two receptions for 34 yards. Kearse was held to just 24 yards receiving on three receptions. Kevin Smith had just one reception for 14 yards. The Huskies offense was just shut down all game long.

All in all, the Huskies just aren't ready to beat top 10 teams like the Oregon Ducks. The Huskies in their last 13 games are 0-3 against top 10 ranked opponents but 10-0 against the rest. That shows the Huskies are a good program but not a great program. Steve Sarkisian has this program progessing pretty well which is taking time. The Ducks dominated the line of scrimmage and until the Huskies improve up front they aren't going to win these type of big games. In front of a great atmosphere under the lights Husky Stadium will be closed for a year. Even though the Huskies lost these seniors have helped change the program for the better. The Ducks are the class of the Pac-12 and until a team dethroans them they will remain on top.

Observations:

- The atmosphere was pretty incredible pregame. Very rarely does legendary head coach Don James go to the games anymore. There was definately a who's who on the sidelines. You had several big names as all the Husky legends were at the game. James did the opening coin toss and the crowd gave him a thunderest standing ovation. James while at Washington went to six Rose Bowls, won four Rose Bowls, won an Orange Bowl and most importantly won a National Championship in 1991. James was also 10-4 in bowl games while at Washington when he coached the Huskies from 1975-1992. The 1991 team was honored as well as other Husky greats throughout the contest. It was nice seeing Don James and Jim Lambright at the game as well as many other great legends.

- I'm a big fan of the Huskies wearing the black uniforms.This was the first and probably only time I was disappointed though. Most Husky fans were hoping the Huskies would come out in the 1991 uniforms to honor the 1991 team.

This was also the final game in old Husky Stadium so I was hoping the Huskies would wear traditional uniforms. Like I said I'm not against wearing the black uniforms the Huskies were previously 3-0 all-time when wearing the black uniforms. I think in the Apple Cup wearing the black uniforms would be terrific as well especially if the Cougars are wearing their all grey's. Had the Huskies won this game the uniforms wouldn't be an issue though.

- The Huskies have to stop killing themselves with dropped passes. Last week in a win over the Arizona Wildcats the Huskies receivers dropped several passes including a touchdown and two more that went for interceptions.

This week Jermaine Kearse continued to drop multiple key passes. Devin Aguilar had some key drops as well. No drop was bigger than Kevin Smith who as you can see let the ball hit off his number for a wide open touchdown. Price had poor numbers but his receivers aren't helping him at all. The Huskies receivers are too talented to be dropping as many passes as they have been dropping the last two weeks. Hopefully going forward the dropped passes problem goes away or the Huskies might lose another game or two.

- The lone bright spot on offense was wide receiver Kasen Williams. Williams has had a struggling first season with the Huskies. Prior to two weeks ago Williams season high for yards receiving in a game was only 30 yards. In the last two weeks though Williams has played really well. Last week in a win over Arizona Williams had two receptions for 60 yards including a key 48 yard reception.

This week Williams had easily his best game in a Huskies uniform. He had six receptioins for 79 yards with a touchdown including a 53 yard reception. The last two weeks Williams has been part of the offense and has made long receptions. For the year now Williams has 20 receptions for 236 yards with three touchdowns in eight games. Williams came in as a heralded five star recruit but the Huskies receiving corp has been pretty loaded. That was nice to see Williams have a breakout game in a big game. Williams touchdown catch in the endzone was an incredible touchdown reception. He went up to grab the ball and held on for the tough catch. Williams is a future star and look for Sarkisian to feature him more in the next coming weeks especially if the other receivers are dropping passes.

-  Chris Polk for only the second time all year was held under 100 yards rushing and was also held out of the endzone. First time all year he was held under 100 rushing and without a touchdown in the same game. Polk's longest rush of the game was only 14 yards as the Ducks defensive line dominated the Huskies upfront.

Polk for being shut down still had 111 total yards offense. Polk also tied for the team lead in receptions with six as he had six receptions for 31 yards. On the year Polk has rushed for 1,096 yards(5.3 YPC) with nine touchdowns. He has also caught 24 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns on the season. Polk has yet to have a game where he was held to under 100 yards of total offense. Polk had a rough game but showing why he is a good player still had a productive game when it was all said and done.

-  Keith Price had his worst game as a Husky and has appeared to have slowed down since starting off so hot. Price was sacked six times last game and threw two interceptions. Price has thrown five interceptions the last two weeks after throwing only five interceptions his first seven games. Price was checking off way too much this game throwing the ball 35 times yet only passing for 141 yards.

Price had two interceptions that led to 14 points for the Ducks. For the year Price is still having a great season completing 66.8% of his passes for 2,133 yards(7.8 YPA) with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Price is only a sophomore quarterback so growing pains was bound to happen. He will have better days ahead of him and hopefully this was just one of those games. The receivers dropping all those passes are hurting his touchdowns and interceptions the last two weeks. With more help for his receivers and his offensive line Price can be comfortable and play "Keith Price" football once again.

In conclusion, this game was a tough loss but overall a great day. My friend Camden Rider went to high school with Jon Brockman so I had the pleasure of talking to Brockman prior to the game. You couldn't even tell he was an NBA player(besides his size) as he was just a low key person. As for the game itself the Huskies as a program will have better days. Sarkisian as a coach will have better days as will his quarterback Keith Price. The Huskies lost to a top 10 team and now must turn their focus onto USC. The Huskies are still a 6-3 football team who has a chance to be the third best team overall in the conference this week with a win over USC. The Huskies program is still going in the right direction while Husky Stadium is closed for over a year. I'm going to miss Husky Stadium quite a bit and I hope the Huskies open up their new temporary home Century Link with a victory in two weeks.

Why do Seattle fans hate Jim L. Mora?

By Kshell

This past sunday when the Seattle Seahawks took on the Cleveland Browns there was an interesting choice as the color commentator. The announcer was former Seahawks head coach Jim L.Mora and he actually showed he still loves the city of Seattle. With the Washington Huskies defense still struggling under Nick Holt some fans have suggested Mora take over as coach. Of course some fans are against the move. You see due to the Tyrone Willingham fallout in 2007-2008 Mora to those fans is the most evil coach there is. He's on the same level as Chip Kelly and Rick Neuheisel to this fanbase. In this following post I'll explain why hating Jim L. Mora(he isn't a junior by the way) is simply stupid and I'll explain why some fans hate Mora.

The controversy all began with Mora in December of 2006. Mora two seasons removed from taking the Atlanta Falcons to the NFC championship game was on 950 KJR with Dave "Softy" Mahler and his old college roommate Hugh Millen. On air talking candily with two guys that he considers his friends Mora made mention that the Univeristy of Washington was his dream job. Mahler caught that statement and knew he had gold so he ran with it. To which Mora said "If I'm coaching Super Bowl week I'm quitting my job to be with the Huskies if they offered tomorrow." Those comments made some Husky fans very excited. Those comments also pissed off the Atlanta Falcons fanbase and some Washington Huskies fans as the Huskies had a coach in place in Tyrone Willingham. Willingham who took over a 1-10 mess saw his team go 2-9 in year one but then in year two saw progress going 5-7. The Huskies did lose six games in a row after starting off 4-1 as Willingham rubbed some people the wrong way with his "suddenly senior" game as the Huskies lost 20-3 at home to 0-10 Stanford Cardinal. At the end of the season the Falcons fired Mora after going 7-9 in a season which the Falcons started off 5-2. The Falcons lost three games in a row after Mora made those comments as well. Mora was hired though by the Seattle Seahawks to be the secondary coach and assistent head coach. That move was interesting as Mora would be in Seattle in 2007 which meant he was going to be the first choice if Willingham started to fail.

With Mora already in Seattle that made for an interesting 2007 season which divided up the fan base. You had your pro Willingham guys who defended him no matter what and felt you should never bash on your coach. You also had some fans who wanted Mora to be the coach. The season started off well for Willingham as the Huskies were 2-0 for the first time since 2001 under freshman quarterback Jake Locker. The Huskies then lost six games in a row and the tipping point was the final loss as the Huskies blew a 41-26 lead to the Arizona Wildcats losing 48-41. That is when some fans began to openly demand the Huskies fire Willingham and go with Mora. Mora took a position job for the Seahawks many felt so he can be right there in Seattle. There was some speculation that a secret behind the scenes deal was taking place for Mora to take over for Willingham. There was many arguments on the dawgman boards where it got to a point the Mora fans created their own website which could get pretty vulger at times but the content was generaly the right message.

 The Huskies finished the 2007 season losing the Washington State Cougars 42-35 and then blowing a 21-0 lead only to lose 35-28 to the Hawaii Warriors. This is where the University screwed up they chose to keep Willingham for the 2008 season knowing that an NFL coach was in their backyard in Jim L. Mora. In January of 2008 the Seahawks who had a 10-6 season named Mora the next head coach for when Mike Holmgren retires after the 2008 season. Willingham of course went 0-12 in 2008 and because Mora was already scheduled to be the next NFL head coach he turned down the Huskies out of loyalty to the Seahawks. The Huskies would hire Steve Sarkisian while Mora was fired after just one season for the Seahawks going 5-11 even though he inherited a team that had gone 4-12 the year prior.

Seattle has had plenty of failed coaches before and many who have failed worse than Mora did in only one season. Which is why it is so perplexing that Mora is so hated by so many fans in Seattle. For those who don't know Jim L. Mora's dad is Jim Mora the coach who once had the famous line of "Playoffs?!! I just hope we can win a friggin game" in a very high pitch voice. Well elder Mora earned his stripes as the Huskies defensive coordinator when Don James took over as head coach the first move he made was demoting Jim Lambright from defensive coordinator to linebackers coach. The Huskies won the Rose Bowl during the 1977 upsetting the Michigan Wolverines 27-20. Elder Mora then bolted to the NFL as he was successful for the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts but couldn't ever win the big game.

Younger Mora played for the University of Washington from 1980-1983 as he was a part of two Rose Bowl teams and a graduate assistent on the Orange Bowl team. Younger Mora went on to coach with his dad then later became an up and coming defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers before becoming head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. There is no reason to hate Mora as his dad has a big part of Huskies history and he himself played for the Huskies. He has stated several times that the Huskies job would be his dream and he even coached the Seattle Seahawks. Recently while announcing the Seahawks game he showed that he still loves Seattle as he grew up here, his wife is from here and he still lives in Seattle. If anything fans should root for a guy like Mora who has local connections. Instead, since nobody will ever admit to supporting Willingham the bitterness still remains. Many of the Willingham fans are easily detected as they go out of their way to hate on the "evil" Rick Neuheisel and will bash on Jim L. Mora even though he played for the Huskies.

Now the Mora bashers bring up the fact that why would any college team want him since he failed in the NFL twice? Well let's play a little game coach A won one division title and has a 31-33(.484%) record in the NFL and a 1-1 playoff record. He was given three years at one job where he had some success and at another job was fired after just one season. Coach B won one division title and had a 33-31(.515) record in the NFL and a 1-2 playoff record. He was given three years at one job where he had some success and at another job was fired after just one season. Both coaches were also defensive coordinators on successful 49ers teams. As you can see both coaches are eerily similar so if you haven't guessed by now coach A is Jim L. Mora and coach B is Pete Carroll. Yes the same Carroll who replaced Mora as Seahawks coach and more importantly the same Carroll who won two national championships, four Rose Bowl championships and two Orange Bowl's. Carroll like Mora is an energetic defensive minded coach who had no college head coaching experience at all prior to arriving at USC.

 In fact failing in the NFL doesn't mean much as most failed NFL coaches do quite well in the college game. Former Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson won two national titles at the university of Miami went to the Seahawks where he was 31-33 in four seasons. After being fired went to the Oregon State Beavers who hadn't had a winning season in close to 30 years. While at Oregon State Erickson went 31-17(.646%) including a Fiesta Bowl win.  Erickson went to the 49ers where he was 9-23 only to return to the college game with the Arizona State Sun Devils who are enjoying a 5-2 season as we speak. Steve Spurrier won a ton of games including a national championship at the univeristy of Florida Gators before leaving to the Washington Redskins. With the Redskins Spurrier was a failure going just 12-20 before returning to the college game. At bottom feeder South Carolina Spurrier is 50-34(.595%). Typically failed NFL coaches come down to the college ranks and dominate the college game just like major leaguers dominate triple A.

In conclusion, no fan in Seattle should have any reason to hate Jim L. Mora yet so many want him to fail. Just mentioning that a former NFL head coach should be the Huskies defensive coordinator and some fans will be outraged at the thought of Mora becoming defensive coordinator. You just know if Sarkisian were to be fired or leave and Mora takes over all those Willingham supporters bitterness would come through as they would ride Mora like no other. Facts are Mora was with the Seahawks for one season which isn't enough time to run a franchise into the ground like many portray that he did. Mora also isn't set out for the NFL but as a Huskies fan I fear that someday UCLA, Arizona or California will come in and swoop Mora up. I've never seen Husky fans turn on one of their one in my entire life. Sad that the fans will let an 11-37(.229) coach like Willingham be the reason for turning on a player whose dad coached the Huskies to a Rose Bowl win and a former player who was on a Rose Bowl championship team. Hopefully the animosity towards Mora will finally end as he appears to be a guy who loves this area. This is a guy we should be rooting for not against as there is no reason to root against Mora. If the Huskies are ever at point of searching for a new head coach(hopefully not for decades I might add) I would have no problem with Jim L. Mora being the head coach and neither should you.

Huskies win Holiday Bowl 19-7 over Nebraska!

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(7-6,5-4) upset win over the #17 Nebraska Cornhuskers(10-4,7-2) 19-7 is by far the biggest win of the Steve Sarkisian era. This win for the Huskies gave them their first winning season since 2002 and first bowl win since the 2000 season. What was even more shocking than the win even was how the Huskies won the game. The Huskies dominated the trenches unlike last time these two teams played. The Huskies were beating Nebraska at their own game with pounding the ball and playing good defense. This was one of the biggest wins in Husky football recently.



The Huskies feeding off the energy of the crowd which was electric had a terrific start to the game. Nebraska began the game with the ball and were driving to midfield. The game was looking like a repeat of the Nebraska 56-21 win over the Huskies on September 18th. In that game Nebraska had three 100 yard rushers, you can read about the game recap.click here . I was getting worried about the start of the game then Nebraska tried to get cute. They had running back Rex Burkhead line up in shotgun to take the direct snap which he did on a sweep. On that play Victor Aiyewa poked the ball out from Burkhead which Alameda Ta'amu recovered 14 yards to the Nebraska 21 yard line.



The Huskies began the series with four wide receivers, three in a bunch set to the right. Chris Polk wasn't lined up at tailback instead Jesse Callier was which I found odd. Then Callier received the toss sweep to the right and then fired a pass across the field to Huskies quarterback Jake Locker who made a great catch and run for 16 yards. After a Nebraska half the distance penalty on second and goal from the four yard line the Huskies finally scored. Chris Polk ran in the touchdown from four yards out to give the Huskies a quick 7-0 lead as the crowd was going crazy(including myself).



The Huskies defense kept the momentum going by three and outing the mighty Huskers offense on back to back series. The Huskies defense unlike the first time around were not giving up any big plays. The reason for that is the freshman on the defensive line have matured, Cort Dennison didn't play the first game, and Victor Aiyewa was playing in just his third game ever at linebacker. Aiyewa led the Pac-10 in tackles for lost. The Huskies offense took advantage of the great defensive play by marching down the field for an Erik Folk 39 yard field goal. Chris Polk had three carries for 22 yards while Locker added a 12 yard run. The Huskies took a 10-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

In the second quarter the Nebraska offense finally started to move the ball. Facing a third and 13 from their own 48 yard line, quarterback Tayler Martinez who torched the Huskies the game before broke a 20 yard run for the first down. Then facing a third and eight from the Huskies 15 yard line, Martinez floated a pass in the left corner of the end zone that looked like it could have been intercepted. The pass was caught by Kyler Reed for a 15 yard touchdown to cut the score to 10-7. The Huskies would end the half with a missed field goal and took a 10-7 halftime lead.



The Huskies began the second half ball at their own 47 due to a great kickoff return by Jesse Callier and a penalty by Nebraska. Locker finally completed his first pass of the game hitting D'Andre Goodwin for a gain of 26 yards on third and eight to the Nebraska 25 yard line. On the next play Locker took the handoff and ran 25 yards for the touchdown. He then spiked the ball but no flag was called. The crowd was going crazy at this point the Husky fans finally started to believe they could pull off the upset.

The Huskies holding on to a 17-7 lead in the third quarter continued to dominate the Nebraska offense. The Huskies up by 10 points then went on a 12 play 55 yard drive which took up over five minutes of time. The quarter had ended with the Huskies facing a crucial fourth and goal from the one yard line. Steve Sarkisian is an agressive coach and with the way his defense was playing there wasn't any doubt he was going for it. The Huskies lined up in shotgun handed it off to Polk who was stopped just short of the touchdown. Had Polk went to his left a yard more he walks in the end zone untouched.



Nebraska took momentum but with backup quarterback Cody Green who was filling in for the ineffective Martinez due to injury still had to face the Huskies pressure from his own one yard line. Facing a third and long Green scrambled for a first down but that was only possible because Ta'amu was held in the end zone. The refs saw that and called holding in the end zone which resulted with a safety for the Huskies. At that point the Nebraska fans started to leave early.



Nebraska had one last chance to make it a game as they were driving against the Huskies prevent defense. Facing a fourth and 19 on the Huskies 44, Green attempted a pass to the end zone who had one on one coverage with Huskies corner Adam Long. Long had the ball hit him in the back which started the celebration. The Huskies gave Sarkisian the gatorade bath.

The Huskies finally won the Holiday Bowl 19-7. The Huskies had outgained the Huskers 340-189, had 21 first downs to their 14 first downs and outrushed the Huskers 268-91. The Huskies defense had five sacks, two turnovers and forced three fumbles. The offensive line who everyone loves to bash on gave up zero sacks on the game. The Huskies in a complete 180 degree turn from the previous meeting dominated the line of scrimmage.

The Huskies were led by Chris Polk who won Co-MVP with outside linebacker Mason Foster. Polk carried the ball 34 times for 176 yards(5.2 YPC) for a touchdown. Polk controlled the game and the clock for the Huskies. The Huskies were playing Don James football which was run the ball, play good defense and don't turn the ball over. The Huskies dominated the rushing trio of Nebraska unlike the last meeting. Rex Burkhead had just 22 yards rushing on 12 carries(1.8 YPC) and Roy Helu had 28 yards on 11 carries(2.5 YPC). The Huskies shut down the run game and forced Nebraska to play a style they aren't used to.

Unlike the previous meeting where Martinez dominated Locker, I felt Locker outplayed Martinez this game. Locker's stats weren't great he was just 5 for 16 passing for 56 yards but most of those incompletions were throwaways. Locker also ran for 81 yards on 13 carries(6.2 YPC) with a touchdown. Martinez was seven for nine for 53 yards with a touchdown and an interception but had negative 20 yards rushing on 14 carries. Cody Green his backup quarterback was 3 for 12 for 45 yards and ran for negative five yards.

The Huskies from 0-12 to Holiday Bowl champs in just two years has been quite the turnaround. Sarkisian promised a quick turnaround and unlike Willingham he never brought up lack of talent. His supporters constantly brought up lack of talent but Sarkisian never did. Sarkisian featured the run game down the stretch and rallied his team from a 3-6 hole. This was a huge win for Sarkisian and recruiting as this proves he'll be here for a while. The Huskies are still probably a few years away from competing for Rose Bowls but at least the Huskies are now going to and winning bowl games. This was a huge win for this coaching staff and for these Seniors their legacy ranks up there as the team that turned this program around.

Observations:


- I've been saying feature Chris Polk all year long and the Huskies will win games. Well better late than never I suppose. In the Huskies four game winning streak Polk has ran for 673 yards on 107 carries(6.3 YPC) with five touchdowns. In the Huskies seven wins this year Polk ran for 968 yards on 165 carries(5.9 YPC) with seven rushing touchdowns. In the Huskies wins Polk averages 138.3 yards per game and 23.6 carries per game.

In the Huskies losses Polk ran for 397 yards on 95 carries(4.2 YPC) with just two rushing touchdowns. Polk averaged in the six losses 66.2 yards per game and just 15.8 carries per game. I think the stats show feature Polk and you win games. Now the question is will Polk be back next year? He has already ran for 2,511 yards on 506 carries in his short career. When running backs hit a certain age they start to fall apart so for a player like Polk the smart move is to leave. I hope he returns as Jesse Callier is a nice change of pace running back but I'm not sure he is a guy who can feed 25+ carries a game.



- Just like last game against Nebraska I saw another legendary coach. Last game I actually stood next to and shook Tom Osborne's hand. This game I saw Don James walking on the sidelines and took a picture of him. It was great to see the dawgfather at the game. He is the reason why Washington football is so great today having coached from 1975-1992. During that time James won six Pac-10 championships, four Rose Bowls, One Orange Bowl and One National Championship.



- Mason Foster had another monster game earning Co-MVP of the Holiday Bowl win. Foster came to Washington as a two star recruit but soon made a name for himself. He was the lone bright spot during the winless 2008 season when he led the Pac-10 in tackles. Last year Foster was a playmaker with forcing five fumbles and intercepting three passes including the game winning touchdown against Arizona.

This year Foster was first team all pac-10 linebacker. Finished second in the entire nation in tackles. Foster brought it every game even in the loss to Nebraska Foster had 17 tackles. Today Foster had 12 tackles, including five that went for a loss. To clinch the Apple Cup Foster recorded two sacks to end the game. Foster will be a very hard player to replace next year. All the attention was on Locker this season but Mason Foster was a huge part of the rebuilding of the Huskies. Foster had the best linebacking season by a Husky since Dave Hoffmann in the early 90's.



- I'll finish this blog post by talking about the career of Jake Locker. Locker finished his career by passing for just 56 yards but got the win. I've seen Locker put up huge numbers in losses and rival fans love to bash his record. Well Locker is a winner. Without Locker the team went 0-12 in 2008. Since Sarkisian has arrived Locker is 12-12(he missed Oregon game) and 9-8 in Pac-10 play.

Locker came back for his Senior year when the smart move was to leave. He came back for games like today. His legacy is terrific at Washington regardless of how his NFL career turns out. He finished his career with 7,639 yards passing(2nd all-time), 53 passing touchdowns(1st all-time) to just 35 interceptions. He also ran for 1,783 yards and 29 touchdowns which are both Husky records. I'd say Locker's career turned out just fine. He drove me crazy at times but he also wow'd me many of times. Locker helped turned the program around along with Chris Polk, Mason Foster and others. I'm glad to see such a great person go out on top like Locker did.

All in all this win can't be described in words. The Huskies defeated a team who embarassed them at home back in September. The Huskies pulled off a huge upset win that will carry momentum for recruiting for years to come. The Huskies were down in San Diego for a week with open practices and with this win recruits will follow. Sarkisian promised a quick turnaround and he makes tons of guarantees but I'm glad he backed up with promise. Sarkisian will have his work cut out for him next year replacing some stars but the program appears finally headed towards the right direction.

My sitdown with former Washington Husky and Kelso Hilander David Richie

By Kshell

The other day I had a nice football related talk at the local Starbucks here in my hometown. This wasn't your normal football talk about Washington Husky football as this conversation involved somebody who has actually worn the purple and gold. This guy had also went to a Rose Bowl, won a Super Bowl and even won an XFL championship. This football chat was with hometown legend David Richie who played for the Huskies from 1992-1996 where he was honorable mention all Pac-10 in 1995 and second team all Pac-10 in 1996. In this following story I'll talk about Richie's playing career at Washington, how he owes everything to a single coach who he still respects very much, and his current coaching job at a High School in Portland, Oregon.

When Richie was growing up he came from a small city in Southwest Washington which was Kelso High School. He played for the Hilanders from 1989-1991 while at Kelso he dominated as a three sport athlete who played football, basketball and did track. Richie due to his athletic ability and size was getting some looks from colleges. In particular he was being recruited by a school that was in the process of winning back to back Rose Bowls and a National Championship in 1991.

"I remember taking an amtrack train up there from 1989-91'. People locally would make sure I would get on that train. I missed a total of two homes games at Husky Stadium in those three years. Sometimes I'd crash on Steve Emtmans couch, it was a blast going to those games," recalled Richie.



Richie came to Washington primarily because of one coach. No the coach wasn't Don James although Richie has the upmost respect for James. Instead Richie came to Washington because of long time defensive line coach and current Stanford defensive line coach Randy Hart.

"Randy Hart is the greatest man I've ever known. I have known Randy for the last 22 years(since I was 15 years old). He was hard on you but he knew how to coach you up and bring the best out of you. He was a great father figure to those like myself who grew up in a single mother household," says Richie.

"Randy taught us everything from how to be a good husband to how to be a good father. He always stressed about staying on the right path and never going off that path. If you went off the path Randy would put you back on the right path real quick. He had a system going of succession from John Cook to Travis Richardson to Steve Emtman to Tyrone Rodgers to D'Marco Farr to Deke Devers then to myself. That is how it was back then everyone fell in place and was ready to take over when it was their time," as Richie remembers fondly.

As the years go by Richie has still stayed in touch with Randy Hart. When I asked him where he would go today if he was in high school he smiled and said Stanford. He said he would go wherever Hart was at. After Richie went on a recruiting trip to the University of Oregon that night he immediately called up Hart at 9:30 p.m. and told him he was going to Washington because of Hart.

Thankfully for the Huskies back then Hart was still their coach as the "redneck" from the little town of Kelso, Washington would become a household name while at the University of Washington. While redshirting at Washington Richie got to play under one of college football's legendary head coaches in Don James.

He also recalls one practice when he felt that he finally "arrived". "I was going through one of those rough stretches that every freshman goes through. I was having a bad week and it was USC week so that was always big. I remember one play I blew up fullback Leif Johnson, then very next play blew up fullback Matt Jones and on the following play I blew up fullback Darius Turner. That is when I heard whistles blowing and Don James screaming "will somebody block that #97!". That was a great feeling getting recognition from James all the way up in the tower," recalls Richie.

Unfortunately for Richie and the rest of his teammates playing under James wouldn't last very long. On August of 1993 college football would be rocked around the nation. The Washington Huskies were given a two year bowl ban and then head coach Don James resigned that day. Defensive coordinator Jim Lambright would take over as head coach.

"I remember when he would have you sit on his couch for his meetings, I had six of those in fact. He had me diagnosed with my mental disabilities, ADHD and dyslexia, got me tutors and made school life much easier to manage. DJ was a great man and I personally felt like all that work went down the drain and a little why did you leave us?" recalls David. "P.A. Emerson stood up first and threw his keys on the ground and that's when things went to hell in a hand basket. His last words were (talking through tears) "I am handing you over to Jim Lambright I am so sorry" and we watched him walk out the door with tears in his eyes.
BOOM!"- Richie remembers sadly.



The transition was rough but fortunately for Richie his defensive coordinator in Lambright was now the head coach and his defensive line coach Randy Hart was his defensive coordinator. In 1993 and 1994 Richie primarily played special teams but in 1995 he got his big break. He was going to start for the Huskies in the 1995 season at defensive tackle. As he said before this was finally his turn.

During the 1995 season Richie led the Huskies in sacks and scored his only career touchdown down at Arizona on a 32 yard fumble recovery. He was honorable mention all Pac-10 that year on the Huskies who finished tied for first place in the Pac-10. Richie also won John P. Angel award which is rewarded to the top offensive lineman and defensive lineman. Andy Mason from Mark Morris High School won that award in 1992 as did other greats like Steve Emtman in 1991, Reggie Rogers in 1985 and 1986, Ron Holmes in 1984 and plenty of other greats. Unfortunately for Richie his season was cut short as he was hurt in the 33-30 win over the Cougars in the Apple Cup. He also had to miss the 38-18 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Sun Bowl.

During his Senior campaign Richie started the year off with a bang. In the home opener and second game of the season him and Jason Chorak chased BYU quarterback Steve Sarkisian around all game long. Sarkisian was hyped up going into the game and would end the season 14-1 but on that day by those two was sacked and hit early and often. The Huskies would win 29-17 led by the great defensive performance of Richie and Chorak. Chorak would finish with three sacks while Richie would have two sacks on the day.

Later in the 1996 season Richie and the defense would beat the USC Trojans down in the L.A. Coliseum 21-10. The win was huge because it was the first time ever that a USC team had been held to negative rushing yardage. That defense that year went five straight games of holding opponents to 14 points or less going into the Apple Cup. The Huskies who would blow a 24-0 lead would hang on to win 31-24 in overtime. Richie had 11 tackles that day and three sacks while being Pac-10 defensive player of the week. Richie would end his Senior season as second team all Pac-10 defensive tackle and once again winning the John P. Angel award. Richie was the first Husky to win that award back to back years since Travis Richardson did in 1988 and 1989. His teammate Jason Chorak was Pac-10 defensive player of the year.



After dealing with the frustrations of not being drafted Richie would find himself on the Denver Broncos. He recalls as a rookie when Neil Smith picked him and gave him a ride to practice. Six years earlier he was walking the halls of Kelso High School to now he was getting lifts to practice from Neil Smith. Later that year the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl over the Green Bay Packers 31-24. Richie just like in college where he tasted a Rose Bowl his first season would win a Super Bowl his first year in the NFL. From Kelso to University of Washington all the way to the White House.



Richie would bounce around the league which saw him play for the San Francisco 49ers where in a preseason game against the Seahawks he had the best game of his life he describe. He had 11 tackles, four tackles for lost, two sacks, six quarterback hurries and he also picked off former teammate Brock Huard and ran back a touchdown for the game winning touchdown. He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Green Bay Packers. He ended his career playing for the L.A.Xtreme during the 2001 season and won an XFL championship which featured Tommy Maddox. Unfortunately due to injuries on his neck he couldn't play no longer. He had a nice deal on the table from the New York Jets as well.



Now David is coaching High School football. He began coaching his old High School Kelso in 2002 which beat my R.A.Long Lumberjacks 35-28 in overtime. Thankfully he didn't rub that one in on me. He then moved on to helping University of Washington football players to now coaching at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon.

Under the head coach of Steve Pyne, Richie is teamed up with Toots Kahauni in building the culture up in this program. Central Catholic High School has dominated league play the past decade but can't seem to get over that second round hump. Both Richie and Kahauni coach the defensive line on varsity and on J.V. His defensive line features Alex Balducci who is a defensive end and is also a three star recruit which Washington and other Northwest schools is looking at along with Randy Hart and Stanford. Another defensive lineman he has is Jacob Nall who was the leagues defensive player of the year. Nall isn't ranked yet but by this time next year you'll see his name on rankings. Like Balducci Washington and other Northwest schools along with Hart are also looking at. He also features a strong nose guard Tyler Nagee who figures to have a big year next season.

The Central Catholic Rams won the league title in varisty, J.V. and freshman football. They finished the year 8-3 but due to some injuries lost in the second round. The Rams will return plenty of good players as most likely they'll have 12 all-league calibar players back, only losing three Senior starters on defense and five overall. The defense they run is the "Grizzly" which is a 5-3-3 defense. What makes their defense unique is that you have two defensive ends, one nose guard and your two other defensive tackles stand up something that you would see Bill Bellicheck and the Patriots use.

Whether it's coaching football or living life David is using the Randy Hart philosphy. He hopes to spread the great coaching he received from James, Lambright and Hart down to his current group of High School kids. Richie has came a long ways from being the hick in a hick town like Kelso. He has been to a Rose Bowl, won a Super Bowl, won an XFL championship and now he is helping kids reach the next level like he did. Overall it was nice catching up with a good Husky like David Richie. This will be the first of many football chats I have with him. I wish David plenty of success down the road.

Top five Husky blowout wins in Apple Cup history

By Kshell

In rivalries like the Apple Cup for example the media likes to portray how on any given Saturday anyone can win. You hear the phrase "you can throw out the records" well in this rivalry some upsets have happened that is true. What they won't tell you is how lopsided this series is. The Huskies lead 65-31-6 and have won more games in my lifetime(born in 1985-16 wins) than the Cougars have won in my dad's lifetime(Born in 1961-15 wins). The Cougars have never defeated the Huskies three years in a row, while the Huskies have defeated the Cougars three years in a row nine different times. In this following post I'll break down the blowout wins that are never brought up which took place in my lifetime.

5. November 17th, 2001: #9 Washington State Cougars(9-1,6-1) at #16 Washington Huskies(7-2,5-2)

This game was hyped up as the biggest Apple Cup since 1981 which took place 20 years earlier in Seattle. If the Oregon Ducks reached the national championship game there was a good chance the Cougars could play in the Rose Bowl with a win in Seattle. Instead they realized they weren't ready to beat the Huskies in Seattle yet.

The Huskies would feature the young passing attack of Cody Pickett to Reggie Williams. Pickett would end up throwing for 371 yards on the day while his freshman receiver Williams would have 11 receptions for 203 yards. In the first quarter the Huskies would also have a huge goal-line stand on the Cougars. Cougars coach Mike Price would elect to go for it on fourth and goal and the Huskies defense would stuff the Cougars in the process.




After the score was tied at 7-7 the Huskies would kick a field goal with nine seconds left to go up 10-7. The Cougars would then fumble the following kickoff so the Huskies would kick another field goal to go up 13-7 at halftime. Then in the second half the Cougars would continue to cost themselves with turnovers, a running back pass on the Huskies 13 would be intercepted. The Huskies would score their final three possessions off Cougar turnovers. At one point the Huskies led 26-7 before the Cougars finally scored making the final score 26-14. This game didn't live up to the hype as the Cougars showed they weren't ready for the Huskies.

4. November 28th, 2009: Washington State(1-10,0-8) at Washington Huskies (3-7,2-5)

This game I attended and was the only game I walked away not happy with my teams performance despite a blowout win. The Huskies won 30-0 but left so many points on the board that the score could have been really ugly.

The Huskies led by Mason Foster and the defense shut out the Cougars for the first time sinec 1964. It was a great way for Steve Sarkisian in his first year to begin his Apple Cup career much like Don James, Jim Lambright, Rick Neuheisel and yes even Keith Gilbertson did which was win the game.




The shut the Cougars out 30-0 behind Jake Locker who completed 16 of 28 passes for 196 yards and a 50 yard touchdown to Jermaine Kearse in the first quarter. Locker also ran for 94 yards and a touchdown. Chris Polk rush for 130 yards on 25 carries as the Cougars were no match up front for Chris Polk. Kearse would finish with four receptions for 94 yards and the touchdown.

The Cougars would finish with a pathetic 163 yards of total offense. There was no jumping around for Paul Wulff this year. The Huskies were pumped for this game having lost two in a row and in typical Apple Cup fassion when they are the superior team they blow the Cougars out.

3.November 18th, 2000: #6 Washington Huskies(9-1,6-1) at Washington State Cougars(4-6,2-5)




The Huskies had found out the Oregon State Beavers had knocked off the Oregon Ducks meaning a win here and the Huskies would be going to the Rose Bowl. The Huskies all year long had to use fourth quarter magic to win games but not this game. There was no drama in this contest which stands as the biggest Apple Cup blowout ever.

The Huskies came out from the beginning on fire knowing what they had to do. Led by Pac-10 player of the year Marques Tuiasosopo who hit freshman Wilbur Hooks for a 19 yard touchdown pass then Justin Robbins for a six yard touchdown pass. In the second quarter the Huskies fullback Pat Conniff would score on a six yard rushing touchdown. Then Tuiasosopo would hit Robbins again from 34 yards out with four seconds left in the half to give the Huskies a 27-0 lead. The lead was so huge that a Cougar runningback quit the team at halftime.




The Huskies would be up 37-0 before Price and the Cougars would kick a field goal to avoid the shutout. The Huskies would win the game 51-3 which saw backup quarterback and future Apple Cup star Cody Pickett play the entire fourth quarter. Tuiasosopo would finish 11 for 20 for 190 yards with three touchdowns. The running game which saw freshman Rich Alexis rush for 122 yards on 11 carries and Braxton Cleman rush 15 times for 105 yards on the game. This was your classic Huskies going to the Rose Bowl beat up on the Cougars to prepare for Pasadena game.

2. November 17, 1990: #10 Washington(8-2,7-1) at Washington State(3-7,2-5)



This was another classic Husky domination over the Cougars which featured quarterback Drew Bledsoe as a freshman. The Huskies led by sophomore Mark Brunell were coming off an upset loss to UCLA at home. The Huskies were already going to the Rose Bowl were hoping to play for a National Championship. Those dreams would have to wait for a year.




The Huskies would have to play without Doak Walker award winner Greg Lewis. Good thing for the Huskies they also had the very talented Beno Bryant backing him up. The Huskies defense destroyed Bledsoe and the Cougars and the Huskies killed the Cougars this game 55-10 in Pullman. Showing the Cougars whose was boss in another game that would help them gain confidence heading into a Rose Bowl win over Iowa 46-34. Mark Brunell would the Rose Bowl MVP. Just remember like usual when the Huskies go to the Rose Bowl it involves a blow out win over the Cougars.

1. November 23rd, 1991: Washington State Cougars(4-6,3-4) at #2 Washington Huskies(10-0,7-0)

The controversy heading into this week was that Cougars head coach Mike Price publicy stated he was going to vote the Miami Hurricanes #1 in the coaches poll because he was friends with Dennis Erickson. The Huskies again clinched another trip to the Rose Bowl but were hoping to win the National Championship.




The Huskies again would blow out the Cougars whose quarterback was Drew Bledsoe. With the Huskies leading 12-7, Walter Bailey intercepted a Bledsoe pass 37 yards for a touchdown after a two point concersation the Huskies led 20-7. The Huskies defense kept the pressue on Bledsoe sacking him seven times and forcing six Cougar turnovers. While Billy Joe Hobert passed for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Hobert would connect twice with Mario Bailey for touchdowns. The Huskies would later add a safety on Bledsoe.

When it was all sad and done despite Bledsoe throwing for 334 yards on the Huskies impressive defense the Huskies would win 56-21. The Huskies were so used to greatness they weren't happy with their performance or how they allowed 21 points to the Cougars. That is when you know you kick someone's behind when you win by five touchdowns and still are complaining.

The Huskies would finish this season with a 12-0 record, beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl 34-14 and winning the coaches share of the National Championship. The Huskies also had beat the Cougars in back to back years by a combined score of 111-31. Drew Bledsoe is remembered for beating the Huskies in the "snow bowl" but people often forget he was part of back to back blowouts.

At the end of the day during the game and Apple Cups for years to come you'll hear how great this rivalry is. Just remember that this is a one sided rivalry where if the Huskies are the better team they'll blow the Cougars out. The last time the Cougars beat the Huskies by more than seven points was in 1994, while the Huskies have beaten them by more than seven points in that same span four times. The Huskies since 1990 have beaten the Cougars by more than 30 points four times. So when the Huskies are clicking against the Cougars that usually means that it's a blowout. Hopefully the game later today is another game the media conventiently forgets about.