Return to Glory

[Theheel]

With the new 2013 updated mod that was provided in the forums, I am going to work on my 1st football dynasty that I will share online. I am taking my favorites the Washington Huskies starting in 2013 and growing to build them into a Pac-12 contender. While the Huskies have fallen on hard times the last 10 years or so, they have been much improved since the dismal 2008 season where they went 0-12. Since then the Huskies have made 3 straight bowl games and been 25-24 (not great but hey 0-12 was just a few years ago).

 

So in looking at the challenge and in the database, it basically has taken the Huskies back (in my mind) to 2008 as the prestige is at only 45 and the talent on the roster is really, really bad. Hopefully the administration will not fire me before I get a solid 3-5 years to rebuild because the roster is awful and with the prestige level this low it will take time to get quality recruits to return.

 

So while I am going on vacation here this coming week I have done some preliminary posts that I will update things with heading into the 2013 season. I will schedule some cream puff teams this year in the non-league schedule just so we might have a chance at an overall record of 6-6, but winning 2 conference games and the last non-conference game @ San Diego State will not be easy. The teams recruiting class coming into this season is 60th nationally and they are picked 11th (only ahead of WSU but behind Colorado yikes). Expectations are not too high, but we will see with the Husky fan base non-bowl seasons and substandard records are not usually tolerated for too long.

 

Wish me luck and I hope it is a little entertaining for everyone.

[Theheel]

Washington Huskies have just announce a press conference to introduce their new coach. It is somewhat of a surprise but the Dawgs have dipped into the Division 2 ranks to pull out DD Martin fresh off a 5 season run at his alma mater Central Washington University where the Wildcats have gone 49-15 and made the D2 playoffs 4 of the 5 seasons he was there. Martin sits down with Husky beat writer Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times to discuss the upcoming season.

 

Condotta - I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your appointment to become the Husky football coach. It was quite the search and it was highly publicized that the administration was trying to hire a big name, but based on the time of the year, that didn't come to fruition for them. Any concerns about them having looked at others for the job.

 

Martin - I don't blame them. Washington deserves the best coach possible to revive the program and return it to the historic levels that the Dawgfather (Don James) reached. I have no worries that even though I am not a "big name", me and my staff have what it takes to turn this program around and with the support of Husky Nation, we hope to be back in title contention very soon.

 

Condotta - In looking at the roster, there doesn't seem to be a really stockpile full of Pac-12 players on the roster. What do you do to try and compete this season.

 

Martin - I have to disagree with you Bob about the talent. No there are not a ton of "big names" and yes we have room to grow, but there is talent there and we are going to get with these kids in spring practice and then again in August and we are going to coach the heck out of them. I am not going to promise Rose Bowls or Pac-12 titles in our 1st season, but I would be lying to you to say that isn't our goal. Plenty have teams have come out of nowhere to win in past years, and while the Pac-12 is loaded, especially in the North, we are going to compete each and every week. We are going to earn respect and with that comes confidence. What I saw from watching as a fan from Ellensburg last year was a team lacking confidence.

 

Condotta - How do you build that confidence?

 

Martin - Hard work, having fun at what you do and striving to be the very best you can be. Butt also this season and probably next season as well, we are not going to overload our kids with non-conference schedule of Top 25 teams. We will see enough of those type of teams in conference. We are going to schedule solid programs that are going to test our team each and every week and I can assure you that we will not be taking anyone for granted. At present we are not Alabama, but our non-conference schedule will probably be harder than the Tide' (shot intended).

 

Condotta - Any predictions for the upcoming season?

 

Martin - If you mean wins and losses, I will leave that to you and the rest of the media to decide that. What I predict is we will have a fun and competitive team that is capable of surprising a few people and we expect to be a factor come the holiday season and look to a bowl game.

 

Condotta - Coach we will let you go back to spring practice now. Good luck this season with the Huskies.

 

Martin - Bob thanks and we appreciate all the support of the Husky fans as we approach what we think will be a great season for us and also a great recruiting season next year. We will get this team back into top contention, that I will promise you

[Theheel]

Washington Spring Game -

Purple 27 Gold 21

 

The Huskies had a spirited spring game this season and it was a full length game between the #1 Offense/#2 Defense vs #2 Offense/#1 Defense. The surprise performance of the spring game was Carl Kelly who looks like he firmly established himself as the #1 RB come Summer camp.

 

After the game head coach DD Martin spoke with KJR's Mitch "mitch in the morning" Levy and former UW QB Hugh Millen.

 

Mitch - Coach that was a pretty good game for a spring affair. How far has your team come in the 5 weeks of spring practice this year.

 

Martin - Mitch we really gained momentum and felt that we had great practices this spring. The defense really started to improve as we continued and that is going to be a huge plus for us this coming season.

 

Millen - Coach I watched the competition at the QB spot all spring and you have a very close battle on your hands.

 

Martin - I think we have 4 guys that we could go into the season with that could potentially be our starters. I think the our Junior class QB's stepped up and really showed what they can do. it was a pretty even spring camp between York and Samuels. I really like what our Sophomore Obrien brought to the table as well. Most likely because of a shoulder injury, we probably will redshirt Freshman QB Hall and just carry 3 for the regular season.

 

Millen - If the season started today who would be starting?

 

Martin - Fortunately the season is still 4 months away and we still have a lot of evaluating and work to do, it is close, very close but a slight edge has to go to York at this point.

 

Mitch - The schedule has been announced for next season and the early schedule has home games against South Alabama, Buffalo and Florida International before opening Pac-12 play against Stanford in Palo Alto. Those first few games are not against the toughest opponents but as you said it is about building team confidence.

 

Martin - I think a lot of people are underestimating our schedule. Yes we open with 3 home games and it wouldn't be against what some would called a murders row like, LSU, Boise State and Oklahoma. But we are a very young football team, that needs to compete and stay healthy in order to build that confidence. That is what we will try to do against those 3 early opponents but, they are not the push overs everyone thinks they are. Those are quality Division 1 teams playing in the BCS division as there will be no games played against lower level competition to pad the schedule.

 

Millen - Coach we are really looking forward to the upcoming season and as summer camp rolls around come August 1st, we will all be out here rooting on the purple and gold.

 

Mitch - Coach thanks for taking a few minutes with us after that game today and we will see you this fall.

 

Martin - Thanks guys, appreciate all the support that KJR has given us and we will be ready come September. We are going to surprise some people.

[Theheel]

Dave "Softy" Mahler is on the afternoon drive show on KJR as the Huskies are about 2 weeks away from the opener against South Alabama. Husky practices have been pretty grueling as Seattle has had an unseasonably warm summer.

 

Softy - Coach, its coming up quick baby. The Dawgs are about to take back Montlake this season and I for one am optimistic about what you have in store for us this season.

 

Martin - Softy let me tell you it is really coming together. This team that hasn't received a lot of respect is going to surprise people this year. Call me an optimist but I feel strong that we will be in the mix this season for post season play.

 

Softy - Well after the last few seasons and the lack of name players committing to Washington, we are all ready for that change baby. Talk to me about what you see from the QB position. Who is going to start in week 1.

 

Martin - York has earned the right to start Softy. We are going to have 3 deep on the QB list and we will try and not burn Hall's redshirt if at all possible. I think York has shown a lot during this off-season, but all 3 guys are probably going to see some playing time this year. We really do want to get a solid look at these guys.

 

Softy - talking with Hugh and Dick Baird yesterday, Husky Fever is starting to hit a high pitch once again. I have to think that has a lot to do with you and the confidence you are instilling in this team and this fan base.

Martin - Well honestly Softy I haven't seen any coaches ever score a winning touchdown or kick a winning FG, but I will say that we have been working very hard. All the kids and the coaches to make this a season that people are going to remember. We might not have the best talent on the field week in and week out, but we are going to make sure people remember playing the Washington Huskies. No picnics out there when you come to play Washington, you had better bring it.

 

Softy - One last thing coach. On media day the league media picked Washington to finish 5th in the North and 11th overall. How do you handle that with these kids.

 

Martin - We have those predictions up on the wall in the locker room. Not that these guys needed inspiration but we are reminding them everyday of what others think of this team. Based on that you would think we will go 1-7 in conference and win maybe 3-4 games overall. I can promise you that we will be better than that.

 

Softy - All I can say baby is get out there and win baby, just win. Go DAWGS!

[Theheel]

The time has come for the 1st game under DD Martin for the Washington Huskies. The Pac-12 looks loaded this year and here is a quick media day look at the Pac-12 predictions for this season.

 

North

1.) Oregon (20) 140

2.) Stanford (4) 122

3.) Cal 87

4.) Oregon State 76

5.) Washington 45

6.) Washington State 34

 

South

1.) USC (12) 127

2.) Arizona (7) 115

3.) UCLA (5) 108

4.) Arizona State 74

5.) Utah 56

6.) Colorado 24

 

Oregon is the overwhelming favorite in the North, while the South is pretty close in the media voting. Oregon is favored to meet and beat USC in the Pac-12 title game 42-24

 

Coach Martin's comments

Honestly based on the play in the past few years and the perception of our talent, I am not surprised by the media poll. I don't agree with it, but I am not surprised. Our goal is to go out each and every week, starting with South Alabama and then playing each game as it comes. There are no games on our schedule any more important than any other. Our goal is to improve ourselves each and every time we go out on that field and to have a winning season. Some say that will be a tall order, but I honestly believe in the talent we have on this team and the coaches we have to get the most out of these guys. We look forward to that 1st game in 2 weeks.

[Theheel]

Husky pre-game notes

 

Washington has been installed as an 18 pt favorite at home against South Alabama by the Vegas odds makers.

 

Washington has invited 4 star recruit Forrest Gomez to the game this week. Gomez plays at Mammoth High School out of California and is green level interested in Washington.

 

Husky starters announced on offense

QB – York 4.0/4.0 green JR

HB – Kelly 4.0/4.0 green SR

FB – Rutherford 1.5/3.0 orange So

SE – Albright 3.5/5.0 green Jr

FL – Roberts 2.5/4.0 yellow Fr

TE – Warren 1.5/4.5 orange Fr

LT – Carter 2.5/2.5 yellow Jr

LG – Steen 3.0/3.5 yellow Jr

C – Cano 1.0/3.5 red Fr

RG – Richardson 2.5/3.0 yellow So

RT – Jensen 2.0/3.5 orange Jr

 

Husky starters on defense

DE – Westmoreland 3.0/3.5 yellow So

DT – Gray 3.5/3.5 green Sr

DT – Jackson 1.5/2.5 orange Jr

DE – Sheldon 2.5/2.5 yellow Sr

SLB – Langford 2.5/3.0 yellow Jr

MLB – Martinez 2.0/2.0 orange Sr

WLB – Chase 2.0/3.0 orange Jr

CB – Lee 2.5/3.0 yellow Jr

CB – Thompson 2.0/3.5 orange So

FS – Lang 3.5/3.5 green Sr

SS – Kern 2.0/3.5 orange Fr

 

Washington only has 9 seniors on the entire roster from a poor recruiting class 4 years ago. The depth on the team is a concern, but hopefully we can keep it together for a full season.

[Theheel]

Pre-Season top 25 poll

(forgot to put this in before the game log)

AP poll

1.) Oklahoma

2.) Florida

3.) LSU

4.) Texas

5.) Alabama

6.) Oregon

7.) Ohio State

8.) Georgia

9.) USC

10.) S Carolina

11.) TCU

12.) Texas A&M

13.) Tennessee

14.) Michigan

15.) Oklahoma State

16.) Florida State

17.) Texas Tech

18.) Michigan State

19.) Nebraska

20.) Baylor

21.) Wisconsin

22.) Mississippi State

23.) Notre Dame

24.) West Virginia

25.) Stanford

 

My own poll that I did at the start has the following:

1.) Florida

2.) Ohio State

3.) Alabama

4.) Oklahoma

5.) Oregon

6.) Texas

7.) Michigan

8.) Stanford

9.) West Virginia

10.) LSU

11.) USC

12.) Notre Dame

13.) TCU

14.) Florida State

15.) Georgia

16.) Oklahoma State

17.) Texas A&M

18.) Nebraska

19.) South Carolina

20.) Wisconsin

21.) Mississippi St

22.) Arkansas

23.) UCLA

24.) Auburn

25.) Tennessee

 

At the end of the year I have Florida beating Ohio State in the National Championship aka the Urban Meyer Bowl

 

The next post tonight will be the 1st game result

[olympia]

<p>just make sure someone beats up the dang Trojans!!</p><p> </p><p>

looking forward to the results. I suspect you'll have a rough first year, but pull off a couple upsets alongn the way and hopefully make a bowl game</p>

[Theheel]

Washington 24 – South Alabama 3

A crowd of 48,767 came out on the 1st day of the season to see the revamped Huskies take on the Jaguars of South Alabama. The Husky defense showed its strength early and held down the Jags while the Husky offense had a solid if unspectacular day from Carl Kelly who ran 28 times for 99 yards and 2 TD’s as the Dawgs won the home opener 24-3. Washington scored on its opening possession 65 yards on a Kelly 3 yard run. Washington tacked on 2 more touchdowns in the 2nd quarter to claim a 21-0 halftime lead. The 4th quarter saw a trade of field goals and pretty much a defensive struggle. Washington held the Jags to a total of 265 yards of offense and only 3-14 on 3rd down conversions.

 

The biggest part the defense played was picking off 4 passes and recovering 1 fumble compared to only one turnover for the Huskies. Next up for the Huskies will be a game with the Buffalo Bulls in Seattle. Carl Kelly was the star of the game as voted on by the media.

 

Coach Martin after the game comments- Well it is always good to get the 1st game of the season done. Very happy with winning the game but we have lots of work to do. The 1st half we played fairly well, but I am going to be honest in my disappointment in the 2nd half performance. We did not come out with any fire after halftime, and maybe we have done too much in talking these players up that they felt they could just show up and everything would click. As you can see it did not and we were lucky that South Alabama didn't catch us. I am most displeased with the offensive side of the ball where we just didn't put any sustained drives together after halftime. We will be working very hard on that and preparing for a tough Buffalo team next week (saying that very straight faced).

 

After the game injury report

 

Injuries heading into week 2 vs Buffalo

Weekly injury report

 

OT John Cook is recovering from an injury to his Elbow (Stress Fracture). He seems to be progressing well and we recommend playing him this week.

 

CB Jamie Lee is trying to play through an injury to his Elbow (Bone Chips). He seems willing to give it a go, but we would recommend giving him another week to recover.

 

Big game of week #1 Nationally

#17 Michigan State 14 @ West Virgina #24 45

The Mountaineers looked very good in a surprisingly easy home victory over previously rank #17 Michigan State.

[Theheel]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="olympia" data-cite="olympia" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36560" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>just make sure someone beats up the dang Trojans!!<p> </p><p> looking forward to the results. I suspect you'll have a rough first year, but pull off a couple upsets alongn the way and hopefully make a bowl game</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I believe that the 1st year is going to be tough, but I am kind of going out this the way Bill Snyder did at K-State and schedule nobody's in most out of conference games and build the record for a possible bowl game and also try and up our prestige with a 500 or better record. Recruiting will be the key and it will be tough. I have never had great luck in recruiting but I think I have a better idea what to do than in other games that I have played this time around. We will see.</p><p> </p><p> At least we got game 1 out of the way and didn't get upset at home.</p><p> </p><p> And I hope someone beats both Oregon (hate the Ducks more than the Trojans now) and USC.</p>

[Theheel]

Washington vs Buffalo

Washington is a 15 pt home favorite

 

The Huskies have invited for their recruiting focus this week a DT out of San Marcos California, Travis Braxton. Braxton is a 4 star recruit who rates Washington as green.

 

Washington has taken Lee out of the starting lineup this week due to his elbow injury. Starting in his place will be Smiley at CB. The medical staff hopes for Lee to return next week.

 

Week #2 Top 25 poll - Media Poll

 

Top 25 week #2

1.) Oklahoma 1-0 1607 Beat Marshall 73-21 @Alabama #5

2.) Florida 0-0 1537 Open @North Carolina

3.) LSU 1-0 1477 Beat W. Michigan 48-10 vs Ok. St #15

4.) Texas 0-0 1417 Open vs Indiana

5.) Alabama 0-0 1365 Open vs Oklahoma #1

6.) Oregon 1-0 1297 Beat Minnesota 52-10 vs Penn St

7.) Ohio St 1-0 1224 Beat Wash St 59-3 @ Stanford #25

8.) Georgia 0-0 1134 Open @ Virginia

9.) USC 1-0 1046 Beat Duke 38-3 @ Notre Dame

10.) S Carolina 1-0 960 Beat Rice 45-13 vs Minnesota

11.) TCU 0-0 891 Open @ Vir Tech

12.) Texas A&M 0-0 826 Open vs Syracuse

13.) Tennessee 1-0 778 Beat C. Michigan 38-10 vs Memphis

14.) Michigan 0-0 728 Open vs Auburn

15.) Ok. State 0-0 671 Open @ LSU

16.) Fl State 0-0 627 Open vs Miss St #23

17.) W. Virginia 1-0 569 Beat Mich St 45-19 Open

18.) Nebraska 0-0 494 Open @ Cal

19.) Mich St 0-1 416 Lost W. Virginia 14-45 @ Duke

20.) Baylor 1-0 333 Beat S. Miss 33-0 @ Pitt

21.) Wisconsin 0-0 271 Open vs Clemson

22.) Texas Tech 0-1 208 Lost Wyoming 27-30 vs Or St

23.) Miss St 1-0 153 Beat Toledo 42-26 @ FSU #16

24.) Purdue 1-0 91 Beat Notre Dame 35-28 @ Arizona

25.) Stanford 1-0 58 Beat Boise St 25-22 vs Ohio St #7

 

Others - Notre Dame 55, Auburn 55, Virgina Tech 50, Kentucky 47, Kansas 47, Cal 47, Arizona 42, Or State 41, Arizona State 41, UCLA 41, Utah 39, Washington 39, Colorado 34, Missouri 32, Arkansas 32, Ole Miss 31, Kan State 26, Wyoming 23, Vandy 18, Hawaii 18, SJ State 15, Iowa State 15, Northwestern 13, Nevada 8, Air Force 8, Boston College 3

 

Drop out of top 25 - Notre Dame #23

[Theheel]

Washington 51 – Buffalo 14

 

The Husky offense woke up on the 2nd Saturday of the season with a complete trashing of the Bulls by a score of 51-17. Washington rolled to more than 548 yards of total offense with 358 of those yards coming through the air. QB Ryan York was 14-18 for 239 and 2 TD’s and backup Charles Samuels also threw for 119 and 1 TD. Cardona led the Husky rushing attack with 104 on 23 carries. The Washington Defense forced 4 more turnovers (2 INT’s and 2 Fumble recoveries) and now has 9 turnovers on the year and a +7 in turnover margin. The DL smothered any chance for the Bull’s to establish a ground game by giving up on 28 yards on 31 carries. 49,229 fans attended the game. Cardona was the player of the game but my personal pick would have been York. Washington will next face Florida International at home in week 3.

 

Prior to the week 3 game, Washington received some bad news that starting DT Jerry Gray will be suspended for academics. Washington is very thin on its defensive line and Gray’s suspension will be felt.

 

Injury report

More difficult news for the Huskies as they lose TE William Warren for an extended period.

 

Weekly injury report

RB Carl Kelly is trying to play through an injury to his Toe (Fracture). He seems willing to give it a go, but we would recommend giving him another week to recover.

 

TE William Warren is out a couple months with his Neck (Spinal Compression). We will do what we can to get him back into action as soon as possible, but we can't make any promises at this point.

 

OT John Cook is recovering from an injury to his Elbow (Stress Fracture). He seems to be progressing well and we recommend playing him this week.

 

SS Jesse Cooper is recovering from an injury to his Elbow (Hyperextension). He seems to be progressing well and we recommend playing him this week.

Coach Martin comments after the game - We played a much better game this week offensively. Obviously I am concerned about the injuries to OT John Cook and Carl Kelly, but the real blow will be losing our TE Warren Williams. That is a huge loss to our running game and passing game and it will be tough to overcome. I love the fact that our defense is turning the ball over so well, it is really setting up short fields for us and we hope to continue with that trend as we head into our week 3 matchup with Florida International. FIU beat SMU 30-13 in week #1 and we expect a tough game here next week.

 

Other Top games for week #2

#5 Alabama scored 21 4th quarter points to rally past #1 Oklahoma 38-33. With the victory Alabama climbed to #1 in the Media poll.

 

#16 Oklahoma State went to Baton Rogue and upset #3 LSU 31-17 outscoring the Tigers 14-3 in the 4th quarter to secure the victory.

 

#7 Ohio State rolled to a road victory over Stanford by the final score of 40-14.

[Theheel]

Washington vs Florida International

Game Week

 

Washington is invited 4 RB recruit Eddie Herrera in this week as their star recruit. Herrera is from Bear River High School in California

 

Washington is a 19 favorite this week

 

Coach Martin is on KJR morning show "Mitch in the Morning" as he discusses the season so far.

 

Mitch - Coach first off everyone wants to congratulate you on a great start to the season winning the first 2 games. While the level of competition is not that of the Pac-12, for a team that has struggled the last couple of seasons this is really a great start.

 

Coach Martin - Mitch thanks, we appreciate all the fans support. I am really pleased with the start of the season and the progress we made in week 2 from the opening week.

 

Mitch - The defense has really done a great job with creating turnovers. So far this season you are +8 in the turnovers. That bodes well for the team this season.

 

Martin - Obviously we would love to keep up that pace and the guys on that side of the ball have really been doing a great job. But when you get big plays like that sometimes when you are trying to strip the ball like that, you miss tackles and we can't afford that either. So it is very important to ensure the tackle is made. But so far we have done a pretty good job of that.

 

Mitch - You obviously had some concern coming into the season with the running defense, but that was quite a performance against Buffalo last week.

 

Martin - Very pleased with the Defensive line play last week and in particular with the play of DT Jerry Gray. Unfortunately we have learned that Gray will be suspended for academics starting this week. We are working with the young man to get those grades back up and we hope to have him back in a month, but it will be a big loss for us up front.

 

Mitch - Finally Florida International comes in this week and while you have been installed as 19 pt favorites, this team does have some talent. They look to be pretty strong on the defensive side of the ball. What do you suspect will be the key to this game?

 

Martin - FIU does have a very solid defense and the film we saw of their game with SMU in week 1 showed a very solid team. I don't put a lot of stock in what Vegas thinks, but I know FIU will come up here and play a heck of a game and we will need to have another solid performance in all 3 phases of the game. I am really hoping to see our ground game on offense come up and improve. We were much better this past week and we will be working hard to continue to make that improvement. We will need it for our upcoming schedule in conference but more importantly this week we will need a solid ground game to be able to win this game this week.

Mitch - Coach I expect you will be 3-0 heading to Stanford, but good luck this week.

 

Martin - Mitch we never take anything for granted and if we do not play our best football, FIU will come in here and beat us. We are not looking ahead to Stanford until after the game Saturday, until then FIU is our target and challenge.

 

Mitch - Thanks again for the time coach, we appreciate your continued time to come and talk to us in studio.

 

Top 25 - Media Poll - week 3

 

1.) Alabama 1-0 1592 Beat Oklahoma 38-33 @ Cent Flor

2.) Florida 1-0 1519 Beat UNC 41-17 vs Bowling Green

3.) Texas 1-0 1446 Beat Indiana 62-13 @Uconn

4.) Ohio St 2-0 1380 Beat Stanford 40-14 vs Toledo

5.) Oklahoma 1-1 1321 Loss Alabama 33-38 vs C. Michigan

6.) Oregon 2-0 1240 Beat Penn St 23-17 vs Houston

7.) TCU 1-0 1150 Beat Virgina Tech 14-10 vs Illinois

8.) LSU 1-1 1079 Loss Ok St 17-31 vs Colorado

9.) Georgia 1-0 1019 Beat Virgina 35-17 vs E. Carolina

10.) Ok State 1-0 956 Beat LSU 31-17 vs Miami (oh)

11.) S. Carolina 2-0 887 Beat Minn 30-10 vs N. Illinois

12.) USC 1-1 826 Loss Notre Dame 21-28 vs Buffalo

13.) Michigan 1-0 785 Beat Auburn 9-7 vs E. Michigan

14.) Florida St 1-0 728 Beat Miss St 29-13 vs Troy

15.) Texas A&M 1-0 681 Beat Syracuse 51-7 vs Virginia

16.) Tennessee 2-0 622 Beat Memphis 50-6 vs Rutgers

17.) W. Virginia 1-0 559 Open vs Ball State

18.) Mich St 1-1 471 Beat Duke 34-3 vs Notre Dame #19

19.) Notre Dame 1-1 405 Beat USC 28-21 vs Mich St #18

20.) Nebraska 0-1 327 Loss Cal 31-38 vs S. Florida

21.) Texas Tech 1-1 257 Beat Or St 46-10 @ NC State

22.) Purdue 2-0 193 Beat Arizona 34-19 vs Wake Forest

23.) Baylor 1-1 132 Loss Pitt 16-24 @ Kent State

24.) Wisconsin 0-1 99 Loss clemson 30-33 @ Boston College

25.) Cal 2-0 67 Beat Nebraska 38-31 vs Hawaii

 

Others - Miss St 36, Kentucky 34, Stanford 29, Kansas 24, Auburn 24, Missouri 21, Virginia Tech 18, UCLA 18, Iowa State 18, Utah 16, Washington 11, Arizona State 6, Pitt 5, Arkansas 5, Clemson 2, Northwestern 2

[Theheel]

We got in one more game tonight......

Washington 30 – Florida International 6

 

The Huskies came out flat for the start of this game as Florida scored first with 3 yard TD run by William Davis, but missed the PAT, which foreshadow things to come. Slowly Washington was able to recover and at the half led 13-6. Washington scored 17 points in the 2nd half to put the game away, but there were some question marks that came up. FIU was able to run for 176 yards on Washington as DT Gray’s presence was missed on the DL. The Huskies did force another turnover and are now at 10 for the season and +8 in turnover margin.

 

The Husky offense rushed for 259 yards and RB Cardona is making the most of his increased PT due to hobbled starter Kelly. Cardona rush 28 times for 196 yards, but player of the game honors went to WR Johnson Albright who caught 7 passes for 86 yards and a pair of scores. The Huskies will open up Pac-12 play next week when they visit the Stanford Cardinal down on the farm in Palo Alto.

 

Coach Martin comments after the game - Wow that was a tough game. Yes we managed to pull away in the 2nd half but FIU played a very solid game, but our make big plays when it was needed. We did give up a lot of yards on the ground and it hurt not having Gray out there on the DL, but we hope he is getting his studies in order so that he can return to the team soon. I have to say that I am very pleased with our rushing attack tonight against a strong defensive front that FIU has. 259 yards on the ground and the game that Cardona had with 196 was tremendous. We have an incredibly tough game coming up against Stanford. This is a team that is solid on both sides of the ball and it is going to be an incredibly tough game, but this team has competed hard every week save for the 2nd quarter in game 1, and I don't see any let up in them. We will be ready for Stanford next week, but we are going to enjoy the start of the season being 3-0. I am extremely proud of the way these guys are busting their butts to make this University and fan base proud and our coaching staff is extremely proud of their efforts. We have some good news heading into the Stanford game with both Carl Kelly looking to be ready to play full time and also happy to announce Cook and Cooper will be ready to go as well.

 

Weekly injury report

RB Carl Kelly is recovering from an injury to his Toe (Fracture). He seems to be progressing well and we recommend playing him this week.

 

TE William Warren is out a couple months with his Neck (Spinal Compression). We will do what we can to get him back into action as soon as possible, but we can't make any promises at this point.

 

OG John Richardson is recovering from an injury to his Kidney (Bruised). He seems to be progressing well and we recommend playing him this week.

 

CB Jamie Lee is saddled with an injury to his Head (Severe Concussion). His performance would certainly suffer if you played him so we recommend letting have a little more time to get back closer to 100%.

 

OT John Cook has fully recovered from the injury to his Elbow (Stress Fracture).

 

SS Jesse Cooper has fully recovered from the injury to his Elbow (Hyperextension).

 

In other top national games this week

19th ranked Notre Dame went to East Lansing and played a fantastic game, winning a thriller 38-35 over 20th ranked Michigan State. The game was tied at 21 at the half and the Irish used a 10 pt 3rd quarter that gave them a victory after Michigan State tried to come back in the 4th. The Irish appear to have put behind their season opening upset loss and are moving forward while Michigan State loses for the 2nd time to a top 25 team this season.

[Theheel]

Washington at Stanford

Game Notes

Husky 1st road game of the season comes in the Pac-12 opener.

 

Washington 3-0 on the season but yet to be challenged takes on the 2-1 Cardinal.

 

Stanford is currently a 14 pt favorite in the game. The Cardinal are ranked 24th in the coaches poll this week.

 

Pre Stanford interview

 

Coach Martin appears on the Husky Honks pre-game show before tonight’s game against Stanford. KJR’s Dave “Softy” Mahler, former Husky Asst Coach Dick Baird, and former Husky QB Hugh Millen are hosting and have been talking all morning about the performance of the team. Millen in particular has been a little critical that Washington seems to really be employing a 2 QB strategy for the first 3 games and thinks the team needs to settle on a starter.

 

Mahler – Coach thanks for joining us. We are just about 4 hours before kickoff here at Stanford and this is really a big game for the Huskies. I mean a win here could really create some unexpected excitement around the team and the fan base that is dying for the Huskies to regain their National prominence once again.

 

Martin – You know Dave we look at all the games as important, but this is the 1st Pac-12 game of the season and it is a division battle against 1 of the 2 teams that many expect to be the division champions. Stanford is a solid top 25 team and has been so for the last 5 years. They have really created a special program here and the staff at Stanford should be commended for the job they have done. For years this program was one of the bottom programs in this conference, but not anymore and they do it with the highest academic standards in the conference. To say this is a big game, that is true and it would be a great win for us, but either way it does not make or break our season. We are continuing to grow and desperately are working hard at improving each and every week. We had a great week of preparation for Stanford and it has allowed us to really hone in on a game plan that we feel will be successful today. But the bottom line for us is our continued improvement and competing at the highest level. If we do that, the wins will come this season.

 

Millen – Coach as you know there has been a lot of questions about the quarterbacks this year. During spring ball and early camp, it looked like Ryan York had beaten out Charles Samuels but they have really been splitting time during the first 3 games. Do you feel you have to finally announce a true starter for the game and the rest of the season?

 

Martin – Hugh, I really did feel that Ryan had won the job, but Charles has kept coming on and Ryan has had a few struggles and a couple of while not major injuries he has gotten nicked up in some of the games. Charles Samuels has taken that opportunity to really progress in a quality QB. He has earned the playing time he has gotten and he will continue to get some game snaps. But we will definitely go with the hot hand in the game. Ryan will start will start today’s game.

 

Millen – Some feel York has regressed since the start of the season. We have been talking and some of the fans also believe that giving one of these kids the full reigns of the team might elevate their game.

Baird – I know offensive coordinate Hamilton has been working with both guys, the stats show they are pretty even so far statistically. I know when I was coaching it was always tough having 2 QB's split time because it can cause some issues in the locker room.

 

Martin – I would love to be able to say that we have a true #1 starter, but right now neither player has established himself clear cut over the other. Coach Hamilton and I talk about this a lot and as the season progresses we will definitely be looking to make one of our QB’s the true #1. Right now in the non-conference season we have gotten both young men a lot of work. I think that will bode well for us later this season and into next season as well.

 

Mahler – Coach good luck in today’s game. I know all the fans would like to see a huge upset victory today for the Huskies over this highly talented Stanford team.

 

 

Top 25 heading into week 4 games

Media Poll

 

1.) Alabama 2-0 1612 Beat Central Florida 54-14 vs S. Alabama

2.) Florida 2-0 1554 Beat Bowling Green 44-7 Open

3.) Texas 2-0 1495 Beat UCONN 59*9 vs #5 Oklahoma

4.) Ohio State 3-0 1422 Beat Toledo 55-7 @ #19 Nebraska

5.) Oklahoma 2-1 1373 Beat C. Michigan 48-14 vs #3 Texas

6.) Oregon 3-0 1306 Beat Houston 41-29 vs Arizona

7.) TCU 2-0 1228 Beat Illini 21-9 @ Kansas

8.) LSU 2-1 1150 Beat Colorado 22-3 Open

9.) Georgia 2-0 1072 Beat E. Carolina 24-16 vs Arkansas

10.) S. Carolina 3-0 988 Beat N. Illinois 30-23 @ #17 Tennessee

11.) USC 2-1 916 Beat Buffalo 38-17 vs Oregon State

12.) Michigan 2-0 871 Beat E. Michigan 67-7 @ Indiana

13.) Fla State 2-0 806 Beat Troy 55-0 vs Texas St

14.) Notre Dame 2-1 751 Beat Mich St 38-35 vs Navy

15.) Texas A&M 2-0 702 Beat Virginia 47-14 vs Missouri

16.) Ok State 1-1 653 Loss Miami Oh 20-27 @ Kansas St

17.) Tennessee 3-0 603 Beat Rutgers 30-3 vs #10 S. Carolina

18.) W. virginia 2-0 546 Beat Ball St 41-17 @ Baylor

19.) Nebraska 1-1 481 Beat S. Florida 21-7 vs #4 Ohio State

20.) Mich St 1-2 418 Loss Notre Dame 35-38 Open

21.) Purdue 3-0 351 Beat wake Forest 27-6 @ Penn State

22.) Wisconsin 1-1 291 Beat BC 23-10 vs Idaho

23.) Cal 3-0 234 Beat Hawaii 34-6 @ Colorado

24.) Miss St 2-1 176 Beat Ohio 31-24 Open

25.) Texas Tech 1-2 115 Loss NC State 16-22 Open

 

Others- Kentucky 89, Stanford 57, Baylor 55, Kansas 54, Auburn 54, Missouri 49, UCLA 49, Arkansas 44, Iowa State 39, Washington 34, Arizona St 29, Clemson 24, Georgia tech 21, Northwestern 16, Vanderbilt 15, Arizona 13, Air Force 10, Oregon State 5, Virginia Tech 2

[Theheel]

Stanford 23 – Washington 17

 

Down 3-0 in the 1st quarter, Washington QB Charles Samuels hit a 44 TD pass to Johnson Albright to give the Dawgs a 7-3 lead through the end of the quarter. In the 2nd quarter Stanford came back with a 30 yard TD reception by Brent Hawkins and a Romero 38 yard field for a 13-7 lead, but Washington closed the gap to 13-10 at the half with a 32 yard Henry Meador FG.

 

To start the 2nd half Washington forced a 3 and out by the Cardinal offense and then mounted a 4 play 49 yard drive that culminated with a 2 yard TD run by Carl Kelly who finished the game with 83 hard earned yards on 21 rushes. The key play to the drive was a 45 yard 1st down strike by QB Samuels to WR Oliver. That gave the Huskies a 17-13 lead over the highly favored Cardinal. At the end of the 3rd quarter Stanford came back with a TD drive of its own that end with Glen Johnson going in from 3 yards out and giving the Cardinal a 20-17. Stanford later added a Romero 40 yard FG in the 4th to make the final score Stanford 23, Washington 17. Washington had a shot and started a drive but with 1:27 left in the game from the Washington 40 yard line, QB York threw an interception that ended the game for the Huskies.

 

The biggest issue that faced the Huskies in this game was turnovers they had 2 and didn’t force any by the Cardinal, and the fact that Husky QB’s were sacked 7 times. Center J. Cano was beaten 4 times with DE Miller and DE Beard getting 3 and 2 sacks respectively.

 

Coach Martin after the game – Guys that was a tough game let me tell you. That Stanford team is going to give some of the top teams fits. That defensive line is tough both against the run and rushing the passer. They caused some problems for us along the offensive line tonight with protection with the stunts that they ran. They also really pounded the ball and the continued absence of one of our top D linemen Gray is really hurting us right now. No excuses though, we played very hard and had an opportunity to beat a top 25 team on the road and we just couldn’t do it. But this team competed and while we didn’t get the victory, there is no shame in that performance against that caliber of team. We have a bye week coming up before we head to Tucson for a game against a very good Arizona team. That week off will give us some time to get some of the nagging injuries healed and for us to work on fine tuning some things on both sides of the ball. I am very optimistic for the remainder of the season and am looking forward to the game against Arizona in 2 weeks.

 

Top week 4 National Games

#5 Oklahoma @ #3 Texas

The Sooners were up ended for the 2nd time this season by a top 5 team and lost to the Longhorns at the Texas State Fairgrounds 23-17. Longhorns move to 3-0 while the Sooners dropped to 2-2.

 

#4 Ohio State @ #19 Nebraska

Ohio State completely dominated play in the first 3 quarters in Lincoln leading 26-3, but had to withstand a furious 4th quarter comeback by the Huskers, but hung on to win 29-20. Ohio State went to 4-0 on the season while Nebraska dropped to 1-2

#10 South Carolina @ #17 Tennessee

The 10th ranked Gamecocks rolled into Rocky Top and rolled out with a very hard fought defensive 13-6 victory over the Vols. South Carolina remains unbeaten at 4-0 while Tennessee dropped to 3-

 

#21 Purdue @ Penn State

Purdue beat Penn State in State College in a huge defensive struggle 10-3. Penn State scored first in the 1st quarter but Purdue came back with 10 points in the 2nd quarter. There was no scoring in the 2nd half. With the win surprising Purdue goes to 4-0 on the season while Penn State dropped to 1-2 losing to both Purdue and Oregon so far this season.

[olympia]

good showing against Stanford. If the team plays like that every week, they will score you a big upset along the way.

 

with this more current MOD, I'm really considering updating to it and starting over.

[Theheel]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="olympia" data-cite="olympia" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36560" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>good showing against Stanford. If the team plays like that every week, they will score you a big upset along the way.<p> </p><p> with this more current MOD, I'm really considering updating to it and starting over.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> The mod is pretty good. I haven't played through a whole season although I did a test season with another school and it played through completely. For some reason Temple played 15 games in that season, but I haven't looked at what they scheduled for this year.</p><p> </p><p> I elected the playoff option but not sure what that looks like either as it has been a long time since I tried a game with that option.</p>

[olympia]

playoffs would be a fun way to go, especially if playing with a contender. Playing at smaller or lower tier schools, the bowls would be something to play for since there might be little chance of making a playoff

[Theheel]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="olympia" data-cite="olympia" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="36560" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>playoffs would be a fun way to go, especially if playing with a contender. Playing at smaller or lower tier schools, the bowls would be something to play for since there might be little chance of making a playoff</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I think there are still bowl games even though there are playoffs, but I will let you know once I complete the season.</p>

[Theheel]

The Washington Huskies will return to action shortly, but they have a week 5 bye. Here is the top week 5 action from around the country.

 

Week 5 – Washington has a bye

Top national week 5 games

 

#21 Texas Tech @ #2 Texas

In a highly anticipated game by Red Raider fans, the Lubbock faithful were rewarded with a emotional 38-33 victory over the #2 ranked Longhorns. Tech came out strong and was up 17-0 when Robert Stanton picked off a pass QB Jones pass and returned it 89 yards for a 24-0 lead. Then it was hang on time for the Red Raiders and they did as Texas scored a TD with 45 seconds left but failed to recover the ensuing onside kick.

 

#13 Georgia @ #3 Alabama

After 3 quarters this SEC rivalry was tied at 20-20, but the Bulldogs went a bit crazy in the 4th quarter and put up 3 TD's and beat previously unbeaten Alabama 41-23. A pair of 74 yard TD runs by James Pacheco and a 39 yard fumble return spelled the difference. Both teams ran the ball very well with Georgia gaining 314 yards on the ground compared to the Tide's 214.

 

#15 Texas A&M @ #4 South Carolina

The Aggies traveled to Columbia for a huge SEC showdown with South Carolina and true to the Gamecocks plan, it was a defensive struggle and South Carolina prevailed 13-7. South Carolina's tough defense held the usually high powered Agggie offense to 249 and forced 4 turnovers in the victory.

 

#5 Ohio State @ #20 Michigan State

The Buckeyes knocked the Spartans in East Lansing by a final score of 33-15. The game after 3 quarters was only a 5 pt game but the Buckeyes scored a touchdown and 2 fields to put away the game.

 

#23 Nebraska @ #12 Michigan

Nebraska came home to Lincoln with the idea of turning around their season a bit after a couple of tough losses, but Michigan rolled in and pulled out a 23-16 victory. Play of the game was an early 4th quarter TD pass by Michigan's Barry Kirkland to David Ortiz with 14:37 remaining in the game.

[Theheel]

Husky pre-game notes prior to week #6 vs Arizona Wildcats

 

Weekly injury report week 6

 

TE William Warren is out a couple months with his Neck (Spinal Compression). We will do what we can to get him back into action as soon as possible, but we can't make any promises at this point.

 

CB Jamie Lee is recovering from an injury to his Head (Severe Concussion). He seems to be progressing well and we recommend playing him this week.

 

Heading into our week 6 game at Arizona

Washington 3-1 (0-1) vs Arizona 2-3 (0-2)

 

Arizona is a 12 point favorite over Washington

 

Washington holds the all-time series record at 18-10-1 with the 1st meeting in 1978 when Arizona joined the then Pacific 8 conference.

 

Washington 20 Arizona 14

The Huskies took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards down the field culminating with an 18 TD Pass from York to Oliver. After forcing an Arizona punt, Washington took the next possession 78 yards and this time it was Samuel's completing a 5 yard pass to Montoya to make it 14-0 still in the first quarter. On the next possession Washington’s Jose Stevenson blocked a field goal.

 

Arizona finally got on the scoreboard midway through the 2nd quarter on a 5 yard Jeffery Andrews run, but Washington tacked on a Henry Meador 19 FG with 8 seconds left in the half to make it 17-7 at the half. Washington got a late insurance FG this time 29 yards by Meador before Arizona got a late 66 yard bomb from Miranda to Hawk to make the final score 20-14.

 

Arizona out gained Washington 496 yards to 353. The large difference was in the air as Arizona had 317 to Washington’s 191. Both teams had 3 costly turnovers that stalled drives, but they really hurt Arizona as one of them came in red zone. Washington was 4-4 (2 TD’s, 2 FG’s) inside the red zone while Arizona was 1-3 (1 TD, 1 missed FG and 1 INT). Arizona kicker Eric Hackney was 0-4 on FG attempts in th game after hitting 9-10 on the season prior to today. Washington with the win moves to 1-1 in conference and a surprising 4-1 on the season while Arizona drops a very disappointing 0-3 in conference and 2-4 overall.

 

Coach Martin’s post game comments – People will ask what the key to the game was, and you might be surprised with my answer but it was the defense. While giving up almost 500 yards, we bent but we did not break. Shutting them out of the end zone in the red zone was critical and the 3 turnovers ended 3 very long drives. Offensively we moved the ball well but didn’t have any big plays but we did execute when it counted when we got those opportunities in the red zone. It was huge for us to come out in this game and take our first 2 offensive possessions into the end zone and a huge lift for us was blocking that FG late in the 1st quarter. Not only did the defense stop them in that red zone that series, but then special teams blocking that kick, just huge in the momentum and more specifically the confidence area for us. Carl Kelly had a nice game with 113 yards on 22 carries for us as well. It appears we have come out of the game fairly healthy as I am not aware of any significant new injuries to report.

 

National Games – Week 6

Maryland @ Florida State

Florida State rode its defense in the 2nd half to pull off a 35-25 victory over the previously unbeaten Terrapin’s in Tallahassee.

 

Purdue @ Michigan

The Boilermakers are making believers out of many after rolling into the Big House and coming out with a 37-34 victory over the Wolverines. Despite being outgained 472 yards to 324, the Boilers made the big plays to win. Purdue goes to 6-0 while Michigan falls to 4-1 on the season.

 

USC @ Oregon

The Ducks won the battle of Pac-12 favorites in each division with a convincing 30-10 win over the Trojans in Eugene. Oregon dominated in the 2nd quarter scoring 21 points to lead at the half 24-0 and then coasted to the victory.

 

Texas A&M @ Florida

The Gators flexed their muscle against a good Aggie team and blew them out of the Gator Bowl 47-6. Florida remains the #1 ranked team in the country moving to 6-0 while A&M dropped to 3-2.

 

South Carolina @ Georgia

The Gamecocks strong defense won the battle between the hedges 13-6. South Carolina is now 6-0 on the season while Georgia drops to 3-2.

[Theheel]

After Washington's surprising win over Arizona last week 20-14, the Huskies are coming home to take on a team that really appears to be on the verge of the top 25 in UCLA.

 

UCLA (5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-12) comes into the game with the Huskies (4-1 overall and 1-1) leading the all-time series 38-30-2 with the 1st meeting coming in 1932.

 

It has been learned that Washington has invited 4 star DT Dennis Brown to the game against UCLA who is the #50 best recruit in the West region.

 

UCLA has been established a 9 point favorites in the game.

 

Week #6 Top 25 poll

 

1.) Florida 4-0 1610 Beat #20 Texas A&M 47-6 @ Kentucky

2.) TCU 4-0 1540 Open @ #16 Oklahoma

3.) South Carolina 6-0 1472 Beat #12 Georgia 13-6 @ Missouri

4.) Florida State 5-0 1407 Beat Maryland 35-25 @ Vir Tech

5.) Ohio State 6-0 1334 Beat Illinois 48-20 vs Penn State

6.) Purdue 6-0 1258 Beat #7 Michigan 37-34 vs Northwestern

7.) Michigan 4-1 1178 Loss #6 Purdue 34-37 @ Illinois

8.) Oregon 6-0 1100 Beat #14 USC30-10 @ Washington State

9.) Alabama 4-1 1043 Beat Ole Miss 43-13 vs #24 Arkansas

10.) Texas 3-1 960 Open @ Baylor

11.) LSU 3-1 895 Open @ #21 Miss State

12.) Georgia 3-2 850 Loss #3 S. Carolina Open

13.) West Virginia 5-0 803 Beat Kansas 21-12 vs #18 OK State

14.) USC 4-2 743 Loss #8 Oregon 10-30 @ Colorado

15.) Notre Dame 4-1 676 Beat Idaho 37-13 @ New Mex State

16.) Oklahoma 2-2 626 Open vs #2 TCU

17.) Tennessee 5-1 583 Beat Vandy 13-12 Open

18.) Oklahoma St 3-1 540 Open @ #13 W. Virginia

19.) Stanford 5-1 488 Beat Colorado 37-3 @ Oregon St

20.) Texas A&M 3-2 429 Loss #1 Florida 6-47 vs Vandy

21.) Miss State 3-2 385 Loss #22 Auburn 31-37 vs #11 LSU

22.) Auburn 5-1 315 Beat #21 Miss St 37-31 Open

23.) Nebraska 2-3 252 Beat Indiana 20-17 @ Iowa

24.) Arkansas 4-1 197 Open @ #9 Alabama

25.) Texas Tech 3-2 125 Beat Iowa St 38-7 vs Kansas St

 

Others - Northwestern 98, Maryland 70, UCLA 44, Michigan State 44, Kentucky 41, Virginia Tech 39, Arizona State 39, Cal 36, Washington 32, Kansas 29, Wake Forest 24, Pitt 24, Boise State 21, Missouri 18, Louisville 15, Georgia Tech 11, Baylor 10, Oregon St 6, Iowa St 2

 

College football Game Day travels to Morgantown West Virginia for the Top 20 battle between Oklahoma State #18 and West Virigina #13 in a key Big 12 match-up.

 

Other key games -

 

#2 TCU @ #16 Oklahoma

#24 Arkansas @ #9 Alabama

#11 LSU @ #21 Miss St

 

All the top 4 schools in the polls are on the road this weekend so there might be some upsets brewing.

 

Dropped out of Top 25 - Maryland (24), Michigan State (21)

[Theheel]

The Washington Huskies stand at 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-12 so far this season. The season was expected to be tough but a favorable schedule that the team handled and built confidence from has made them pull off one upset on the road of Arizona and give Stanford all they wanted to handle. The most recent game was a reality check sort of game against a very good UCLA team that has title aspirations of winning the Pac-12 South. Coach Martin went on record after that game that said that is the best team we have seen all season and they are going to give some teams fits as the season rolls along.

 

This weekend the Huskies travel on the road to Cal to take on the Bears in a key Northern division game. If the Huskies want to stay relevant in the division race this is a must win for them after the difficult loss to UCLA 2 week ago. The game is a Thursday night game on ESPN so lots of national exposure for the rebuilding Dawgs who look to even their conference record and prepare themselves for the home stretch of the season.

 

Coach Martin holds his weekly press conference prior to the game….

 

Coach Martin – Thanks for coming and continuing to support Washington football. We have a very difficult assignment this week with the Bears down in Berkeley, always a tough environment to win in, but I think we are up to the challenge and ready. We took a few days off last week with the bye to rest after the UCLA game, to try and get everyone back on the field. I am happy to report that everyone except our TE Warren Williams is ready to go. It is the healthiest we have been since spring ball. We will open it up for questions at this time, first from the phone to the Bay area reporters.

 

Hunter Hewitt (SF Cronicle) Obviously the level of competition has gotten tougher once you stepped into conference play, any thought that the light pre-season schedule didn’t prepare the team for the rigors of the Pac-12 season.

 

Coach Martin – I think our non-conference schedule served a very specific purpose and that was to prepare this football in all aspects. Now if we were a true national title contender this year, then I would expect some to question our non-conference schedule, we have seen that happen down the road in Eugene the last several years, but that is not where we as a program are at right now. So yes I think our schedule did several things that were a benefit to us. 1.) We played a lot of kids and got them in game situations. You have to remember that we had a lot of new starters here. 2.) It allowed us to build confidence in the team and morale. I wasn’t here last season but the way it went, team morale and confidence was very low and since our staff has arrived we have done everything to build that morale, skill and confidence in these kids. I think we looked like we were pretty prepared to play a very good Stanford team the week following our non-conference schedule. In the coming years as the program gets stronger we will probably schedule a few more BCS conference teams in the non-conference schedule, but for now we have to get back to building this program and winning games. We have laid the ground work for that to happen.

 

Jeff Faraudo (Bay Area News Group) – Coach the Cal team you face this weekend brings a 4-4 team record into the game and has been very up and down this season. When the team is on, it can be very good and beat a lot of teams, but when they do not bring that “A” game they are very beatable and have been beaten by several teams that some might say they should have won.

 

Coach Martin – Jeff the Bears in a lot of ways mirror us and where they are at in their program. They didn’t have the bottom out year that we had a year ago, but it was a difficult year and they made a coaching change because of it. Anytime you have a new staff I think you are going to have ups and downs, we have had our share here. I believe the Bear program is on the right track and you have seen glimpses of that in games where they have looked like a team that is capable of beating anyone in the country. We have reviewed the film and worked with the kids on the things that Cal does when they are at their best. The coaches have reviewed things in some of those other games and of course we will try to exploit anything that we see, just as the Bears will with us on Thursday.

 

Jude Law (Seattle Times) – Coach, the defense has struggled the past several games, what are the areas of concern and how are you addressing it.

 

Coach Martin – We have had some breakdowns in the secondary and our pass rush has been inconsistent. The defensive coaches and I have reviewed the film and have tweaked our scheme a bit in several areas where we were seeming to have some confusion. While we have played some talented offenses the last several weeks I believe we are capable of much better on the defensive side of the ball. We need to be more mentally tough minded, and if we get beat on a play, shake it off and come back. We struggled with that especially in the UCLA game and it lead to some long drives and a lot of converted 3rd downs by the Bruins. The kids sometimes take these things very hard and it was good to get a few days off, but they came back and are ready to learn and continue to improve. Sometimes the only way to truly learn is to face some adversity and we did against UCLA. Now it is time to see how we bounce back and I am hoping for a big bounce back this week at Cal.

 

Todd Dybas (Tacoma News Tribune) – The quarterback position was unsettled early in the year but you have seemed to lock in and named Charles Samuel’s as your starter. Is he set to be the starter the rest of the season?

 

Coach Martin – Charles is doing a fine job as it is his 1st season seeing significant playing time and so is Ryan York. These kids are both juniors and Charles has been our starter the last 2 games and he will start against the Bears on Thursday. I think the competition is good and it will drive both these young men to achieve as much as they can. As for the rest of the season, if it was played today Charles would be our starter. I can’t predict injuries and other circumstances but would say that Ryan is still competing and will continue to compete.

 

John Boyle – (Everett Herald) – Coach this is one of those so called “swing” games that was on the schedule. It’s a road game and that makes it even more difficult and I am sure that you would love to have it at home. But this is a game that if we are going to see any post-season action is pretty much a must win.

 

Coach Martin – John first off I would love to have all games at home so please if you can talk to Commissioner Hanson and get that done we would love that (laughs). Seriously the trip to Cal is a tough one as that student section is a very supportive group of fans and they make life difficult for teams when they come to their home. I understand what you are calling a swing game, is what “the experts” when they look at the schedule and try to figure out who is going to win that some games are close. We very every game as an important game. We only get 11 or 12 of these opportunities to show what we can do and every game counts. We expect to go into the game and do what we have been doing all year and doing fairly well and that is compete, compete, compete and hopefully we will make the plays needed to win the game. I would much rather be here next week standing in front of you at 5-2 and preparing to face the Oregon schools than to be 4-3.

[Theheel]

OCC - I accidentally posted the interview for the post UCLA game before posting the game. Below is the game

UCLA 36 Washington 21

UCLA came into Seattle having only lost one game this season to the unbeaten Oregon Ducks and looked loaded on both sides of the ball. After a quarter the Huskies were hanging in and playing well with a Carl Kelly 2 yard TD run leading 7-6, but the Bruins scored the next 23 points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to take a commanding 29-7 lead into the 4th.

 

Early in the 4th Washington got back on the board with a Ryan York to Kelly TD pass of 8 yards and then added a Kelly 2pt conversion run to cut the lead to 29-15. Washington then tacked on 2 Henry Maetor FG’s of 41 and 40 yards to inch closer at 29-21. UCLA got a good run back on the ensuing kickoff to their 45 yard line. While Maetor has been good on FG’s his kickoffs have left a lot to be desired as starting position has been a problem all season. UCLA then got a key first down on a 3rd down 15 yard personal foul for face masking on OLB William Chase and then scored the final touchdown with 31 seconds to put away the win.

 

Washington’s defense again struggled statistically giving up over 500 yards again (546). Bruin QB Robert Krueger was 22/30 for 390 and 1 TD. Bruin RB Alan Burns rushed for 113 yards on 33 carries and 2 scores. The Huskies gave up 29 first downs in the game and couldn’t get the Bruins off the field in key 3rd down situations as UCLA went 10-17.

Washington was led by Carl Kelly’s 77 yards rushing on 17 attempts and also grabbed 6 balls for 67 more yards.

 

Coach Martin’s comments after the game – That was the best team we have played this year. UCLA offensively really put it to us both on the ground but especially in the air. We were able to get 5 QB sacks today, but other than that, they really had an easy time passing against us for almost 400 yards. We are going to have to get to work on that pass defense both as a coaching staff in game planning and working with the kids to improve. As much as last week’s game with Arizona was a fun game to win, this game reminded us just how far we still have to go to be a major player in the Pac-12. I want to praise the effort of Carl Kelly who worked his tail off.

 

We need to move forward and continue to work on the things that we have been talking about all year. We are at the halfway point in the season and while I am pleased with our progress I want to see more. 4-2 is a great start for us but we have a lot of work to do as well and we can’t rest on our achievements so far. We have another bye and we need to make the most of these bye weeks so that we are prepared.

Top 25 after week 8

 

1. Florida 5-0 (3-0) 1599 W, 31-9 at Kentucky at #18 Tennessee

2. South Carolina 7-0 (4-0) 1532 W, 30-20 at Missouri Mississippi

3. Ohio State 7-0 (4-0) 1477 W, 28-13 Penn State OPEN

4. Texas Christian 4-1 (2-1) 1406 L, 13-31 at #12 Oklahoma Baylor

5. Florida State 5-1 (2-1) 1334 L, 23-48 at #20 Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech

6. Michigan 5-1 (3-1) 1263 W, 33-0 at Illinois Michigan State

7. Oregon 7-0 (4-0) 1204 W, 34-22 at Washington State OPEN

8. LSU 4-1 (2-0) 1139 W, 38-37 at #24 Mississippi State #9 Alabama

9. Alabama 5-1 (2-1) 1051 W, 24-17 Arkansas at #8 LSU

10. Purdue B 6-1 (3-1) 986 L, 14-24 #19 Northwestern OPEN

11. Texas 4-1 (2-1) 904 W, 38-9 at Baylor #14 Oklahoma State

12. Oklahoma 3-2 (1-1) 838 W, 31-13 #4 Texas Christian at Kansas

13. Georgia 3-2 (1-2) 770 OPEN at #22 Texas A&M

14. Oklahoma State 4-1 (2-0) 710 W, 30-25 at #15 West Virginia at #11 Texas

15. West Virginia 5-1 (2-1) 670 L, 25-30 #14 Oklahoma State at #25 Texas Tech

16. Notre Dame 5-1 (3-0) 622 W, 44-16 at New Mexico State UMass

17. USC 5-2 (3-1) 567 W, 33-3 at Colorado Washington State

18. Tennessee 5-1 (2-1) 483 OPEN #1 Florida

19. Northwestern 6-1 (3-1) 403 W, 24-14 at #10 Purdue OPEN

20. Virginia Tech 5-1 (3-0) 333 W, 48-23 #5 Florida State Pittsburgh

21. Auburn 5-1 (2-0) 288 OPEN at Kentucky

22. Texas A&M 3-3 (1-3) 221 L, 28-30 Vanderbilt #13 Georgia

23. Stanford 5-2 (3-1) 148 L, 24-30 at Oregon State at Arizona State

24. Miss State 3-3 (1-2) 89 L, 37-38 #8 LSU at Missouri

25. Texas Tech 4-2 (3-0) 62 W, 23-7 Kansas State #15 West Virginia