Best Of

I figured we would throttle OSU at home and then shit the bed against Maryland, my confidence is shakin, I’m going Maryland. Figure it out Fisch

One among other things with which this board struggles is the notion that multiple things can be true at the same time. Like I can say Demond is short and still think he's a good/great QB. This and that, all at once.

Consider:

1. There were similarities to Miami in that both had a green QB on the road at Husky Stadium for their first big road test.
2. But beardo played it smart by calling an incredibly conservative game, and that without the running game he had a year ago. Just sayin, kid looked like Joe Montana out there dinking and dunking. Butch Davis, a program rebuilder and recruiter but not a great game day coach, did not do that.
3. 2000 UW was different than these guys and Rick was different than this guy. IMO. Tui was made of different stuff. No Stevens, no road grader O line, no nasty D line, no Vontoure.
4. Lots of outmanned teams jump on an better opponent and the better opponent eventually settles in so it never really matters. I mean, even Oregon started out well against Buck in 2014/15, scoring first and holding them on their first drive. Mariota hits a wide open somebody who would have walked in to score but he dropped the pass. Then Buck started scoring and never stopped. It's fun to say, "We would have been up 14-0" and had momentum but they were never going to win that game.
5. Still, 2025 Buck is not in the same hemisphere as 2014/15 Buck and this team is more beatable. So, yeah, your "odds" are ostensibly better when you don't fuck up. That's basic and nobody needs that explained to them. But UW was probably not going to win that game. I predicted they would because nothing surprises me and I thought Demond might light them up on the ground at least. But Buck beat UW playing a very safe game. That's the tell. Play them later and might get ugly.

So, not one narrative. Multiple, competing, narratives.

We still would have had a shitty season if we won 8 by beating Rutgers and WSU. 9-3 with a chance at 10 in the bowl game would be slightly disappointing but acceptable.

This week is a big game. I’m still holding on to hope that we are in the playoff picture with a win vs Oregon late in the year.

He should have won 8 games last year so 9 this year isn't a great trajectory

There's some truth in that

Didn't Bryun Parham, the San Jose State transfer LB we had last year do this? Looks like he is on UConn now and has 5.5 sacks. Cool.

I think the UNLV QB last year did something like this trying to strong-arm the school for more money and they let him walk and it was a big story.

This, the resources can be there. They already almost are. Who's got the will to use them?

How many teams have as many conference championships or playoff appearances in the past decade as UW? The difference between elite teams and the next 20 is consistency. Bama doesn't win the NC every year but they put themselves in a position to by having great recruiting and being in the playoff nearly every year.

Washington needs to be top 15 in the nonsense recruiting numbers and become the pillar of westcoast football year in and year out. Seasons like last year can't happen and if they do they need to immediately get back to 10+ wins with wins over top teams that signals to the 16 year olds that UW exemplifies consistent great seasons with elite seasons being up to them and how much they want to lift.

So much of sports is playing the odds. The best team doesn't win it every year but if you buy more tickets you have a better chance of winning.

Worst case would be him and his backup somehow injuring each other in practice this week. That 3rd stringer, a local kid who’s a fifth generation fisherman, will definitely throw for 385 and 3 TDs.