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Will UW beat UCLA tonight?
Tailgater
Member Posts: 1,389
I sense some feeling here and elsewhere that the Huskies are going to swim upstream into the Rose Bowl in a few hours against a strong current of football logic and tradition to finally win an important road game, this time over the #13 ranked Bruins. When was the last time that such a thing happened and where can this feeling be coming from?
I can't recall a big Husky win on the road without (I think) going all the way back to our last Rose Bowl season in 2000. Perhaps it was the 42-14 stomping of the ducks in 2002, a game I attended and I believe was the last time we won at Autsen Arena, but might not have been all that big a deal as a road win. I suppose the 32-31 upset of USC in 2010 at the Coliseum was special, but somehow it doesn't seem like it with that loss to ASU a couple of weeks later in Husky Stadium. So why should any of us even speculate about Sark's Huskies charging off the bus this evening so far away in L.A. to crush or at least delay the Bruins hopes for Pac-12 south division glory? LAX is only about a 2 1/2 hour flight from SeaTac, but with the difficulty the Huskies have always had even in good seasons in putting up a good enough effort to win down there, they might just as well be playing in Tuscaloosa or Baton Rouge.
I have to admit that the absolutely pathetic performance in Tempe just four weeks ago still haunts me more than a little bit. How could our football program shit on itself so badly just six games (seven weeks) after playing so well to kick off the 2013 season against Boise State? Sure, BSU isn't as good this year as they've been in recent years, but the Broncos given their much inferior talent and conference competition aren't doing so bad for a rebuilding year. As I look at the schedule and recall how the Huskies won three and lost two games after beating BSU and before getting slaughtered by ASU: it's obvious that the Illinois win was a typical Sark road game cluster-fuck; Idaho State nothing more than a scrimmage; Arizona a good win in horrible conditions; Stanford a loss thanks to Sark's special teams; and the tenth straight loss to Oregon a typical Husky rollover.
Once again in 2013, Sark and his staff obviously failed to get their program prepared in September to play through a tough October schedule without some level of collapse on the road and at home against superior mid-season opposition. There might be many reasons or excuses for this all too familiar failure to rise against the Pac-12 elites, but here in Sark's fifth season, why should we be surprised, shocked, or even give a shit? Well, it's because we as Huskyfans continue to believe or at least I hope we continue to believe that football isn't a sport that should be played for any treason other than winning games. Orange slices are for girls youth soccer, never for full contact football at any level. Expecting less than is possible or acceptable on the gridiron is a coogloser thing which we must always avoid.
As for the game this evening in the Rose Bowl, I will be watching and hoping as I always do to be surprised by the road Huskies coming to play flawless football from the opening kickoff. The hope is not strong, however, for how could we be encouraged by the wins over lowly CAL and Colorado after what we watched the Huskies do in Tempe? I believe Sark has lost this team and program and he probably has never had control of it on the road. I hope I'm wrong about that, not for the Sark's job security, but because I think the program now has some good young coaches in Wilcox, Sirmon, Heyward, Lupoi, Tuiasosopo, and Paopao. Of course, the Huskies from seniors to freshmen need to play a tough, close, and competitive game against a host team that has always been difficult for us to beat. To somehow come away with a win, UW will need a lot of help not only from the Bruins, but also from a head coach that has been outcoached by the other sideline too many times again this season. As the suspense builds, I wonder if as a couch potato I'll make it into the third quarter still watching the game....... or buried as I usually am on Friday nights in a good book.
I can't recall a big Husky win on the road without (I think) going all the way back to our last Rose Bowl season in 2000. Perhaps it was the 42-14 stomping of the ducks in 2002, a game I attended and I believe was the last time we won at Autsen Arena, but might not have been all that big a deal as a road win. I suppose the 32-31 upset of USC in 2010 at the Coliseum was special, but somehow it doesn't seem like it with that loss to ASU a couple of weeks later in Husky Stadium. So why should any of us even speculate about Sark's Huskies charging off the bus this evening so far away in L.A. to crush or at least delay the Bruins hopes for Pac-12 south division glory? LAX is only about a 2 1/2 hour flight from SeaTac, but with the difficulty the Huskies have always had even in good seasons in putting up a good enough effort to win down there, they might just as well be playing in Tuscaloosa or Baton Rouge.
I have to admit that the absolutely pathetic performance in Tempe just four weeks ago still haunts me more than a little bit. How could our football program shit on itself so badly just six games (seven weeks) after playing so well to kick off the 2013 season against Boise State? Sure, BSU isn't as good this year as they've been in recent years, but the Broncos given their much inferior talent and conference competition aren't doing so bad for a rebuilding year. As I look at the schedule and recall how the Huskies won three and lost two games after beating BSU and before getting slaughtered by ASU: it's obvious that the Illinois win was a typical Sark road game cluster-fuck; Idaho State nothing more than a scrimmage; Arizona a good win in horrible conditions; Stanford a loss thanks to Sark's special teams; and the tenth straight loss to Oregon a typical Husky rollover.
Once again in 2013, Sark and his staff obviously failed to get their program prepared in September to play through a tough October schedule without some level of collapse on the road and at home against superior mid-season opposition. There might be many reasons or excuses for this all too familiar failure to rise against the Pac-12 elites, but here in Sark's fifth season, why should we be surprised, shocked, or even give a shit? Well, it's because we as Huskyfans continue to believe or at least I hope we continue to believe that football isn't a sport that should be played for any treason other than winning games. Orange slices are for girls youth soccer, never for full contact football at any level. Expecting less than is possible or acceptable on the gridiron is a coogloser thing which we must always avoid.
As for the game this evening in the Rose Bowl, I will be watching and hoping as I always do to be surprised by the road Huskies coming to play flawless football from the opening kickoff. The hope is not strong, however, for how could we be encouraged by the wins over lowly CAL and Colorado after what we watched the Huskies do in Tempe? I believe Sark has lost this team and program and he probably has never had control of it on the road. I hope I'm wrong about that, not for the Sark's job security, but because I think the program now has some good young coaches in Wilcox, Sirmon, Heyward, Lupoi, Tuiasosopo, and Paopao. Of course, the Huskies from seniors to freshmen need to play a tough, close, and competitive game against a host team that has always been difficult for us to beat. To somehow come away with a win, UW will need a lot of help not only from the Bruins, but also from a head coach that has been outcoached by the other sideline too many times again this season. As the suspense builds, I wonder if as a couch potato I'll make it into the third quarter still watching the game....... or buried as I usually am on Friday nights in a good book.
Comments
In yr 5 you should be able to crack .500 on the road. Does anyone see that happening?
Not my proudest admission, but I fear being stuck with Sark. As long as he is the HC at WA, mediocrity will prevail. The best we can ever expect from Sark is an occasional 9 or 10 win season, but never a conference or national title.
Sark is not, has never been, and will never be good enough for WA.
According Sinister Times Husky blogger, Adam Jood, I am melodramatic and shortsighted.
Therefore, I like the Bruins tonight.
It's not fair that PAC 12 teams have to play 9 conference games. If we only had to play 8, we would have another gimmie win on our plate.
How do you fucks think Don James would do, if he had to play on the road against a ranked UCLA, Stanford, and ASU, and a receiving votes Oregon State team? That's what I thought.
You Race Bannon minions need to get some perspective.