Super Bowl Update

By Kshell

It was a tale of two programs going in completely opposite directions. The #25 Washington Huskies(7-4, 5-3) know all too well what the Colorado Buffaloes(1-10,1-7) are going through as they went 0-12 back in 2008. Now the Huskies are ranked and heading towards their third straight bowl appearance. The Huskies unlike last season are being led this year by their defense which has held their opponents to under 20 points this year in all seven wins this year.

This game was a blowout for the Huskies like last week was due to the play of Keith Price. Price who had a record breaking year last year has struggled this season. Well today Price found his magic once again as he tied a school record with five touchdown passes with Chris Rowland in 1973 and Jake Locker in 2010(in overtime).  Price was doing what he did best last year which was spreading the ball around as five different receivers caught those five touchdown passes. Three of those five that was their first career touchdown reception including one by fifth year senior Cody Bruns. The Huskies also dominated this game on the ground as Bishop Sankey went over 100 yards rushing for 139 yards. Overall Steve Sarkisian was pretty pleased as the Huskies enjoyed their biggest road win of the Sarkisian era and biggest conference win of the Sarkisian era.

The game started off sloppy for both teams filled with penalties and turnovers. The Buffaloes Connor Wood was making his first career start and it was a rough one. He was three for six passing for only 11 yards as he was intercepted twice by Shaq Thompson and later by Sean Parker as he was pulled. However the Huskies couldn't take advantage as Price missed an open Austin Seferian-Jenkins for a touchdown. Then Travis Coons would miss a 31 yard field goal. On another drive Bishop Sankey would fumble on the Buffaloes one yard line.

After a 13 yard punt return by Cody Bruns the Huskies took over from their own 35 yard line. Price was immediately dropped for a sack making it second and 19 from the 26 yard line. Price would finally go down field as he found his favorite wide receiver Kasen Williams for a gain of 25 yards for the first down. After two short runs facing a third and seven Price would hit DiAndre Campbell for a gain of six yards. Setting up a fourth and one from the Buffaloes 40 yard line. Sarkisian would go for it as Sankey ran for eight yards to the 32 yard line. Price then connected with Sankey over the middle for a gain of 12 yards. On the next play he would hit Campbell to the right for a gain of 14 yards down to the six yard line. Kendyl Taylor would rush for three yards down to the three setting up second and goal from the three. Price on play action would hit Bruns who dove into the end zone. For Bruns who is the states all-time touchdown receptions leader in high school history that was his first career touchdown reception as the Huskies led 7-0 going into halftime.

The Huskies would begin the second half by going three and out. Coons who had missed a field goal then fumbled a snap punted the ball. The ball would hit off of a Buffaloes blocker making it a live ball. Huskies junior wide receiver Kevin Smith would race to the sidelines before the ball goes out of bounds to save the ball. Smith would fly into the sidelines throwing the ball back into play as Huskies safety Will Shamburger receoverd the fumble at the Colorado 35. That play appeared to give the Huskies a spark and they wouldn't look back the rest of the game.

From the 34 yard line on second and nine Price would hit Bruns down the middle for a gain of 17 yards as he stepped up into the pocket. On first and 10 from the 17 yard line Price would hit Kasen Williams over the middle for a wide open 17 yard touchdown to give the Huskies a 14-0 lead over the Buffaloes. With the way the Huskies defense was shutting down the Buffaloes that 14-0 lead felt more like 50-0 as the Huskies were in cruise control after that. Also for Price he was starting to get into a groove like he had the previous week against Utah when Price had his first good game in over a month.

After getting a first down the Buffaloes were then facing a third and 10 from their own 38 yard line when Josh Shirley came in for the strip sack on quarterback Connor Wood. That is when Seferian-Jenkins who was playing defensive end recovered the fumble at the 24 yard line.

After an incomplete pass Price would throw his third touchdown pass of the day. He would throw a quick wide receiver screen to true freshman Kendyl Taylor who made a man miss then raced down the left sideline as he dove in for his first career receiving touchdown. Taylor who started the year off as the Huskies starting wide receiver has now been converted to running back. At that point the Huskies had led Colorado 21-0.

The Buffaloes finally got on the scoreboard after a 59 yard kickoff return and a penalty. The Buffaloes scored on a 37 yard field goal to cut the score to 21-3. After a touchback the Huskies began on their own 25 yard line. Price would immediately hit Williams for a gain of 25 to the 50 yard line. On second and 12 from the 48 yard line Taylor would run for 16 yards to the Buffaloes 36 yard line. Jaydon Mickens on the fly sweep would rush for 20 yards down to the 16 yard line. After a penalty the Huskies were facing a third and 18 from the 24 yard line. Price was about to get sacked instead did a shovel pass to Sankey for a gain of 20 yards. Unfortunately for the Huskies they would have to settle for a field goal. Travis Coons this time would make the 25 yard field goal to give the Huskies a 24-3 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Huskies defense would three and out the Buffaloes with two sacks by Travis Feeney and Josh Shirley. Starting from their own 34 yard line they pounded the rock. Sankey would rush for six yards then for two more. Facing third and two from their own 42 yard line Sankey would rush for five yards to the Huskies 47 yard line. Sankey on the next play would rush up the middle for 40 yards to the Buffaloes 13 yard line. After Taylor ran for three yards he would rush for eight yards to the two yard line. After back to back failed rush attempts the Huskies faced a third and goal from the three yard line. The Huskies called a play action pass as the Buffaloes blitzed all 11 guys as Price was drilled as he lofted the ball high in the air. That is when Seferian-Jenkins came down with the touchdown reception as he got one foot in to give the Huskies a 31-3 lead. For Seferian-Jenkins he would set the Huskies tight end record for most touchdown receptions in a career with that catch.

After another three and out the Huskies took over on their own 34 yard line. On the first play Taylor would rush for his longest run of his career to date busting it 44 yards to the 22 yard line. Taylor would only rush for four yards on the next three carries. Sarkisian decided to go for it on fourth and six from the Buffaloes 18 yard line. Price would deliver a pass over the middle to Jaydon Mickens who dove in for his first career touchdown reception. For Price that pass tied the school record with five touchdown passes in one game. After that the Huskies would force one more turnover as they would win the game 38-3 over the lowly Colorado Buffaloes.

This was a dominant win for the Huskies as they won 38-3. The Huskies out gained the Buffaloes 476-140. The Huskies also forced four turnovers and held the Buffaloes to 10-23 passing for 51 yards with two interceptions. They also recorded five sacks in the game as the defense was flat dominant.

However the story of this game was the play of Keith Price. Price finished 22-29(75.9%) passing for 248 yards(8.6 YPA) with five touchdowns and no interceptions.  He spread the ball around this game as well. His leading receiver was Kasen Williams who caught seven passes for 80 yards(11.4 YPC) with a touchdown. Cody Bruns caught three passes for 33 yards with a touchdown. Austin Seferian-Jenkins caught three passes for 22 yards with a touchdown and had a fumble recovery. DiAndre Campbell caught two passes for 20 yards. While Jaydon Mickens caught an 18 yard touchdown pass and ran for 20 yards on one carry.

Bishop Sankey had a nice game as well. Sankey ran for 139 yards on 23 carries(6.0 YPC). Sankey also caught four passes for 48 yards. Kendyl Taylor had his best game as a Husky rushing for 78 yards on nine carries(8.7 YPC) with a 23 yard touchdown reception. The Huskies saw Marcus Peters and Shaq Thompson record interceptions. While Josh Shirley recorded two sacks and forced a fumble.

The Huskies were reminded first hand how far they've came as a program. Just four years ago they were sitting where Colorado is sitting right now. Those days seem like a distant memory to the Huskies as they have won four games in a row. Now the Huskies will look to win eight games for the first time since the 2001 season. The offense for the second straight week has scored over 30 points after not scoring over 21 points against a Division-1 team all year long. The defense for the seventh time this year has held their opponent to under 20 points. The Huskies are playing their best ball right now as they took it to a team like they should. Sure it was a slow start but at the end of the day the Huskies won by 35 points. Sarkisian couldn't be happier with this group after that 3-4 start they had. The Huskies appear to be rolling in the right direction.

Observations:

- The terrific season of Bishop Sankey just continues. He ran for 139 yards on 23 carries while catching four passes for 48 yards. He didn't score a touchdown for the first time since the USC game. Sankey started off slow and had a costly red zone fumble but once the game started to get going he was busting long runs.

For the year Sankey has ran for 1,150 yards on 233 carries(4.9 YPC) with 13 touchdowns. He also has caught 27 passes for 175 yards(6.5 YPC). Sankey is only a sophomore has ran for over 100 yards in three straight games. On the season he has ran for over 100 yards in six games while scoring a touchdown in eight games. Sankey has been the MVP of the offense this year and is a big reason why the Huskies are 7-4 right now.

- Nice to see Kendyl Taylor have the breakout game that he did. Taylor ran for 78 yards on only nine carries while catching a 23 yard touchdown pass. Taylor had a big game showing off his speed. Taylor turned a short passing play into a 23 yard touchdown. Then later one ripped off a 44 yard run. In the future Taylor could be a nice do everything type of back that the Huskies have seen out of Jesse Callier the last few seasons.

Taylor on the year now has ran for 206 yards on only 33 carries(6.2 YPC). He has also caught 13 passes for 99 yards(7.6 YPC) with a touchdown. Taylor began the year as the starting wide receiver first few games due to injury. Then Sarkisian moved him to running back to have a quality back up. Taylor has taken advantage of his sparse playing time. Like I said in the future look for him to be more part of the offense. Sarkisian I noticed likes to feature one running back but Taylor could be his jack of all trades type of back that Callier was in 2010. With Callier returning next year I'm curious if the Huskies move Taylor back to receiver or what they do with him. I'm excited to see how Taylor does as he has a bright future for the Huskies.

- One player who has no future with the Huskies is fifth year senior Cody Bruns. Bruns who was a heralded four-star recruit has been a bust so far. However, he's playing his best ball of late. He is only the only member of this team to have actually played on that 0-12 team.

Bruns had a nice game catching three passes for 33 yards with his first career touchdown reception. He also had two punt returns for 13 yards. For the year now Bruns has caught 11 passes for 84 yards(7.6 YPC) with a touchdown. He also has 83 punt return yards on nine attempts(9.2 AVG). I've really become a fan of Bruns for his hard work, never transferring and in a lot of ways has been a success at Washington.

- The Huskies defense was dominate. When the offense was screwing around in the first half the defense made sure the Buffaloes had no chance to get momentum. The Huskies defense allowed only three points all game. Held the Buffaloes to 141 yards of total offense, sacked them five times and forced four turnovers.

The Huskies defense now ranks 29th in total defense, 9th in passing defense, 80th in rushing defense and 36th in scoring defense. The Huskies are a totally different defense than they were last year. All seven wins this year the Huskies defense has allowed less than 20 points. The Huskies haven't seen this type of play from a defense since Jim Lambright was head coach. Justin Wilcox deserves all the credit for this turnaround.

- Shaq Thompson is a big reason for this defense turning around. One play he is intercepting a pass then another is lined up as a defensive end forcing pressure on the quarterback. Thompson now has 58 tackles on the year which is good for fifth on the team and is tied for the team lead with three interceptions. He leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss as well.

The secondary has played great this year and there is a reason why they are a top 10 defense against the pass in the nation. Last year the Huskies were terrible against the pass. Now with Desmond Trufant as a senior, Sean Parker as a junior, Marcus Peters now starting along with Thompson the secondary is the strength of the Huskies defense.

- Kasen Williams had another terrific game. He had seven receptions for 80 yards with a touchdown. He had two separate 25 yard receptions which was nice seeing Williams making some big plays. Williams has been terrific this year as him and Seferian-Jenkins at times have carried this passing game.

Williams on the year leads the team with 63 receptions for 700 yards(11.1 YPC) which is second on the team. He also leads the team with six touchdown receptions. Williams is having a great sophomore season as the possession receiver who makes plays in the red zone.

- What a game for Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Seferian-Jenkins caught only three passes for 22 yards but he caught a touchdown pass in the process. He also played defense which is never seen in today's game while recovering a fumble during the game. Seferian-Jenkins who is an all-american tight end is playing both ways on defense while also playing significant minutes for a Pac-12 championship basketball team last year.

On the year Seferian-Jenkins is second on the team with 58 receptions for a team leading 751 yards(12.9 YPC) while being second on the team with five touchdowns. Seferian-Jenkins is also the Huskies all-time receptions leader in tight end history with 99. He is the all-time leading receiver in tight end history with 1,295 yards receiving. This game he became the all-time touchdown leader with 11 receiving touchdowns. The Huskies have seen Aaron Pierce, Mark Bruener, Ernie Conwell, Cam Cleeland and Jerramy Stevens pass through the program who went on to the NFL at the tight end positon. For Seferian-Jenkins to shatter all their records speaks to volumes how great of a player he is. For him to also play basketball and then play defensive end shows what an amazing athlete he is as well.

- I couldn't be happier seeing Keith Price playing well these past two weeks. He is spreading the ball around, stepping up into the pocket and going down field. More importantly he isn't turning the ball over at all.

Price this game was great completing 22-29 passes for 248 yards with a school record tying five touchdown passes. Price the last two weeks has thrown for seven touchdown passes with zero interceptions.

For the year now Price is 223-359(62.1%) for 2,290 yards(6.4 YPA) with 16 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He isn't having a great year but with Washington State's poor pass defense looming and a bowl game he could still end up with a good year. Price also has 51 career passing touchdowns which puts him four behind Cody Pickett for the school record. Price has a shot at breaking that record this season and then shatter the record next year for his senior campaign.

- Steve Sarkisian improves to 26-23 as head coach of the Huskies. Sarkisian's program has never looked better including last year when the Huskies were 5-1. The Huskies are winning with defense, good running game and making plays with the pass. They are winning the turnover battle as well. Sarkisian is featuring the run game as the Huskies are 5-1 this year when Sankey has ran for over 100 yards.

Sarkisian deserves credit for turning this program around even if it seems like it's going at a slow pace. Still if the Huskies finish at 8-4 in a tough conference with two of those losses coming to LSU and Oregon while beating Stanford that is progress. Sarkisian as long as he continues to feature the run and stress defense in his recruiting(which he is) the Huskies program should continue to grow.

The Huskies took care of business against a terrible team. Now it's time to do it once again when they take on the Washington State Cougars in the Apple Cup. The Huskies will be double digit favorites on the road yet again as they should be. The Huskies are playing their best ball in over a decade which has been great to see. Price is playing like Price last year while Sankey is making fans forget about Chris Polk. The defense is playing the best they have since the days when Lambright roamed the sidelines. The Huskies are looking good this year and hopefully they can finish this season strong as they've already won four in a row.

By Kshell

This week the #25 Washington Huskies(6-4,4-3) travel to take on lowly Colorado Buffaloes(1-9,1-6). The Huskies will try to improve to 7-4 something they haven't been since 2001 when they went 8-4 that season. The Huskies have won three games in a row and are looking to win four in a row in a single season for the first time since ending the 2010 season on a four game winning streak. The Buffaloes on the other hand have only one win this year which was against last place Washington State Cougars where the Buffaloes overcame a 31-13 deficit on the road. The Huskies have only one road win but the Buffaloes have yet to win at home this year. Once two proud programs appear to be going in two completely different directions.

Last year the Huskies killed the Buffaloes 52-24 led by the performance of Keith Price. Against the Buffaloes Price was 21-28(75.0%) passing for 257 yards(9.2 YPA) with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 11 yards. All four of Price's touchdowns that day were to four different receivers. Three of those four have graduated unfortunately for the Huskies.

This year it has been a different story for Price who is coming off his best game last week. Price on the year is 201-330(60.9%) passing for 2,042 yards(6.2 YPA) with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has also rushed for a touchdown. Price should have a big day tomorrow as Colorado has allowed opposing quarterbacks to go 213-312(68.2%) passing for 2,774 yards(8.9 YPA) with 33 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions.  Look for the 2011 Price to bust out tomorrow.

The Buffaloes will be starting their third different quarterback in Nick Hirschman. Hirschman played against the Huskies last year in the blowout loss as he was four for eight passing(50.0%) for 52 yards(6.5 YPA) as he was sacked twice. Hirschman on the year is 25-42(59.5%) passing for 283 yards(6.7 YPA) with one touchdown and three interceptions. He also suffered a concussion last game so he might not be able to go.

If he can't go then Connor Wood would start. On the year Wood is 18-36(50.0%) for 254 yards(7.1 YPA) with one touchdown and two interceptions. Both have replaced starter Jordan Webb who was 138-249(55.4%) passing for 1,401 yards(5.6 YPA) with eight touchdowns to eight interceptions. The Huskies pass defense led by Desmond Trufant and Shaq Thompson have been stout this year. Opposing teams are 147-279(52.6%) for 1,866 yards(6.7 YPA) with 14 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. Look for the Huskies pass defense to create problems for the Buffaloes struggling quarterback play.

If the Buffaloes are to pull off this upset it will be cause of the ground game. The Buffaloes are led by Christian Powell who this year has ran for 625 yards on 141 carries(4.4 YPC) and seven touchdowns this year. Powell has also caught seven passes for 32 yards(4.6 YPC). His backup is Tony Jones who has rushed for 261 yards on 52 carries(5.0 YPC) with two touchdowns. Jones has 23 receptions for 145 yards(6.3 YPC). Last year against the Huskies Jones ran for 49 yards on 14 carries(3.5 YPC) with two touchdowns.

The Huskies rush defense has been pretty bad this year as they have allowed 1,863 yards rushing on 380 carries(4.9 YPC) with 14 touchdowns. The Huskies rush defense has struggled and teams have been able to run on their defense. If the Buffaloes can get the run game going they might have a shot in this game.

Last year against Colorado was a breakout game for true freshman Bishop Sankey. Sankey ran for his first career touchdown against the Buffaloes. Sankey ran for 71 yards on just eight carries(8.9 YPC) with a touchdown. Last year the Huskies ran for 295 yards on 40 carries(7.4 YPC) with three touchdowns against the Buffaloes.

Look for the Huskies to continue to pound the ball on the Buffaloes as Sankey is having a great year. Sankey has ran for 1,011 yards on 210 carries(4.8 YPC) with 13 touchdowns. He also has 23 receptions for 127 yards(5.5 YPC). His backup Kendyl Taylor has rushed for 128 yards on 24 carries(5.3 YPC) while catching 12 passes for 76 yards(6.3 YPC). The Huskies should pound the ball down the Buffaloes throats as their defense has allowed 2,276 yards rushing on on 384 carries(5.9 YPC) with 25 touchdowns. The Huskies have ran on every opponent this year so look for Sankey to have a big game if not a career high against this Colorado team.

Whoever is starting at quarterback for the Buffaloes their main targets will be wide receiver Nelson Spruce. Spruce this year has 34 receptions for 349 yards(10.3 YPC) with two touchdowns. Another target is Nick Kasa who had 20 receptions for 340 yards(17.0 YPC) with three touchdowns. Tyler McCulloch has caught 26 passes for 334 yards(12.8 YPC) with two touchdowns.

The Buffaloes will have a hard time in the passing game against the Huskies secondary that features Desmond Trufant, Sean Parker and Shaq Thompson who will all someday play in the NFL.

The Huskies receivers are led by tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and wide receiver Kasen Williams. Last year against Colorado Seferian-Jenkins caught three passes for 42 yards(14.0 YPC) with a touchdown. This year Seferian-Jenkins is having a great season catching 55 passes for 729 yards(13.3 YPC) with four touchdowns.

The other main weapon is Kasen Williams who was hurt last year against Colorado and didn't play other than receiving punts. Williams on the year has 56 receptions for 620 yards(11.1 YPC) with five touchdowns. Besides those two another weapon is Jaydon Mickens who finally had a good game last week. Mickens has caught 17 passes for 160 yards(9.4 YPC) as the third leading receiver. DiAndre Campbell who had a touchdown last week has caught 10 passes for 105 yards(10.5 YPC) with two touchdowns. The Huskies passing attack should light up the Buffaloes this week. Look for some of the other receivers to have a break out game as last year Price threw four touchdowns to four different players.

This is a game the Huskies should destroy the Buffaloes. The Huskies are favored by 21 points on the road and for Steve Sarkisian getting a blown out win on the road would go along ways to moving this program forward. If the Huskies were to win they would have won four games in a row heading into the Apple Cup where they should be favored to win. The programs are going in different directions as Colorado seems to be sputtering like the Huskies did in the Tyrone Willingham years while the Huskies program under Sarkisian appears to have turned the corner. Look for a break out game from Price and another terrific game from Sankey. The early start could be a pain for the Huskies but that is no excuse. I see the Huskies winning this game pretty easily and the offense getting some confidence heading into the Apple Cup.

By Kshell

The Pac-12 football season is set to begin in two weeks so I'm sure you are reading a ton of previews on the teams in the conference. What isn't brought up in these previews is the Elephant in the room on these programs. The Elephant in the room saying is when there is something everyone knows about but it is never brought up. Each team in this conference has an elephant in the room. Some teams elephant in the room isn't much while others looms to be pretty large. Some teams have an obvious Elephant in the room to that particular fan base while for some teams this will hopefully wake you up on these teams. I read these previews and I'm frustrated that many tip toe around the Elephant in the room while some may just be oblivious to the Elephant in the room. As usual I'm sure you'll enjoy my Elephant in the room on other teams but disagree with my assessment on your team. Like I did with my last column I'll once again start off the Elephant in the room in the South starting in Alphabetical order just like I did last time.

South Division:

Arizona Wildcats:


Rich Rodriguez isn't a good football coach:

The Arizona Wildcats replaced one lame coach in Mike Stoops in another with Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez was once a high profile coach when he was at West Virginia where he went 60-26. He left for Michigan where he failed miserably going 15-22 and worse yet was 6-18(.333) in conference games. Arizona didn't struggle last year because of offense they struggled cause they couldn't stop anyone. They went 4-8 last year and lost quarterback Nick Foles to the NFL. Sure Rodriguez will put up points on the board and that will be exciting. Just don't expect him to win many games down in Arizona. If Rodriguez can't win in Michigan which has a ton of great tradition and can recruit well what chance does he have a lower tier Pac-12 school like Arizona? I expect this experiment to crash and burn starting immediately this year.


Arizona State Sun Devils:


Todd Graham had the same record as fired coach Dennis Erickson had last season:

The Arizona State Sun Devils just like their rivals had a rather interesting coaching hire. They hired Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Todd Graham. Graham won at Rice going 7-6 then bounced after one year, then went to Tulsa for four years going 36-17 then bounced to Pittsburgh going 6-6 before leaving to Arizona State. The Sun Devils just fired Dennis Erickson for going 6-6(he would end up 6-7 after losing his lame duck bowl game) yet they hired a guy who went 6-6? Graham even if he does do well has shown he will bail on a team as he has already left two programs after just one season. No matter how much you want to pump this guy up he's a .500 coach in big boy ball and I'm being generous since the Big East is dog shit and easily the worst BCS conference. Face it Sun Devils you whiffed on this hire and once again despite all the potential in the world you'll still be average.


Colorado Buffaloes:


Colorado lost their only explosive piece on offense in Rodney Stewart:

The Colorado Buffaloes were terrible last season in going 3-10 which actually surprised most people in fact. Well now they lost talented running back Rodney Stewart who ran for 854 yards(4.5 YPC) with four touchdowns while also being their second leading receiver with 45 receptions for 571 yards(12.7 YPC). He did lead the team in receptions as well. This is already a terrible team who on paper lost their one stud play maker on offense. There is a very good chance Colorado could actually be worse than they were last season which is a scary thought for Buffaloes fans in Colorado.


Utah Utes:


Jordan Wynn isn't very good while Utah benefited from a weak schedule:

I keep seeing a ton of praise for the Utah Utes and I'm not buying it. You know why I'm not buying it? Cause Utah despite going 8-5 last year was 4-5 in conference. Utah also didn't win a single game in conference against a team with a winning record. They also skipped BOTH Stanford and Oregon which would have been for sure losses. Utah due to recruiting at a Mountain West level doesn't have the athletes to defeat decent to good Pac-12 teams. Another reason they can't because Jordan Wynn isn't that good. In his career he has completed 59.9% of his passes for 4,390 yards(7.4 YPA) which is good for 219.5 YPG with 31 touchdowns to 16 interceptions in 20 games. Those are solid numbers but not good enough in this league. Utah will once again benefit from not facing Oregon or Stanford. They do have to travel to Washington and they do host USC at home. Utah will once again go to a bowl game because they are skipping two of the four best teams in the conference. Just don't be fooled at the end of the year by their inflated record.


USC Trojans:


Lane Kiffin has no pressure wins:

In three seasons as a head coach Lane Kiffin has coached in one bowl game which his team got killed. Now we are to believe this team is going to win the national championship? Kiffin who is 3-5 vs ranked opponents in his career including that shocking win over Oregon in Eugene. USC the one year under Matt Barkley when there was actual preseason expectations they stumbled going 9-4. Also speaking of the Oregon game which USC fan is screaming at me now saying that is a pressure win well yes it is but not really. USC was 17 point underdogs so nobody expected them to win so the pressure was off and then they came out to a 38-14 lead over Oregon. They when the game got tight so did USC as they almost choked the game away finally hanging on 38-35 over Oregon as Oregon missed a game tying field goal to force overtime. Oregon had just had back to back big road games in closing out Husky Stadium then defeating Stanford for the Pac-12 title. This time around when the teams square off Oregon will be ready. Kiffin hasn't had to deal with being the clear cut favorite and it will be interesting to see how he handles a national championship or bust type pressure.


UCLA Bruins:


Jim L. Mora is an unproven head coach:

Jim L. Mora so far has been fired by two NFL jobs and has a career record of 31-33 in the NFL. Now while Mora could turn out to be the next Pete Carroll he could just as easily turn out to be the next Mike Sherman(25-25 at Texas A &M), Dave Wannstedt(42-31 at Pittsburgh), and  Chan Gailey(44-32 at Georgia Tech). All of those coaches had no head coach experience at college before taking over after failing in the NFL. Mora could be a success but he can just as easily be like every other UCLA head coach since Terry Donahue which is be very average. Mora isn't getting off to the best start with his comments about USC, barking at his assistants and kicking his team out of practice. It will be interesting to see what Mora does. One thing is for sure is UCLA fans should enter the Mora era with caution as he isn't proven as a head coach.

North Division:

California Golden Bears:


Jeff Tedford can't succeed without a future NFL pro bowler at Quarterback or Running Back:

Jeff Tedford is entering his 11th season at California and has a 79-48 record. He is only 48-38 in conference play. When he coached Aaron Rodgers in 2003 he went 8-6(5-3) and in 2004 he went 10-2(7-1) finishing the year ranked 9th in the country. In 2005 Marshawn Lynch came to the program where Tedford went 8-4(4-4) then in 2006 went 10-3(7-2) tying for the conference title. Since Rodgers and Lynch have left Tedford is 36-28(21-24). As you can see since he has lost Rodgers and Lynch he is a below .500 coach in conference play. There is nobody on this California roster at Quarterback or Running Back who appears to be a future pro bowler which means the California Golden Bears will once again be destined for another average season in Tedford's 11th season.


Stanford Cardinal:


Stanford is living off the name of two guys Jim Harbaugh and Andrew Luck who are no longer there:

The Stanford Cardinal have been terrific the last two years mainly due to #1 pick overall Andrew Luck at quarterback and the Jim Harbaugh handing the program over to David Shaw. In the two big games last year Stanford lost both games where Shaw appeared over matched in the Oregon game and in the Oklahoma State game he took the ball out of Andrew Luck's hands. Stanford also has a tough stretch after they start off 2-0 they host #1 USC, travel to Washington on a thursday night game, host Arizona then have a road game at Notre Dame, followed up by a weird road game against their rival California in the middle of the year. Stanford could very easily go 1-4 during that stretch with a rookie quarterback, not to mention they also lost David DeCastro who anchored their offensive line. They also lost first-teamers Jonathan Martin to the draft and tight end Cody Fleenor. Stanford lost five of their six first-team all conference guys to the NFL draft. I know most are high on Stanford but they lost their star quarterback, head coach two years ago, star tight end plus their two best offensive lineman. I don't know if any program can reload after that much departure especially a non football powerhouse like Stanford.


Oregon Ducks:


The Willie Lyles storm cloud hanging over Oregon's 2012 season:

Oregon fans don't like talking about it while rival fans do which is the Willie Lyles controversy appears to be coming to a conclusion soon. You can't talk about Oregon football without Lyles name being brought up which may be hurting their recruiting right now. Oregon despite being a top tier program has only eight committments is ranked 38th in the nation and only 5th in the Pac-12. If the penalties are severe should be interesting to see how Oregon handles the controversy. I witnessed it at Washington as the Huskies went to three straight Rose Bowls and were picked to go to a fourth straight. Then probation hit and Don James suddenly left while the Huskies suffered through three straight unthinkable 7-4 seasons. For Oregon to think they can A) survive sanctions, B) Chip Kelly won't flee to the NFL and C) replace Kelly  and maintain this level of excellence is ridiculous.

Oregon has been building this journey for a while. In 1994 they went to the Rose Bowl then following it up with a Cotton Bowl. Then suffered through three average seasons until the Joey Harrington era started where they saw their program rise to the #2 ranking in the nation in 2001. Then from 2002-08 they were a solid program who couldn't get over the hump. Chip Kelly arrives and with USC going on two year bowl ban with Pete Carroll leaving they have dominated the conference. There is no guarantee Chris Peterson would bolt to Oregon like so many fans think it is a for sure thing. Do I think Oregon would fall to Washington status of 0-12? No I don't but I could see them returning to what they were in the Mike Bellotti years where they were a good program. They just weren't a great program under Bellotti so in my opinion the Lyles Elephant in the room is the biggest in the entire conference mainly cause it could take down the team of the conference which right now is Oregon.


Oregon State Beavers:


Mike Riley is an underachiever and the program is in decline:

Mike Riley known as the coach who can do more with less has struggled in recent years. In his 11 years all at Oregon State he is 72-63 and 46-47 which is partly due to his first two years when the program was the worst in the nation. In his second go around he is 64-49 and 44-33 in coference play. Riley in 11 seasons has never had a season where he has lost fewer than four games in a season. Riley has seen the programs win totals drop four consecutive years as the Beavers have lost to the Oregon Ducks four consecutive years. Last year Riley went 3-9 and had an embarrassing loss to Sacramento State at home. In fact under Riley the Beavers have lost 12 games to teams not in a BCS conference which is pathetic for a major conference coach.

There doesn't appear to be hope on the horizon as Oregon State is ranked 75th in the nation in recruiting which puts them last in the conference, last year Oregon State ranked 44th good for 10th in the conference. Riley is driving the Beavers straight into the ditch and most fail to bring this up. I see how Oregon State is expected to make a bowl game even predicted to do better than Washington according to Phil Steele. I'm just not buying it, sure Riley pulls off one or two upsets a year but he has his fair share of bad losses. Two years ago lost at home to a 2-10 Washington State Cougars team giving Paul Wulff his first ever road win. Then last year the loss to Sacramento State at home was inexcusable as a real program would have fired him for that especially for going 3-9. As long as Riley is in Corvallis the Beavers will forever be limited.


Washington Huskies:

  Steve Sarkisian's offense is overrated:

The Huskies offense receives a ton of praise as Steve Sarkisian is labeled the offensive "guru". The offense though is actually overrated and racks up big numbers against crappy teams. Against the three top teams in the conference the Huskies have struggled offensively. Against Stanford all losses they have scored 14 points, 0 points and 21 points. Against Oregon all losses they have yet to score 20 points scoring 19 points, 16 points and 17 points. Against USC where they won twice they scored 16 points, 32 points and 17 points. In the two biggest wins of the Steve Sarkisian era the Huskies defeated #3 USC 16-13 in 2009 and defeated #18 Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl 19-7. Even the signature California win where Polk scored the game winner in 2010 the Huskies won 16-13 no exactly an offensive shootout.

 As you can see the offense struggled, in three years the offense has only came to play one time against a good defense which was an 8-5 USC team on the road in 2010 scoring 32 points. In most of the Huskies big wins it was the defense who came through so this notion that the Huskies just need an average defense then they'll be a BCS team is completely false. They scored 56 points in a bowl loss against Baylor but Baylor's defense was ranked in the 100's not exactly a good defense. This team has no NFL offensive lineman either which means they can't grind out those tough drives. Remember last year against Eastern Washington, Hawaii and California how the game was put in the hands of the defense? It was because the offense couldn't put the game away with a sustained drive. A great offense like the 2000 one chewed up the clock, moved the chains and got the clutch first downs. This is a good offense but it has a long ways to go before it becomes a great offense.


Washington State Cougars:


Cougars went 4-8 last year with a top 10 passing offense in the nation and top 30 offense overall in the nation. Defense was the problem and Leach isn't a defensive coach.

The Cougars are excited to have Mike Leach over the dreadful Paul Wulff. I keep hearing how Air Raid is going get the Cougars back into a bowl game this year as Leach is going to vastly improve that passing offense plus Jeff Tuel is coming back as well. The thing is the Cougars offense was pretty good last year and wasn't the problem. They were top 10 in the nation in passing offense and top 30 in the nation in overall offense. Leach will improve that field but he won't improve what has plagued the Cougars for a while which is their defense. The Cougars defense in nine conference games allowed 311 points(34.6 PPG) with 27 being the fewest which was against Colorado and Arizona State which were both wins. Against teams with a winning record the Cougars went 0-6 last year allowing 227 points(37.8 PPG) showing they aren't ready to hang with the good teams.

The last time the Cougars defeated a team with a winning division-1 record was SMU back in 2009. The last time the Cougars defeated a conference opponent who ended the year with a winning record was all the way back in 2006. The Air Raid offense will put up points but it will also put more pressure on the field as passing teams tend to not use up much time of possession. The Cougars defense which has been dreadful the last couple of years doesn't appear to be any better. Leach is an offensive coach, the defensive players aren't very good. Look for the Cougars to be a better version of what Paul Wulff had them be last year which is eat up the weak teams but struggle to stop anyone in conference.

So when you making your predictions for this upcoming season keep in mind these Elephants in the room for each program. I noticed every fan base chooses to ignore their Elephant in the room and especially the media  who covers their teams. I just like to look at them before I do my predictions as the season is only two weeks away. We'll see how each team handles their Elephant in the room and perhaps make me look dumb by the end of the year. Once again I'm sure most fan bases will like this piece while the homer fans who see no wrong in their team won't like it. For those rational fans out there I hope you enjoy this and hopefully you can at least respect my Elephant in the room on your program while nodding your head reading about the rival schools I had a dig on.

By Kshell

With college football just around the corner I figured I would take a fun take at the history of the Pac-12 conference. In this piece I'm pretending what each football program would be like if they represented a real person . I set all 12 teams in a neighborhood as they are all neighbors who have a neighborhood party once a year to see who is doing the best. I'll include the programs history based on how successful this person may or may not be. How good their coach is will represent their wife or if they have a new coach that will represent a girlfriend. How the football program is doing will represent how they are doing in life far as their job, how much money they make, their accessories, etc. Like I said I'll try in a creative way use the past and the present day programs to give you a better idea how each football program looks in our conference. I'll go alphabetical order like I do in my Pac-12 predictions piece starting with the South.

Arizona State:


Arizona State is no longer the new guy on the neighborhood and just like that has been part of this neighborhood for a while when the neighborhood expanded to 10 houses. Arizona State also has the rest of the conference confused as to why he isn't more successful in life and is always single. Arizona State is pretty intelligent so he should be successful in his work life and is in great shape as he is always working out. He is also pretty good looking and the rest of his neighbors view him as a sleeping giant to have the best house and hottest wife. Then at the party the rest of his neighbors noticed that Arizona State is the life of the party. He is the guy who is always tanked and brings the bulk of the alcohol. He is a fun loving guy who simply doesn't give a shit. He is just there to have fun. That is when everyone else realized he is what he is which is a guy who has potential for so much more but won't ever reach that potential.


Arizona:


Arizona moved into the neighborhood same time as Arizona State did. Minus a brief time period in the 1990's Arizona has just been the forgotten man on the neighborhood. He has never been married or even had a pretty girl friend. He has never been successful in his job either. He isn't a loser and his house isn't the worst on the block. That is the thing about Arizona he isn't so bad where his neighbors make fun of him but they are wondering why they invited him to the block in the first place? Then they remembered he brings value outside of the neighborhood. He is good at other stuff that nobody really cares about(basketball, baseball, etc) but still has value. He is the guy who goes around the neighborhood to help clean up, he is always willing to baby sit for you as well. So his value is other areas so the rest of neighborhood tolerates him.


Colorado:


Colorado is new to the neighborhood and currently owns the smallest home on the block. Colorado used to be in another neighborhood where he was very successful. He had the hottest wife and was making six figures at his job. In 1990 he was named most successful man in the city. Then in 1998 his young hot wife left him in the middle of the night and ended up marrying Washington. Colorado still hasn't recovered from that and last year they struggled in their new neighborhood after their last neighborhood was threatening to fold. The fellow neighbors still don't respect Colorado as they know they are a has been. Sure they may have been successful 20 years ago but right now they are left eating the scraps at the party with Oregon State and Washington State. Poor Colorado had they joined this neighborhood 20 years ago they would have fit in nicely instead they are the runt of the neighborhood.


Utah:


Utah like Colorado is new to this Pac-12 neighborhood. Utah had a rough transition their first year but settled in nicely. Utah was in a different neighborhood that was beaten down sure they had the nicest house. They also had the nicest house on one of the worst neighborhoods in town. Utah made good money at his job or so he thought compared to the rest of his neighborhood. He was big fish small pond syndrome. In this past he's had competitions with teams in the Pac-12 and whooped their ass so he figured the transition would be easy. Finally another house was built in the Pac-12 neighborhood and Utah decided to jump all over it. Now with the same wife who was the hottest in her previous neighborhood she is simply good looking in this one. Utah will eventually get adjusted and raise their game up. They need to do some landscaping around the house to improve on it some, with the promotion in their job they will start making more money so they can upgrade their car. Utah will eventually upgrade their house so in a few years they can finally compete. As is they are still one of the better overall guests at the party. Almost everyone respects Utah but they also got a kick out of Utah's struggles that first year proving that you can't just go from a shitty neighborhood to a big time neighborhood without your struggles.


UCLA: 


UCLA has been part of the conference since day one. UCLA is good looking and for a long period of time had a great house with a great job. His problem is he is next door neighbors to USC so no matter how good he does it doesn't seem enough. UCLA has had some woman issues lately too. Remember the wife who left Colorado? Well after Washington chose to divorce her UCLA decided to marry her and she sank him down. So now UCLA is dating a girl who has been lusting after Washington for years. UCLA has what it takes to control this neighborhood but his biggest problem is he is a wimp. He lets his neighbors(particularly USC) walk all over him. When USC wants something of his UCLA just bows down and USC takes whatever he wants. UCLA despite having the best location in the neighborhood and easy access to move up in his job he just can't seem to seal the deal. What it boils down to is UCLA is soft as a person and when you are soft others will walk all over you.


USC:


USC has been part of this neighborhood forever. His grandpa made this neighborhood what it is today, then his dad ruled this neighborhood and someday so will his son. USC is the biggest toughest guy in the room and always has a hot girl friend. USC makes six figures and nobody messes around with USC except for lately. Due to a scandal he had at work back in 2005 he was sentenced to two years in jail plus probation. So other teams in the neighborhood have caught up to USC and gotten some revenge on USC the last two years. USC has a new young girlfriend and is determined to be the most successful person on the block. At the parties USC is seen as arrogant but he knows he can be because he has earned it. He will once in a while give Washington a nod of respect but don't think for one second he will even acknowledge what Oregon has going on at their place. He will act like McKayla Maroney and be very unimpressed. USC knows even while being in jail he was still the most successful person at the southern end of his block. USC is constantly laughing at his next door neighbor UCLA whom he doesn't even consider  a rival. He considers Notre Dame the guy who lives across the city who has been living off his dad and grandpa's generation for a while now. USC is finally out of jail so he is hoping to make up for lost time the past two years.


California:


California is the hippie pot smoking guy on the neighborhood who is care free. California despite such a big house had one of the dumpiest houses on the block, one of the worst cars, wasn't married and had a terrible job. Then after hitting rock bottom he met a girl and fell in love. Early on he enjoyed great success as he got a new job which paid well. In fact only USC was more successful on the block than he was. Now his wife her looks have dropped off a bit, at work people have passed him up, his car isn't so nice anymore. He has returned to be average on the block and worse yet his oldest son who he raised so well has left his company to go work for Washington. Then his son stole some other young up and comers he was recruiting to go work for his company. He has never felt so betrayed by a family member in his life. California tasted success but now is just rolling in mediocrity.


Stanford:


Stanford was the skinny little nerd at the neighborhood party for years. He was the smartest guy at the part something he'd always remind everyone but nobody else cared as he was a slob. His house was messy, he was single, he had no car and his job was terrible. Then very quietly Stanford met this girl and caught a "LUCKy" break. He started to work out and suddenly showed up to the part not only as the smartest guy but also the toughest guy. He was bullying USC at the party which nobody did and USC was backing down. He was also pushing around Washington which he never used to do. The only person who could stand up to Stanford lately is Oregon who has been beating everyone at everything lately. Stanford's young hot girlfriend left him for better opportunities that he couldn't provide. His lucky horseshoe he lost while on a trip to Indianapolis so some are curious how Stanford is going to far without his hot girl friend or his good luck charm. One thing is for sure Stanford isn't that skinny little wimpy nerd that the conference used to take advantage of for years. Stanford will fight back and lately Stanford has been the one taking advantage of others in the conference.


Oregon:


Oregon's family has been part of this neighborhood forever. Oregon was the loser of the block, had a small house, couldn't afford a car, worked at a shitty job, had a long time wife who was average. Then suddenly in the 1990's Oregon realized his distant uncle was the creator of Nike. His uncle who had no kids of his own immediately treated Oregon like a son and named his CEO of Nike. Oregon who used to get picked on by everyone especially Washington is now picking on Washington. After Oregon's long-time loyal wife left him for what she thought was a better guy Oregon would realize he had an uncle. Then after being one of the top guys on the block Oregon met some under the radar girl from the east coast. Nobody knew anything about her and after short time he booted his second wife to the curb for this young hot wife. Oregon has the nicest house on the block, the hottest wife and due to being treated like crap for generations they are obnoxious about their success. USC still doesn't acknoweldge their success and just recently after winning the best roses on the Pac-12/Big 10 block contest Washington is reluctantly giving Oregon credit. Oregon is new rich but there is a storm brewing possibly. There is speculation Oregon could get in trouble and go to jail soon as they may have done some illegal things to get this high. We'll see but for now Oregon has been king of the neighborhood for three straight years and only USC can knock him off that porch this year.


Oregon State:

Oregon State is the nice polite guy at the party who everyone else secretly wonders why they were even invited to the neighborhood to begin with. For over three plus decades Oregon State had the worst house, was living off welfare and was single. He was a loser who everyone else felt sorry for. Then  Oregon State met a sweet girlfriend who brought his life together but she quickly left him. Oregon State then found great success with his new girl. He finally got a kick ass job, improved his ass and his girl friend although a drinker was pretty hot. Just like that Oregon State was one of the more successful guys at the party. Then that girl friend left him so Oregon State decided to get back with his previous girl friend who had left him and they sustained success for a while. Well that girl friend hasn't been working out, letting herself go a little and is bad with money. Just like that Oregon State career isn't going as well so he is having to cut back on his house a little. Oregon State looks around and he is in danger of becoming the least successful person on the block if he isn't careful. He is too loyal to his girlfriend as well even though many are suggesting he can do better.


Washington:

Washington has been part of this block for generations as well. He has always had one of the nicer houses, and a nice job plus beautiful women. He inherited the place from his dad who was the most successful guy on the block from 1977-1992 then suddenly one of his dad's employees below him took out an illegal loan to help finance his house. The other neighbors found out and they flipped punishing his dad for two years which his dad said screw it I'm moving out! Then suddenly his dad passed away unexpected and there was major turmoil for Washington. His uncle came in to right the ship for a while but eventually had to hand it over to Washington who wasn't ready for this responsibility. Washington snatched away Colorado's wife and that was a hit right off the bat Washington was kicking ass at his job, did some improvements to his house and was living the dream. Come to find out his wife was a bit of a gambler and after being tired of being lied to he finally dumped his young attractive wife. He settled on Stanford's ex where he hit rock bottom. He lost his job in 2008, had to file for bankruptcy and even live on welfare for a while. He is now dating someone from the USC family tree one of USC nieces and things have turned around. Washington is working a decent job, his house seems in order but Washington is frustrated because he has to achieve what his dad had achieved for such a long stretch. At one time his dad was the smartest, toughest and most successful guy on the block. Washington is hoping someday he can join that level of USC and Oregon but right now he isn't quite there.


Washington State:

Washington State is always the guy who embarrasses himself at the party by getting too drunk off Busch Light. He is the guy everyone wonders who invited this guy? He insists that he matters but in reality he doesn't. He really enjoys it when his next door neighbor Washington is down in the dumps even though his life isn't going as well. Washington State has been the least successful guy on the block throughout most of their history. He had a stretch from 2001-03 where he turned his life around, his loyalty to his wife paid off as she got smoking hot, he was named ceo of his company and life was looking good for him. Then his loyalty turned to betrayal as his wife left him in the middle of the night. Washington State just ended a bad four year divorce where they hit rock bottom. She gave him bad advice and he has been unemployed for the last four years, living off welfare and everyone on the neighborhood wanted him to move out. Washington State is now dating this weird chick who is obsessed with Pirates, she is controversial and speaks her mind. She also appears to be a good fit for Washington State. Washington State just recently found a job and things could be looking up for Washington State. In a few years Washington State might not be the least successful guy on the block as that title will probably belong to Oregon State at this rate.

Well I hope I didn't offend your fan base in this piece as this was all done in fun. I always imagined what they would look like if they were in a neighborhood together. This was one of the more fun pieces I've done as I usually don't do satire pieces. The Pac-12 neighborhood has gone over some changes in recent memory and we'll see how this post stands up in a few years from now. Some teams have had to work hard to get where they are at, while others seem to always be successful, while some have never tasted success and lastly some have had success but fallen on hard times. I tried to give a historical review of each program in a less than serious context. Should be a fun 2012 season coming up and I can't believe college football is only 15 days away for most programs and for Washington State it is only 13 days away!

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(8-6,2-1) failed yet another road test losing to the Colorado Buffaloes(10-4,2-0) in Boulder, Colorado 87-69. In a game which the Huskies led by a score of 14-5 the Buffaloes ended the half outscoring the Huskies 35-16. The Huskies once again on the road failed to make their shots, failed to make defensive stops and just seemed liked they didn't even want to be there.

With just three Huskies scoring in double figures while allowing 49% shooting from the Buffaloes the Huskies were once again no match on the road as they now fall to 0-5 on the season away from home. This young talented squad appears to be suffering a similar fate as the 2006-07 team which had young freshman Spencer Hawes and Quincy Pondexter along with sophomore Jon Brockman all of which are playing in the NBA currently. Lorenzo Romar must figure out a way to maximize the talent of a team that features two lottery picks and another player who could be playing in the NBA as well.

In the Huskies first trip to Boulder since 1996 when freshman superstar Tony Wroten was only three years the Huskies got off to a terrific start leading 14-5. That is when everything started to fall apart as the Buffaloes started to outhustle the Huskies on both ends of the floor and the Huskies simply stop making their shots. Then Romar put in freshman Martin Bruenig is when the Buffaloes went on a run. While Bruenig's stint was short it left an impact as he missed a dunk and two layups while also giving up two three pointers and a few offensive rebounds. Before you knew it the Buffaloes had ended the half on a 35-16 run leading the Huskies 40-30 at halftime.

The Buffaloes shot 16-38(.421) from the field while draining three for six three pointers. They were led by Carlon Brown who scored 13 points on 5-10 shooting including two three pointers. Andre Roberson added six points on three for three shooting with eight rebounds and Sabatino Chen scored six points on three for six shooting as well. For the Huskies they shot miserable shooting 13-41(.317) from the field while making just 2-10 three pointers. They were led by C.J. Wilcox who scored nine points on 4-10 shooting but just one for seven on three pointers. Terrence Ross added seven points on three for seven shooting including a three pointer and seven rebounds. Tony Wroten scored six points on three for seven shooting but missed both free throws while adding three steals. The Huskies had an uphill mountain to climb in the second half.

The Huskies were outscored 47-39 in the second half to ultimately lose 87-69 in a game that wasn't even that close. The Buffaloes shot 27-55(49.1%) from the field making 8-14(57.1%) of their three pointers and 25-28(89.3%) from their free throws. The Buffaloes had five guys in scoring figures and another score eight points. They were led by Brown who scored 18 points on 7-11 shooting including a perfect three for three on three pointers. For the Huskies they shot miserable making only 27-72(37.5%) of their field goals, 4-20(20.0%) of their three pointers and 11-16(68.8%) of their free throws. They were led by Wroten who scored 21 points on 9-16 shooting, six rebounds, three assists and seven steals. He also turned the ball over five times and shot just three for eight on free throws. Wilcox scored 19 points off the bench on 6-16 shooting including three for nine on three pointers but was a perfect four for four on free throws. The last Husky to score in double figures was Terrence Ross who scored 13 points on 6-15 shooting with a three pointer while adding 10 rebounds. The Huskies had too many other no shows as they had three other starters combine score eight points. Desmond Simmons had a nice game scoring six points on three for seven shooting with five rebounds as he continues to be the Huskies only productive big man.

All in all, this was another long list of bad losses for this years Huskies team. This was your standard Romar loss which featured poor substitutions, poor big man play, too many turnovers and nothing that resembles a half court offense. What doesn't resemble a Romar team is the piss poor defensive effort which is becoming a bad trend for this particular team in losses. The Huskies also need some of their upperclassman to step up and take control. Pretty hard to be a leader when you aren't playing well. This was the second straight game Darnell Gant was a complete non factor while Abdul Gaddy pulled a no show this game as well. The Huskies inside play was terrible on both ends of the court while Wroten is being asked to do too much. This Huskies team is at a crossroads right now which is they can simply play it out and go to the CBI despite three guys who appear to be NBA talent or they can focus and try to make something out of this season that appears headed down the drains very quickly.