Super Bowl Update

By Kshell

Kris Shellenbarger
@seattlesports89

I have a source that told me that Huskies QB Nick Montana hasn't enrolled in any classes this quarter. Looking like he will be transfering.

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9:16 PM - 7 Jan 12via web · Details


Washington Huskies backup quarterback redshirt freshman Nick Montana has officially transfered today. This is something that I had reported a few weeks back. While at the time some believed my reporting skills there was a few doubters. I didn't just randomly post that as I don't do that. Instead from a mutual friend that he regularly talks to every single day told me I decided to run with this. KJR's Dave "Softy" Mahler had told me at the time he spoke to Montana and that I was wrong. Yet here we are today with Montana transfering. Instead of giving me credit like Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times rightfully did Mahler instead took this as a chance to rag on me even more so. In this following post I'll talk about Montana transfering and the positive/negative reaction I've received from Mahlers childish antics towards myself.

When Nick Montana the son of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana came to Washington there was high expectations for the four star recruit that he would take over when Jake Locker graduated. Instead Montana lost out to sophomore quarterback Keith Price and never really played much this year. When Montana finally had a chance to play he didn't play well at all. In his lone start in a 38-21 loss to Oregon State he was pulled for the injured Keith Price failing to throw for even 100 yards. For his Huskies career Montana completed 24-42(57.1%) of his passes for 226 yards(5.4 YPA) with three touchdowns to two interceptions. Montana showed in that Oregon State game that he wasn't ready for major college football. With Sarkisian bringing in two highly rated quarterbacks and Price having two more years left this was a move that makes sense for Montana.

Keith Price the quarterback that nobody gave a chance to beat out Montana broke a lot of passing records as only a sophomore quarterback. While the Huskies marketing team was busy selling Nick Montana's #5 jersey Price simply showed he was the better quarterback. Price began his career with six straight games of passing for at least three touchdown passes in a game. For the year Price completed 242-362(66.9%) of his passes for 3,063 yards(8.5 YPA) with 33 touchdowns to 11 interceptions with three rushing touchdowns. Price set a single season school record for QB rating, completion percentage and touchdowns in a season. The school record is 53 passing touchdowns by Locker and Price for his career already has 35 touchdowns so Montana was looking at best starting only his senior year.  With Sarkisian bringing in two quarterbacks and with Derrick Brown also a highly touted quarterback waiting in the wings could have beaten out Montana as well. Most people saw with the play of Keith Price that Montana was going to indeed transfer. Montana transfering isn't a shock to most. Just the timing of Montana's transfer after I had been told I was wrong just two weeks ago is the story. Had Montana transfered a year from now or even before I had reported it  people could claim they had known all along. After I had reported it though I was met with some negative feedback in return mostly by one individual.

"Softy Mahler

I complained that I had to chase down a rumor from a blog nobody had ever heard of. I cant waste my time chasing down stories based off rumors that appear on fan blogs. Theres just too many of them and if I did that I wouldnt even have time to breathe. But people kept bugging me about it, so I called Nick. He denied it then. Now, today, a credible news source is reporting he's gone. That is worth responding to. If anyone with a fan blog wants to break stories and be taken seriously, then go get a job with an established media organiziation, or build a history that one day people can take seriously. Its that simple."

Dave "Softy" Mahler is often known for his childish antics and homerism for the Huskies.  He has called out author Derrick Johnson in the past too discrediting him. So I'm not surprised he referred to my blog as a blog that nobody has heard of despite the fact that I have three-quarters of a century thousand in views. For him to say I was wrong then to explode on me like this was very unprofessional especially when qualified newspaper writers such as Bob Condotta had no problem giving me my much deserve credit on my reporting skills.

In conclusion, I didn't make up this story on Montana I had actual key information reporting to me about Montana which was proven right two weeks later. I also had key information reporting to me that Mike Leach was in Pullman two days before it was announced he was head coach. After taking backlash from people for two straight days he was named head football coach for the Cougars. Bottom line I'm not in this blogging game for personal joy but more so cause I love sports. Just when the chance I get something right(Don't worry I'll admit when I'm wrong too) just give me some credit. For the Huskies program losing Montana is no big loss as they are loaded at the quarterback position. You won't be seeing Joe Montana in the stands anymore which is perhaps the only loss in this whole thing. Anyways I wish Nick Montana luck and will continue listening to KJR believe it or not. At the end of the day we are all rooting for the same teams even if we happen to disagree.

By Kshell

The Oregon State Beavers(3-8,3-5) delivered the Washington Huskies(6-5,4-4) a smack of reality check with a 38-21 victory on senior night. The Huskies who started freshman quarterback Nick Montana struggled on offense, defense and special teams. Steve Sarkisian for the third straight year has seen his team drop three games in a row late in the season and now must regroup his team to take on the Washington State Cougars in the apple cup. For the Beavers who were led by freshman quarterback Sean Mannion throwing for 339 yards and a rushing attack which gained 145 yards on the ground this was a good win in an otherwise trying season for Mike Riley. The Huskies now must face reality that their once promising season of 5-1 and then 6-2 is headed towards disaster after losing three in a row. The Huskies will have finished this year 1-4 on the road and will look to win their seventh regular season game for the first time since 2002 this Saturday against the Washington State Cougars.

The Huskies began the game off with a very Don James esque type of drive as Sarkisian tried to ease Montana in his first career start. With the Huskies having the ball first on their own 30 yard line after a run of no gain for Chris Polk that is when Polk started to dominate the Beavers. Polk busted an 18 yard run to their own 48 yard line. Then Montana on a play action boot leg completed a 12 yard pass to Austin Seferian-Jenkins to the Beavers 40 yard line. Polk would rush for three yards and to be tackled was face masked for 15 more yards to the Beavers 22 yard line. After two Polk runs of eight yards the Huskies facing a third and two just gave it to Polk in the wild cat for a gain of seven yards down to the Beavers seven yard line. Polk would rush up the middle for a gain of three yards setting up a second and goal from the four yard. Sarkisian once again called a play action boot where Montana found the open Seferian-Jenkins for a four yard touchdown pass to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead. On that drive Polk carried the ball seven times for 39 yards as the Huskies appeared to be headed towards a good game.


The Oregon State Beavers would respond to the Huskies score with a nice drive of their own. Starting from their own 29 yard line facing a second down Terron Ward rushed for 29 yards to the Huskies 42 yard line. Sean Mannion completed a nine yard pass to the Huskies 33 yard which he followed up by hitting James Rodgers for a gain of 25 yards to the Huskies eight yard line. The Beavers started to go backwards first with a rush attempt that went backwards for two yards, then Mannion completed a pass for four yards but could have been picked off had Cort Dennison played the ball instead of the man. Facing a third and goal from the six Mannion hit Rodgers underneath as he ran by two Husky defenders for the touchdown to tie up the score at 7-7. The Huskies moved the ball to the Beavers 44 yard line but facing a third and 13 Montana threw an interception as the Beavers took over.


The Beavers began their drive after a 15 yard penalty on their own 23 yard line. Mannion began the drive by hitting Rodgers for a gain of 15 yards to their own 38 yard line. Markus Wheaton took the fly sweep 56 yards down to the Huskies six yard line. The Huskies defense would get tough and stop the Beavers for no gain on back to back plays. Once again the Huskies couldn't record that key third down stop as Mannion hit Micah Hattfield for a gain of six yards for the touchdown to give the Beavers a 14-7 lead over the Huskies.  The Beavers had made their first two drives look pretty easy against a Huskies defense which has struggled all season long. The Huskies had allowed the Beavers to rush for 83 yards despite not rushing over 70 yards the prior three games while being able to do so in the first quarter. The Huskies with a freshman quarterback making his first career start knew they were in trouble as the defense wasn't going to be stopping anyone anytime soon.

The Huskies now trailing 14-7 started off on their own 20 yard line. After a short run by Polk, Montana completed a 12 yard pass to Polk to their own 33 yard line. Montana would scramble for six yards to the 39 yard line, using the wildcat Jessie Callier would rush for nine yards to their own 48 yard line. After a short run by Polk to the 50 yard line, Montana would hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of seven yards to the Beavers 43 yard line setting up a third and one. Polk would rush for three yards to extend the drive out to the Beavers 40 yard line. Callier again in the wildcat would rush for nine yards to the Beavers 31 yard line. Facing second and one, Montana would complete another pass to Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of three yards to the 28 yard line for the first down. Polk would rush for six yards to the 22 yard line then Bishop Sankey would rush for 11 more to the 11 yard line. After an offsides penalty which gave the Huskies the ball on the six yard line first and goal Polk would rush for a yard. Facing a third and goal Montana threw the ball into coverage as Seferian-Jenkins used his big body for his second touchdown of the game to tie up the score at 14-14.

The Huskies offense would end the half going three and out as Montana had a costly intentional grounding. Which allowed the Beavers to have the ball on the Huskies 26 yard line with three minutes left. The Huskies would stop the Beavers holding them to a field goal as the Beavers led at halftime over the Huskies 17-14. The third quarter featured plenty of missed opportunities for both teams as neither team could score. The Beavers were driving for a touchdown but Sean Parker made a great diving interception for the Huskies. Meanwhile Seferian-Jenkins dropped a wide open pass from Montana that nobody was around him then Erik Folk missed a 39 yard field goal that would have tied it up. The game remained 17-14 heading into the fourth.


The Beavers clinging to a 17-14 lead had the ball on their own 21 yard line. Mannion completed an eight yard pass which was fumbled out of bounds. Facing a third and one from their own 30 yard line Mannion completed a three yard pass for the first down. On a crucial third and four from their own 39 yard line completed a 58 yard pass to Obum Gwacham  down to the Huskies three yard line. On the next play Jovan Stevenson ran it in from three yards out giving the Beavers a 24-14 lead. On the Huskies first play from their own 22 yard line Nick Montana fumbled the ball as the Beavers regained possession on the Huskies 15 yard line. After an incomplete pass Stevenson once again ran it in from 15 yards out giving hte Beavers a commanding 31-14 lead over the Huskies. After that is when Sarkisian made the decision to end Montana's day and put in injured quarterback Keith Price as the Huskies were on the verge of getting blown out. The Huskies still had 11 minutes left in the game but were facing a 17 point deficit as the game was in danger of getting away from the Huskies.

From their own 15 yard line Price completed a nine yard pass to Seferian-Jenkins to the 24 yard line. Polk rushed for two yards to pick up the first down. That is when Price hit Kasen Williams for 36 yards to the Beavers 38 yard line. Polk would rush for seven yards setting up a third and three from the Beavers 31 yard line as Price would hit Jermaine Kearse for a gain of 10 yards for the first down. Facing a fourth and nine from the 20 yard line despite being down 17(two touchdowns and a field goal) Sarkisian elected to go for it as Price hit Devin Aguilar for the 20 yard touchdown pass. For Price that was his 26th touchdown pass of the season as the Huskies pulled within 31-21. On the ensuing kickoff the Beavers fumbled the ball as the Huskies recovered on the Beavers 17 yard line. Price would throw the pass to Williams as it appeared was going to be a touchdown. Instead Williams let the ball come to him and the ball was picked off at the one yard line.

The Beavers would put away the Huskies for good as they went on a 12 play 99 yard drive. The key was Mannion going over the top to Wheaton from his own one yard line for 52 yards. Facing a fourth and goal from the one Riley decided to ice the game as Stevenson ran it in for his third rushing touchdown of the game as the Huskies would eventually lose 38-21. The Beavers were led by Mannion who was 26-37 with 339 yards passing with two touchdowns and one interception. Wheaton caught seven passes for 125 yards while also rushing for 66 yards.  Stevenson ran for 41 yards with three touchdowns.


For the Huskies they had a long day as they were dominated by an inferior team. No man struggled more individually thank Nick Montana who was 11-21 for 79 yards(3.8 YPA) with two touchdowns, an interception plus a fumble. Keith Price off the bench was five for nine passing for 76 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chris Polk ran the ball 25 times for 109 yards(4.4 YPC) but had just 13 carries the final three quarters. Kevin Smith had a nice 24 yard run while Jesse Callier ran three times for 22 yards. Bishop Sankey had two rushes for 12 yards as well. Once again Kasen Williams like he has done in previous weeks led the team in receiving yards with three receptions for 54 yards. Devin Aguilar had three receptions for 42 yards with a touchdown. Austin Seferian-Jenkins had six receptions for 40 yards and two touchdowns but a costly drop. Jermaine Kearse continues his slump with just one reception for 10 yards. Even their reliable kicker Erik Folk had a costly miss. The Huskies simply didn't play very well as this was easily the worst loss in the Sarkisian era.

All in all, the Huskies must regroup fromt his loss. The Huskies have now lost three games in a row for the eighth straight season a streak that has to end hopefully next year. The Huskies are hoping to avoid the four game losing streak something they have done just once in the Sarkisian era(his first year). This was a tough loss indeed and the Huskies will have better days ahead of them.

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(6-4,4-3) travel down to Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers(2-8,2-5) hoping to snap a two game losing streak this year. Last year the Huskies snapped a six game losing streak to the Beavers 35-34 in double overtime as Jake Locker threw five touchdown passes including four to Jermaine Kearse. The Beavers like they did in 1998 decided to go for two and the win came up short. That game proved the difference between the Huskies going to a bowl game and the Beavers not going just like in 1998. Now the Huskies are taking on a struggling Beavers team suffering their worst season in the Mike Riley era as this has been a trying season for the Beavers. Riley has made a quarterback switch this year. Riley is going with the youth movement as the Beavers are starting a freshman quarterback.

The Beavers are led by their freshman quarterback Sean Mannion who has completed 64.3% of his passes for 2,694 yards(6.8 YPA) with 11 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. His favorite target is Markus Wheaton who has 64 receptions for 822 yards but only one touchdown. James Rodgers is healthy this year and has 41 receptions for 470 yards with two touchdowns. The Beavers leading rusher this year is Malcolm Agnew who has rushed for 419 yards(4.7 YPC) with five touchdowns. The Beavers are just a bad team overall though as they rank 119th in rushing yards with just 87.8 a game, 105th in scoring offense at 20.3 points per game and 85th in defense at 30 points per game. They have suffered an embarassing loss to begin the season to D-1AA Sacramento State and their season has gone downhill ever since. The Beavers are also ranked 11th out of 12 teams in the Pac-12 in rushing defense which isn't very good considering Chris Polk is on the Huskies.

The Huskies will be looking to exploit the Beavers weak rushing defense. The Huskies will also see redshirt freshman Nick Montana make his first career start this Saturday. Look for Sarkisian to feature the run against a Beavers defense that ranks 11th out of 12 teams in the conference in rushing yards allowed. The Huskies feature Polk who has ran for 1,132 yards(5.2 YPC) with 10 rushing touchdowns. Last year against the Beavers Polk ran for 94 yards on 25 carries(3.8 YPC) with two receptions for 29 yards. The previous year down in Corvallis Polk ran for 116 yards on 19 carries(6.1 YPC) with two receptions for 11 yards. The one thing Polk hasn't done is rush for a touchdown against the Beavers. Polk will probably share some of the load which will feature the run with Jesse Callier who has ran for 198 yards(5.2 YPC) with a touchdown on the season as well as Bishop Sankey who has rushed for 175 yards(6.7 YPC) with a touchdown. The Huskies will ease their young quarterback in his first start by pounding the ball most would think.

The man of the week as the son of Joe Montana Nick Montana will be making his first career start. Montana has appeared in four games off the bench in either mop up duty or in the case of the Oregon game to fill in for injury. Montana on the season is 13-20(65.0%) for 147 yards(7.4 YPA) with a touchdown and an interception. With a full week to prepare I imagine Montana should be fine. Jermaine Kearse who has slumped recently has 36 receptions for 429 yards with six touchdowns. Last year against the Beavers Kearse caught four touchdown passes including the game tying touchdown then the game winning touchdown. Devin Aguilar has 31 receptions for 466 yards with three touchdowns. Then lately the emerging Kasen Williams who has 25 receptions for 280 yards with four touchdowns. Williams and Montana appear to have a good chemistry. Look for tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins to factor into this game as he has 26 receptions for 377 yards with four touchdowns on the year.

In conclusion, the Huskies are playing an opponent that has been blown out three straight games and is already looking forward to next season. The Huskies should take care of business as they are looking to win their seventh regular season game for the first time since 2002. The Huskies are looking for their first win down in Corvallis since 2003. The Huskies although starting a new quarterback have plenty of weapons and should be just fine against the Beavers. Sarkisian needs to remember to feed the ball to Polk and the Huskies will win this game pretty easily. The Huskies have a chance to close out the season strong it's just a matter of will they?

By Kshell

The USC Trojans(8-2,5-2) made sure there was no last second game winning field goals by Erik Folk as the Trojans destroyed the Washington Huskies(6-4,4-3) 40-17. Steve Sarkisian who had previously been 2-0 against the team he coached for many years had one of his worst losses as a head coach with all things considered. The Trojans dominated this game as they rushed for 252 yards while the Huskies offense which features Chris Polk was held to just 42 yards rushing as a team. For the third straight week Keith Price has struggled and was injured during the game which leaves him out for the following week. This was yet another bad blowout loss for Sarkisian's Huskies who have been outscored 74-34 the last two weeks after starting off the season 6-2.

The Huskies began the game with two three and outs while the Trojans on the second possession took advantage. Starting from their own 20 yard line on second down Matt Barkley hit Brice Butler for an incredible diving 36 yard catch on the Huskies 34 yard line as the Huskies had a penalty the prior play. After a Barkley eight yard pass that set up third and one from the 25 yard line. That is when running back Marc Tyler busted a 24 yard run down to the Huskeis one yard line. Barkley then finished off the drive with a one yard touchdown keeper to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead. The Huskies offense once again went three and out. After stopping the Trojans the Huskies offense finally had a drive going. Price hit Austin Seferian-Jenkins for gains of 22 yards, 11 yards and then 12 yards. The Huskies offense stalled as Folk ended the drive with a 46 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. On the following series is when the Trojans would change momentum back to their side.

The Trojans once again began on their own 20 yard line but Barkley completed back to back passes to their own 38. After a loss of nine yards the Trojans were facing a 3rd and 19. The Huskies were called for a suspect pass interference call which was on an uncatchable pass. The Trojans were facing a second and 20 saw Barkley complete an 11 yard pass to set up third and nine. The Huskies defense recorded the stop which appeared the Trojans on their own 45 yard line would punt. Instead Lane Kiffin called a fake punt which saw punter Kyle Negrete rush up the middle for a 35 yard run which 33 yards he went untouched. Kiffin found a weakness in Sarkisian's special teams and took advantage. Curtis McNeal then ran for 15 yards on the next two carries plus a Huskies penalty gave the Trojans the ball on the two yard line. After the Huskies had back to back stops on McNeal the Trojans turned to Tyler who ran it in from one yard out to give the Trojans a 14-3 lead over the Huskies.

The game changed after the fake punt as the Huskies self destructed. After a short kickoff return and a penalty the Huskies found themselves starting on their own eight yard line. After a short run by Polk it had appeared that Keith Price hit Seferian-Jenkins over the middle for a gain of 25 yards. Despite the call on the field being a catch and there was no conclusive evidence the catch was overturned. Facing a third and nine from the 10 Price was sacked in the endzone for a safety giving the Trojans a 16-3 lead while also gaining possession. Starting from their own 49 yard line the Trojans went to work as McNeal busted a 19 yard run then a five yard run to the Huskies 27 yard line. On third and three Tyler ran for four yards to the 21 yard line. McNeal then ran for 12 more yards to the Huskies nine yard line. That is when Barkley finished the drive with a nine yard touchdown pass to Marqise Lee to give the Trojans a commanding 23-3 lead at halftime over the Huskies.

The second half began with the Trojans receiving the ball first. As if there was any doubt in the game Lee made sure there wasn't as he took the kickoff 88 yards to the House to give the Trojans a 30-3 lead over the Huskies. The Huskies offense would actually respond to that as Kevin Smith ran back to the kick 40 yards to their own 43 yard line. Bishop Sankey began the drive with a gain of three yards. Then Price hit Smith on a crossing route which Smith using his speed busted 53 yards as he was tackled at the one yard line. That is when the Huskies rewarded Polk for the one yard touchdown run. That was Polk's 10th rushing touchdown of the season which was a career high for Polk who bested his mark of last season of nine rushing touchdowns.



With the score cutdown to 30-10 the Trojans made sure this game was still going to be a blowout. Starting from their own 20 yard line after a one yard run by McNeal is when the game went back to being ugly. McNeal busted it 79 yards untouched for the touchdown to give the Trojans back their commanding lead of 37-10. The Huskies offense would go three and out the next three drives while two drives later the Trojans went on a 15 play, 61 yard drive which took up over seven and a half minutes resulting in a field goal to go up 40-10 over the Huskies. This game turned ugly when many including myself expected a good close game. The Huskies as if things couldn't get any worse lost starting quarterback Keith Price during the game due to injury while the Trojans made damn well sure this game wasn't going to be a repeat of the last two years. The Trojans took care of business over the Huskies with big plays and I'm sure Nick Holt was re-thinking his statement on whether he would rather face them than Oregon. The Trojans put the hurting on the Huskies and the only left in this game was to see how Nick Montana the son of Joe Montana would handle the quarterback position in mop up duty.

The last drive of the game meant nothing far as the game goes but meant everything towards this week. The Huskies began on their own 31 yard line. Sankey had a rush of four yards then Montana hit Michael Hartvigson for a gain of 10 yards. Sankey followed that up with a 17 yard run to the Trojans 38 yard line. Montana then hit Jermaine Kearse for a gain of six yards setting up a third and four. Montana hit Hartvigson again for a gain of six yards to pick up the first down. Montana completed a pass to Sankey for a gain of six yards to the 20 yard line. Facing a fourth and four Montana threw the ball up for grabs as he saw Kasen Williams had one on one coverage and for the second straight week Williams came down with the pass and the touchdown. For the third straight week Williams has been more productive than either senior wide receiver. The Huskies would go on to lose this game 40-17 as they lost their quarterback.

The Trojans blew out the Huskies 40-17 led by their rushing attack. Curtis McNeal had 148 yards rushing on 18 carries(8.2 YPC) including a touchdown. Marc Tyler had 50 yards on seven carries(7.1 YPC) with a touchdown as well. Matt Barkley played a solid game when the game was still in doubt. Barkley was 18-28(64.3%) for 174 yards(6.2 YPA) with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Marqise Lee had nine receptions for 74 yards with a touchdown while also having an 88 yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

For the Huskies they have had better days no doubt. Keith Price finished 12-16(75.0%) for 125 yards(7.8 YPA) while being sacked four times. His backup Nick Montana had mixed results as Montana was 9-15(60.0%) for 73 yards(4.9 YPA) with his first career touchdown pass. The rushing game was nowhere to be seen as Chris Polk was held to season lows in carries with nine and yards with 36(4.0 YPC) while rushing for a touchdown. Bishop Sankey ran for 22 yards on four carries(5.5 YPC) and Kevin Smith ran once for six yards. The receiving game was featured by the youngsters led by Smith who had one catch for 53 yards. Then Seferian-Jenkins broke out of his slump with four receptions for 48 yards. Kasen Williams added five receptions for 44 yards with a touchdown. Sankey also had four receptions on the game as well. This was a horrible loss for the Huskies program hoping their days of returning to glory would start now.

All in all, these type of losses need to end for Sarkisian like ASAP. The Huskies have had a horrible habit of getting blown out quite a bit despite being a decent team. I'm aware there are growing pains but these type of losses need to stop. The high powered offense has looked beyond average the last two weeks which might have some to do with their opponent. Despite the sanctions the Trojans are a good team which features two top three picks in the NFL draft next year plus many other NFL players. The Huskies for the second straight week found out they are a long ways away from competing for Rose Bowls.

Observations:

- When the team is winning the quarterback receives too much credit. Likewise when the team is losing the quarterback receives too much blame. Take this game for an example Price didn't turn the ball over, completed 75% of his passes and his yards per attempt was close to eight. Yet all over facebook and twitter fans were bashing on Price.

Price has had a bad habit the last two weeks of constantly checking the ball down which is the smart play. By checking the ball down all the time though the Huskies are scoring points which ultimately as the quarterback is your job. For the year though Price is having a great season as he is completing 67.2% of his passes for 2,258 yards(7.9 YPA) with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He has been sacked 25 times including 10 in the last two games alone. Due to all those sacks Price will have to miss this next game and hopefully he'll be able to return for the apple cup.

- Chris Polk had just nine carries for 36 yards with a touchdown while catching just one pass for zero yards. Why Sarkisian neglected to use his best weapon on the road has been the mystery. Polk is a speed back who has proven to get better as the game goes on. With Price getting hit on practically every play why not pound Polk more to ease the pressure off of Price?

Polk for the year is still having one of the great seasons for a Huskies running back and judging by the poor rush defenses he faces the next two weeks he should be adding quite a bit to his totals. For the year Polk has ran for 1,132 yards(5.2 YPC) with 10 touchdowns. He has also caught 25 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns.  Sarkisian needs to feature his best weapon or the Huskies are going to have a disappointing end to a once promising season.

- The play of Kasen Williams lately has been nice to see. Williams the last three weeks has stepped his game up and appears to have figured out the playbook. That also could be due to Montana playing more as well as those two seemed to have good chemistry. Williams the last three weeks has caught 13 passes for 183 yards with two touchdowns. For the season Williams now has 25 receptions for 280 yards with four touchdowns. So as you can see he has improved quite a bit as the season has worn on.

The other true freshman on the team are doing pretty well too. I'll start with Austin Seferian-Jenkins who broke out of his slump with four receptions fo 48 yards. On the year Seferian-Jenkins has 26 receptions for 383 yards with four touchdowns. The other true freshman who is having a nice year on offense is Bishop Sankey who appears to have passed up Jesse Callier as the number two back and always seems to bust one long run a game. For the year Sankey has ran for 175 yards(6.7 YPC) with a touchdown. The last five weeks Sankey has ran for 154 yards(7.7 YPC) with a touchdown. Sankey for the year has also caught five passes.

-  Nick Montana as everyone probably knows is the son of four-time super bowl winning quarterback Joe Montana. Montana[Nick] will be starting this next saturday against the Oregon State Beavers. Montana showed to be a bit rusty in his debut turning the ball over twice in his first two games. Now Montana appears comfortable as he came in the Oregon game with a beautiful 53 yard pass to Williams then this week threw a nice 20 yard touchdown pass to Williams.

For the year Montana is 13-20(65.0%) for 147 yards(7.4 YPA) with a touchdown and an interception. Montana has shown the last two weeks where he went 10-16 for 126 yards with a touchdown that he is more than capable of filling in for the injured Keith Price. Montana is only a redshirt freshman and while fans expect him to be like his dad that is completely unfair. Let's allow Montana to play his whole career before passing judgement.

- Last year Sarkisian after beating USC called it the greatest day of his life besides when his kids were born. What a contrast a year makes as the Huskies were embarassed once again against a ranked opponent. For the year against ranked opponents the Huskies are 0-4 having been outscored 190-93 which is an average score of 47.5-23.2 which is completely unaccetapable.

Sarkisian needs to avoid these blowouts if he really is going to be the guy for this program for decades to come. Any coach can coach this team for the short term which Willingham proved. It takes a great coach to last for a decade plus with one school. I believe Sarkisian is more than capable of being that guy but he needs to stop letting his team get blown out so often.

In conclusion, this is your classic game where you throw the game tape away as the Huskies simply gave up once again. The offense looks to be struggling while the defense continues to be overmatched in year three of this coaching staff's regime. Unless things change Sarkisian will be faced with some tough decisions on his coaching staff but I'll get into that later in the year. Sarkisian still can salvage the season as the Huskies will be heavy favorites the next two games. Since Don James retired at the end of the 1992 season the Huskies have won only won eight games in the regular season just twice and eight games three times overall. The Huskies can still do that with wins the next two weeks which any fan including myself would take. The Huskies failed the big test once again so to make up for it they have to ace the quizzes the next two weeks.

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies are 2-0 this season for the first time since 2007 despite losing Jake Locker to the first round of the NFL draft. The Huskies are 2-0 because of the play of their sophomore quarterback Keith Price. Price has to be the guy who is replacing a legend in Locker. Locker is the Huskies all-time all-purpose yardage leader, second in passing yard, second in passing touchdowns and first in rushing touchdowns for a quarterback. Locker also led the Huskies to a bowl game for the first time in eight seasons and first bowl win in 10 seasons. Locker then went on to be drafted in top 10 of the NFL draft making him the fourth Steve Sarkisian quarterback to be drafted in the first round. The saying in sports is don't be the guy who replaces the guy well that is what Keith Price has been asked to do at Washington. Even then some wondered if he was even going to be given that opportunity to take over for Locker.

When the Huskies were playing games last year many fans expected Nick Montana to take over as the starting quarterback this year. Montana for those who don't know is the son of legendary quarterback Joe Montana. Last year Nick Montana was even a game day captain for the BYU game(season opener) and the Holiday Bowl win over Nebraska despite being a redshirt. The Huskies team stores last season and this season were selling Montana's #5 jersey as well. Meanwhile despite making a spot start at #1 Oregon last year and being projected as the starter this year Price's #17 jersey is nowhere to be found. The kid from Compton who was overshadowed in High School by Matt Barkley is probably used to this by now. Price had just one scholarship offer after his junior year which was by the Huskies from then coach Tyrone Willingham. His current coach Sarkisian never even recruited him at USC but when Sarkisian took over as the Huskies coach he sure did. Sarkisian went down to Compton to make sure Price was still on board who Oregon then Utah had offered him a scholarship. Thankfully for the Huskies Price stayed loyal to the Huskies.

This season many people were high on the Huskies but not so high on Price. Those who felt the Huskies would be a non bowl team this year felt the Huskies were going to be hurt by Price. Most preseason predictions had the Huskies doing well with the rest of their team. They also rated Price as the worst quarterback in the conference. Price who was only a three star recruit in high school is probably used to being underrated so this should come as no surprise. Price is a dual threat quarterback who is accurate and smart with the ball. For the season Price is 35-50(70.0%) passing for 417 yards with seven touchdowns to one interception. In his career he has nine touchdowns to one interception. Many felt the Huskies would be 2-0 while Price is along for the ride but Price is proving he is a big part of the team. In last week's 40-32 win over Hawaii Price was 18-25(72.0%) passing for 315 yards with four touchdowns to one interception. Price faces a stiff test this week at Nebraska but he has already shown that he is the quarterback for the long haul.

In conclusion, Price provides inspiration to everyone who has been doubted in life. In high school he had to live in the shadows of Barkley, in college he had to replace a legend in Locker while having a legend's son be his backup, with Chris Polk as the runningback every loss he'll be blamed for, and many felt he was the worst quarterback in the conference. Seeing how UCLA's quarterback situation is a mess and the Oregon State Beavers have already made a quarterback change that has been proven bogus. Price is having an outstanding season and with the way the Huskies have been playing defense is the main reason the Huskies are 2-0. Price is well on his way to leading the Huskies to a bowl game just like Locker has done. Just remember when someone doubts your ability in anything think of Keith Price who has proven all his doubters wrong time and time again.