Super Bowl Update

By Kshell

This wasn't supposed to happen this not way. At least not now but the Washington Huskies found out that two year starter offensive guard Colin Porter is going to be forced to retire. This is a huge blow to the Huskies program as Porter has started 19 games already and had emerged as the Huskies top guard the last two seasons. With left tackle Senio Kelemete graduating, Erik Kohler recovering from injuries now working with the second team and Colin Tanigawa still recovering from an ACL injury as his season appears in jeopardy the news of Porter is especially devastating. For Porter he had a bright future as many expected him to play in the NFL someday so this is just a tragic blow to him. For the Huskies their offensive line was set to return four starters but as of right now only one starter remains in center Drew Schaefer. For Steve Sarkisian entering his fourth season his offensive line is such a mess he might not even be able to hold a spring game.

Losing Porter hurts because he was a local standout recruit who was playing great. Porter coming out of Bothell High School was the 9th rated guard in the nation and a 4 star recruit. He started in the middle of his true freshman season against the Oregon State Beavers. He since started every game to end the year and was the key guard pulling on the Chris Polk's game winner against Cal and a crucial 4th and 1 against the Cougars in the Apple Cup. In that same class Sarkisian signed Tanigawa who was only a two star recruit but emerged as a starter last year as a redshirt freshman. He started the first 11 games before getting injured against the Oregon State Beavers tearing his ACL. On paper last year the Huskies appeared set at the guard position since Porter was a sophomore and Tanigawa was a freshman. In 2010 Sarkisian signed seven offensive lineman including three four star recruits. Which is why so many excused Sarkisian in 2011 for signing only two offensive lineman as he had two five star recruits in his backyard to snatch up for 2012.

In 2012 Sarkisian once again failed on the offensive line. He missed out on Joshua Garnett the #3 guard in the nation and 5 star recruit who was from Puyallup, Washington as he went to conference foe Stanford Cardinal. He lost out on Zach Banner the 13th rated tackle in the nation and 4 star recruit from Lakes High School out of Lakewood, Washington. He also lost out on Walker Williams the 40th ranked guard in the country who is a 3 star recruit from Tacoma Baptist high school in Tacoma, Washington. This year Sarkisian did sign five offensive lineman but only three are three star recruits. Since that terrific 2010 class Sarkisian has brought in just seven offensive lineman which has had zero four star recruits and four three stars. Due to Sarkisian not recruiting the offensive line hard enough especially in his own backyard he'll have to play true freshman on his offensive line yet again. In year two when he was playing walk-ons and true freshman it was excused as that should Tyrone Willingham didn't recruit offensive lineman very well but in year four that shows Sarkisian isn't either.

Sarkisian is starting to look more and more like Rick Neuheisel without the Rose Bowl win. If Sarkisian fails at Washington revisionist history will say he didn't understand Washington culture, didn't recruit lineman, didn't keep a fence around the state and always had one foot out the door anyways much like they say bout Neuheisel. Losing a sophomore who had two years of eligibility for his career and a freshman who has three years left for possibly this season is a huge blow for any coach. Still had Sarkisian kept on recruiting lineman heavy like he did in 2010(signed 7 that year, signed only 8 the other three years combined) this wouldn't be such a problem. Injuries are a sad part of the game and Sarkisian in year four has been exposed as a coach who like Neuheisel is into the skill players but not the guys who truly win football games. Sarkisian ignoring the offensive line which is a trademark of great Husky football could be his undoing at Montlake.

When bad stories break there is always something positive to take from it. In this case there is no positive as Porter who had a bright future and was hoping that future would lead him to the NFL was tragically taken away from him. He was a warrior and a good Husky to come in fighting through injuries for two years and step in right away from high school to start is incredible. Hopefully that 2010 class of Micah Hatchie, Ben Rivera and James Atoe can fill the void. Had Sarkisian landed the two main guys in his backyard this past recruiting season this wouldn't be such a devastating blow. For Porter this is a horrible day while for Husky football this is a huge blow. Still in year four for Sarkisian there will be no such thing as excuses. Hopefully this next recruiting season Sarkisian will finally realize how important the offensive line position is and start recruiting it hard like he did back in 2010.

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies have been in the news lately having fired defensive coordinator Nick Holt and hiring a new coordintor in Justin Wilcox. For Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian who will now be entering his fourth season as head man at Montlake there seems to be some doubt whether he is the guy who can carry this program to a Rose Bowl title. In the Seattle Times recently there was an article how Sarkisian is losing out on the prime in state recruits and currently the Huskies recruiting class isn't very good. Neither is the fact that in year three the Huskies were still getting blown out and the defense has still been terrible. In this following post I'm going to compare Sarkisian with the previous Husky coaches Don James, Jim Lambright, Rick Neuheisel and Tyrone Willingham. What I'll do is post their W-L records, what the teams record was before they took over and what it was three years prior to take over. I'll also post how many times their teams allowed 30 points or more, 40 or more, 50 or more and yes even 60 or more. I'll also post how many times they lost by 20 points or more, 30 or more, 40 or more and 50 or more. I'm fully aware that offenses have evolved and each coach took over the program had a different time far as program strength. This is just to give everyone an idea of where the program is at with Sarkisian going forward.

Don James (1975-1992):

Previous three seasons prior to arrival: 15-18
Previous season prior to arrival: 5-6
First season record: 6-5(+1 win improvement)

Coaching W-L: 153-57-2(.728)

20+ losses: 8(3.7%)
30+ losses: 2(0.9%)
40+ losses: 1(0.4%)
50+ losses: 1(0.4%)

30+ PPG allowed: 25(11.7%)
40+ PPG allowed: 6(2.8%)
50+ PPG allowed: 1(0.4%)

You can see why Don James was such a legend. In his third year he took the Huskies to a Rose Bowl championship and in his fifth year he had the Huskies winning 10 games, sixth season another Rose Bowl and seventh season a Rose Bowl title. During his eighth and ninth season had the Huskies going for a Rose Bowl until being upset in the Apple Cup and in his 10th season had the Huskies ranked 2nd in the nation. He rarely if ever got blown out and his teams always played good defense. James set the bar very high for every coach who followed him as he won four Rose Bowls, an Orange Bowl and a National championship.

Jim Lambright (1993-1998):

Previous three seasons prior to arrival: 31-5
Previous season prior to arrival: 9-3
First season record: 7-4(-2 wins)

Coaching W-L record: 44-25-1(.637)

20+ losses: 6(8.5%)
30+ losses: 2(2.8%)
40+ losses: 1(1.4%)

30+ PPG allowed: 20(28.6%)
40+ PPG allowed: 7(10.0%)
50+ PPG allowed: 3(4.2%)

Jim Lambright of the coaches walked into the best situation far as talent having taken over the team after James suddenly retired two weeks prior to the 1993 season. Lambright took over a team who had gone to three straight Rose Bowls. He also took over a program facing two years bowl ban, plus other sanctions including loss of scholarships for two seasons. The biggest obstacle Lambright couldn't overcome was the shadow of Don James despite the fact as you'll see he was the second most successful coach for the Huskies although never going to a Rose Bowl in six seasons he could never live up to James. Lambright was shown the door after six seasons despite winning 63% of his games at the school he once played for and guiding the Huskies through those tough probation years.


Rick Neuheisel (1999-2002):

Previous three seasons prior to arrival: 23-13
Previous season prior to arrival: 6-6
First season: 7-5(+1 win improvement)

W-L record: 33-16(.673)

20+ losses: 5(10.2%)
30+ losses: 1(2.0%)
40+ losses: 1(2.0%)
50+ losses: 1(2.0%)

30+ PPG allowed: 15(30.6%)
40+ PPG allowed: 4 (8.1%)
50+ PPG allowed: 1( 2.0%)
60+ PPG allowed: 1(2.0%)

Rick Neuheisel took over the program after the sanctions had finally wore off and he was very successful at first. He won a Rose Bowl during his second season finishing ranked 3rd in the nation. The next two years he struggled by Husky standards going just 15-10 as the defense was declining and it had appeared the talent level on defense was decreasing as well. The perception due to that 65-7 loss to #1 ranked Miami on national t.v. was that Neuheisel was getting blown out too much which as you can see simply wasn't the case. Neuheisel was caught gambling in a pool and was fired. Keith Gilbertson took over and went 7-16 for two years. The thought was the program needed to be "cleaned" up which set up the shittiest years in UW football history.

Tyrone Willingham (2005-08):

Previous three years before arrival: 14-22
Previous year before arrival: 1-10
First season: 2-9(+1 win improvement)

W-L: 11-37(.229)

20+ losses: 16(33.3%)
30+ losses: 6 (12.5%)
40+ losses: 3(6.2%)
50+ losses: 1(2.1%)

30+ PPG allowed: 25(52.0%)
40+ PPG allowed: 14(29.1%)
50+ PPG allowed: 5(10.4%)

As you can see the Willingham era was clearly the worst era in Huskies football history. Willingham inherited a program on the rocks having just gone 1-10 but he made the program worse somehow finishing his career off going 0-12 and losing his last 14 games as Huskies head coach. While the Huskies were competitive during his second and third seasons there wasn't enough wins to show for it. When Willingham was finally fired the Huskies were searching for their fifth different head coach in an 11 year span.

Steve Sarkisian (2009-present):

Previous three years prior to arrival: 9-28
Previous year prior to arrival: 0-12
First season: 5-7( +5 win improvement)

W-L: 19-19(.500)

20+ losses: 9(23.6%)
30+ losses: 5(13.1%)
40+ losses: 3(7.8%)

30+ PPG allowed: 19(50.0%)
40+ PPG allowed: 10(26.3%)
50+ PPG allowed: 4(10.5%)
60+ PPG allowed: 2(5.2%)

Sarkisian of the coaches I just named did the best in his first season in improving. While James, Neuheisel and Willingham all improved by one game Sarkisian improved by five games.  Sarkisian has guided the team to back to back bowl games after not going to a bowl game in six seasons. Now looking at these numbers though Sarkisian is closest to Willingham. They are getting blown out roughly the same and allowing the same big defensive numbers. Sarkisian is winning more games than Willingham as he is simply a better coach so the Huskies are winning almost all of their close games. Although I don't think Sarkisian is like Willingham instead he reminds me of a different Huskies head coach.

In conclusion, Sarkisian reminds me most of Rick Neuheisel. I think both are great offensive coaches, good game day coaches, good play callers, average recruiters and average program builders. I think had Sarkisian taken over when Nueheisel did his record would be on par with Neuheisel. I don't think Sarisian is the guy to take the Huskies to a Rose Bowl title unless he has a fluke year like Neuheisel did in 2000 when the Huskies went 11-1 but had eight fourth quarter comebacks that season. Sarkisian experience a similar season in 2010 when the Huskies went 7-6 but won four games on the final play of the game. I feel as if Sarkisian is the guy who will continue to put the Huskies in a bowl game much like Neuheisel was. I just don't think Sarkisian is on James level or even Lambrights level as the defense was somehow been worse in his era than even Willingham's. Sarkisian has a lot to improve on heading into year four but we are starting to see a trend develope and he is shaping up to be another Neuheisel where every passing record will fall but the team only wins seven to eight games a season.

By Kshell

The Washington State Cougars did something they haven't ever done in their school history. When Bill Moos had announced the hiring of former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach the Cougars immediately became the talk of college football for the day. In a shocking move to most(remember who said would coach the Cougars the minute Jeff Tuel was injured week one) fans throughout the nation the Cougars landed the controversial coach. The Cougars not only landed Leach but they are paying him 11 million over five years. Considering their previous head coach Paul Wulff made less money than the Huskies underachieving defensive coordinator this is huge news since Leach is tied with Steve Sarkisian as the third highest paid coach in the conference. Leach while at Texas Tech went 84-43(.661) and 47-33(.587) in conference. In 10 seasons at Tech Leach led the Red Raiders to 10 bowl games which is how many bowl games the Cougars have made in over 100 years of playing football. Moos is giving Leach a second chance after an undeserved firing.

In 2009, Texas Tech had suspended Leach then fired him once he had a lawsuit against the suspension. Leach is currently having an ongoing lawsuit with ESPN and Texas Tech as we speak. One year removed from being the national coach of the year while leading the Red Raiders to an 11-2 record Leach was fired during an 8-4 season which saw his team go to the Alamo Bowl. Controversy hit Leach when he fueded with ESPN analyst Craig James(who is a douchebag by the way) son Adam James. James used his dad's ESPN powers to complain about playing time and interfering with Leach. Leach was fired for telling Adam James to leave practice and sit in a dark room as he had a concussion. The facts are if he was me or anyone reading this post Leach would still be coaching at Texas Tech. Instead he cried to his dad because everything in his life has been handed to him so Tech sided with the James family. The riks for Moos by hiring Leach is that ESPN won't televise any of their games which is a nice theory. The flaw in this theory is that the Cougars never once appeared on ABC or ESPN under Paul Wulff. The way Moos handled the firing of Wulff while transitioning to Leach reminded me of the Jim Lambright to Rick Neuheisel transition.

The details of the Leach hiring was released and they weren't good. After the Utah loss Moos contacted Leach about the coaching position. After the Apple Cup loss that Monday Leach had accepted the position as head football coach of the Cougars. Which is all fine except for one small detail. Former head coach Paul Wulff and alumni was forced to sit through two meetings on Sunday and Monday with Wulff. Wulff also had an alumni gathering he attended on Monday despite Moos knowing his fate for a week. Moos dragged Wulff along which is very slimy especially to an alumni. Wulff loved the Cougars like Lambright loved the Huskies. The Huskies in 1998 had a bowl game in Hawaii playing Air Force. The earlier game was Colorado against Oregon which apparently then AD Barbara Hedges was interviewing Rick Neuheisel. Both programs stabbed a guy in the back who had played for their program to make their biggest hire at the time. Neuheisel brought instant results winning a Rose Bowl in his second season. Neuheisel also didn't love the Huskies and was constantly looking for other jobs while doing an average job of recruiting. The Cougars might suffer the same fate as Wulff loved the Cougars and was doing things the right way. While Leach could possibly use the Cougars as a stepping stone. At the end of the day the details of Wulff's firing won't be remembered especially if Leach does the impossible which is making them the main team in this state.

Every athletic director at his press conference makes a ton of promises that he ultimately has no intention on fulfilling. Well Moos proved today he is serious about making the Washington State Cougars a "big time" program. Going behind your coaches backs even if they are alumni is part of the game in big time college sports. Moos knows the drill too well. He realizes that while in Pullman sentimental values goes a long ways he realizes in the real world that means jack shit. Prior to the Leach hire in the last 40 years the Cougars had hired only one coach with D-1 experience. That coach was Dennis Erickson who coached a whopping one year at the "powerhouse" known as Wyoming. Moos isn't going to accept being the Huskies bitch anymore, he won't accept being in last place but hearing crap like "progress". Moos lives in reality which is wins and losses is the only thing that matters. Moos knows with a stadium deal coming up he needed to bring excitement to Pullman and living here in Seattle the Cougars not the bowl bound Huskies were the talk of the town. Moos did what he had to do which is make the Cougars a BCS program finally.

In conclusion, as a Huskies fan I'm actually happy with this hire and scared at the same time. I'm happy because this will force the Huskies to keep up on their toes. If the Huskies slack off like they did from 2004-2008 Leach will take advantage where Bill Doba failed to do so. Look for the Huskies to counter with a big move of their own and if they don't well we deserve what we get. The Cougars sacrificed their "innocence" as Wulff said to become a real BCS program. The Cougars can never call any other program sleezy or classless again. The Cougars won't care as they won't be the laughing joke of the conference anymore. Instead Leach is taking over an offense who averaged 29.8 points per game and 322.3(9th in the nation) yards passing a game with three different quarterbacks. Now that Leach is in town instead of Wulff look for the Cougars already good passing attack which is returning two quality quarterbacks and although the Pac-12 idiots don't think so a first team all conference receiver to lead the nation in yards passing per game. The apple cup will finally be a rivalry once again which will confuse fans if they are watching football or a basketball game. Welcome to the Pac-12 Mike Leach. Welcome to college football Washington State we've been waiting for 100 years. Moos understands the message that it's all about wins and losses.



Watch this video as Leach will show you he isn't at all like Wulff. You think this guy will make excuses after a loss? Yea I don't think so.

Mike Leach speech after a WIN over Baylor

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(4-1,2-0) take on the Colorado Buffaloes(1-5,0-2) this Saturday at home in Husky Stadium. The Huskies are coming off a bye week and have won two games in a row. While the Buffaloes have lost three games in a row and in a rebuilding season. The Huskies are looking to go 5-1 for the first time since 2001 and 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 1997. The Huskies will have their hands full defensively as the Buffaloes feature running back Rodney Stewart who has rushed for 399 yards(3.7 YPC) with a touchdown but also has caught 26 passes for 417 yards(16.0 YPC). The Buffaloes quarterback is Tyler Hansen who has thrown for 1,527 yards with 12 touchdowns to three interceptions on the season. The Huskies are favored by 14.5 points this game due to their explosive offense.

The Huskies offense is averaging 34 points per game led by sophomore quarterback Keith Price. Price is completing 68.3% of his passes for 1,209 yards so far with 17 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Price likes to spread the ball around but the leading receiver for the Huskies is actually from Colorado. Devin Aguilar who was a four star recruit wasn't even offered a scholarship by the Buffaloes. Aguilar for the season has 15 receptions for 293 yards(19.5 YPC) with two touchdowns. The Huskies are also led by Chris Polk who has rushed for 595 yards(5.1 YPC) with three touchdowns. Polk has also caught 10 passes for 128 yards with a touchdown on the season. The Buffaloes defense has allowed over 33 points per game so look for the Huskies offense to exploit the Buffaloes defense. Steve Sarkisian in year three appears to have this program heading in the right direction while the Buffaloes appear to be where the Huskies were back in the 2004-2009 era. Both programs were once proud programs who have fallen on hard times. In this following post I'll flashback to the 1999 meeting which featured first year Huskies coach Rick Neuheisel against his old team the Buffaloes.

September 25th, 1999: Colorado Buffaloes(2-1) at Washington Huskies(0-2)


This game was a very hated contest heading into the game. Rick Neuheisel left the Colorado Buffaloes after just four seasons for the Washington Huskies. The Huskies made Neuheisel the third highest paid coach in the nation behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden and Florida's Steve Spurrier. When Neuheisel came to Washington he was immediately reported for recruiting violations by Oregon Ducks head coach Mike Belotti, Washington State Cougars coach Mike Price and Colorado Buffaloes coach Gary Barnett. More importantly for Neuheisel was getting his Huskies on track as he began his career 0-2 with junior quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo wasn't fitting in Neuheisel's pro style offense. Leading up to the Colorado week Neuheisel switched gears and decided to become an option team. That decision would alter Huskies history over the next two seasons. This was a big game on ABC as Colorado preseason was ranked in the top 5 but they were upset to Colorado State so Barnett wasn't making friends at his new school either. While the Huskies were coming off an embarassing home loss to Air Force. Both programs who won a national championship earlier that decade needed this win. For the Huskies who were coming off a lackluster 6-6 season couldn't afford to start the year off 0-3.


After a scoreless first quarter the Huskies finally got on the board. The Huskies had a very long consuming drive that lasted over seven minutes which ended in a difficult decision by Neuheisel. The game was 0-0 and the Huskies were facing a fourth and goal from the one yard line. Neuheisel who always took risks decided to go for it on fourth down. He was rewarded by a Willie Hurst one yard leap into the endzone to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead which was short lived. On the ensuing kickoff Buffaloes cornerback Ben Kelly silent the Husky crowd with a 98 yard kickoff return for the touchdown. In the third quarter the Huskies would regain the lead after another long drive Hurst would end the drive with a three yard touchdown run to give the Huskies a 14-7 lead. The Buffaloes would strike back with a Cortlend Johnson 24 yard touchdown run to tie up the score at 14-14. Tuiasosopo would fumble the ball and once again Kelly was right there to take advantage. Kelly scooped up the fumble 38 yards for the touchdown to give the Buffaloes a 21-14 lead. The Huskies would respond when true freshman John Anderson hit a 40 yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-17 heading into the fourth quarter. That is when Tuiasosopo like he would do for the next two seasons came alive in the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter the Huskies would call for a fake option play action pass. Tuiasosopo would hit Gerald Harris for a 36 yard touchdown pass to give the Huskies a 24-21 lead over the Buffaloes in the fourth quarter. The Buffaloes would tie the game up at 24-24 after a field goal which left Tuiasosopo and the Huskies time for one final drive. With three minutes to go in the contest Tuiasosopo hit Chris Jurgens for a nine yard touchdown pass which had 72,068 fans at Husky Stadium screaming. The Huskies took the lead 31-24 over the Buffaloes. The Buffaloes were driving for overtime had the ball on the Huskies 21 yard line with little over a minute to go in the game. That is when Anthony Vountoure intercepted the pass in the endzone to give the Huskies their 600th win in program history and for Neuhiesel his first of 33 victories for the Huskies. For the Huskies they won this game by controlling the clock. The Huskies ran the ball 52 times for 205 yards and held the ball for over 36 minutes. They were led by Tuiasosopo who was 12-23 passing for 210 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Tuiasosopo also ran for 56 yards on 14 carries. The Huskies ground game also saw Willie Hurst rush for 85 yards on 19 carries, Paul Arnold 21 yards on six carries. The Huskies would go on to finish 7-5 on the year finishing second in the Pac-10. They would win the Pac-10 and the Rose Bowl the following season as Neuheisel could have been elected mayor in Seattle.

In conclusion, these two programs were once powerhouse programs in the 1990's have both fallen in this decade. The Huskies led by Sarkisian appear to have recovered finally from their slump while the Buffaloes are headed for a long season. The Huskies hopefully learned from their mistakes against Eastern Washington won't take the Buffaloes lightly. This is a team that could easily be 3-3 but instead they are 1-5 without their top receiver Paul Richardson. The Huskies offense should have no problem against the Buffaloes defense who has a young secondary. Look for Price to light up the Buffaloes secondary as he is finally healthy for the first time all season long. Sarkisian like Neuheisel was back then is on top of the mountain at Montlake and unlike Neuheisel I think he'll last more than four seasons in Seattle. The Huskies are hoping to turn the corner as a program and that starts this Saturday with a convincing win over a conference opponent. This game on Saturday won't have the grudge match as that game in 1999 but this game is an opportunity for the Huskies to show they are for real this season.