The Morning Haul 9/4

I spent my Monday wandering around the University District, playing catch in the Quad, picking up groceries at Safeway. Pretty much just getting in touch with my inner collegiate cliche. Now I’m on the road, having left my friend’s apartment to head down to the Oregon coast for the week.

So with a half dozen hours in the back of a 1995 Suburban ahead of me, it’s time to do some real soul searching. I’ve read a dozen or so opinions on the current state of the Huskies and their chances going in to the LSU game, and I’ve written about the rash of injuries and the adapting offensive line. What I haven’t done is make a decision to quantify how I feel about this team.

Are they on the rise? Did the win against SDSU help them grow, or set them back with multiple injuries? Are they destined to finish ahead of Stanford in the Pac-12 North? Most importantly, can they go down to Baton Rouge and pull off the upset that I believe is necessary for this season to be considered a true success, whether that means beating LSU or a Pac-12 power? Maybe I’ll be closer to knowing by the end of this drive, and if so, my newfound clarity will be available in article form right here on thehuskyhaul.com.

Articles Especially Worth Reading

This story by Gregg Bell does a great job of capturing the bittersweet mood among the Husky faithful this week. No one knows quite what to think or expect, but in the end optimism will prevail, as it always does in something as cyclical as college football.

Another shameless Condotta link this morning. In case you haven’t noticed, I think Condotta’s blog is the very best source for comprehensive coverage of the team. If you only want to use one site, other than the Husky Haul, of course, then I recommend his work above all else.

It feels as if the rain clouds of NCAA investigation are only weeks away from raining down justice on the Pac-12. Add allegations against USC surrounding Joe McKnight to existing controversies at Oregon and UCLA. What if all three schools are guilty? It may just be a scandal in the making. By the way, I promise I was talking about rain clouds before I read the LA Times article. You have to believe me on this one.