The Morning Haul: 9/28
So, if you haven’t heard, the Huskies won last night. Defeating a Stanford team that looked so good against USC changes the direction of this season entirely. Suddenly, USC looks like it could be a fairly even game. The emergence of Oregon State doesn’t seem nearly as intimidating. Even Oregon, a team that will still certainly be favored to beat the Huskies next week in Eugene, doesn’t seem likely to score 50+ points on a Husky defense that didn’t give Stanford a single offensive touchdown.
Enjoy the magical honeymoon period; I know I am. Think about the possibilities, even if the future could dash them. What if the Huskies beat every opponent except for Oregon, and end up 10-2 with Oregon going to the national title? That could mean rose bowl. More sensibly, imagine if Washington takes this win, loses to Oregon, loses to either USC or Oregon State, and finishes with only 3 losses? That would still be a far better season than most people saw coming. And at worst, it appears Coach Sark’s team is on track for the 7 or 8 wins that many predicted, even if they lose a few late season games, and the dreaded 2-4 record at the end of the USC game is no longer possible.
That is all great news for the Huskies.
Stories Especially Worth Reading:
If you have thought to yourself “man, LSU must be so good” than you need to read this story from Stewart Mandel, who manages to put USC, Stanford, LSU, and Washington in perspective while still giving the Huskies their due.
The Huskies Rivals site with a free story stuffed full of some interesting numbers from last night’s win. The site also has a nicely written, and equally free, piece on Bishop Sankey’s breakthrough game. While it is early in the season, it sure looks like the Huskies may have their running back situation pretty much figured out!
Pacific Takes with an update on the lack of DirecTV deal with the Pac-12 Network.
Finally, here’s some video of the fan celebration on the field immediately after the game. I am one of the dots out there on the field. I’ve heard a lot of people upset about the storming of the field, but I have to say, I think this is one of the only situations where it is warranted. An up and coming program that has recently struggled against elite teams, at home, beats a top-10 team. Now, if the Huskies go to Oregon, lose a respectable game, come home to face USC ranked around #18, and then win, I will not be storming the field, because at that point we have to act like we’ve been there, and that winning isn’t a surprise. But there’s no shame in admitting that last night, it was unexpected, and it was worth celebrating.
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