The Morning Haul: 10/17

I will be discussing the Arizona game a lot this week, but there’s something I want to discuss really quickly this morning. What if the Huskies lose to Arizona?

Up until this point, every game that wasn’t against Portland State or San Diego State has been acceptable to lose. Losing to Oregon and LSU? It would have been crazy if the Huskies hadn’t lost. Losing to USC? Well, at least it was pretty close. Winning against Stanford? An upset we really wanted, but really a bonus when you consider preseason expectations. But now, here the Huskies are at 3-3.

At the beginning of the year, 3-3 at this point looked pretty good. Thing is, that was before Oregon State became a top-10 team, and it was before the Arizona schools, particularly Arizona State, started playing at a fairly high level. Now 3-3 doesn’t necessarily mean expecting nine wins. It means fighting for seven or eight. That is still alright. Eight wins would be an improvement over last year. Nine wins is still possible.

What this does mean is that there is no more margin for error. The Huskies cannot lose games that they should win. Arizona is a game they should win. If they fail to deliver a victory on the road, they will come back home against Oregon State, a top-10 team against which Washington will be the underdog, 3-4. Assuming the Huskies lose to the Beavers, that means 3-5. That is when panic starts. Washington doesn’t want panic. So, they better take care of the Wildcats.

Stories Especially Worth Reading:

Although the title is eerily similar to something I wrote a few weeks ago, this is still worth a read if you’re still wondering what is up with Keith Price.

Thomas Tutogi, the Huskies linebacker, will be going up against his brother this Saturday. That’s just awesome.

I almost forgot, here’s the offensive position preview from the Dawg Pound.

Midseason report for Washington from Ted Miller of ESPN. Pretty much what you would expect if you’ve been keeping up on the team.