If you haven't read this article about the BCS rankings and Florida's current malaise in the standings, do so immediately. For the sake of this article, feel free to assume that Florida wins the SEC Championship game, and Oklahoma romps Missouri in the Big XII title matchup.

What if Oklahoma ascends to #1, and Texas squeaks past Florida for #2? Lets take care of the obvious, first of all.

1. The Big XII would have contributed both of its BCS teams.
2. Florida fans would raise hell.
3. A whole new can of worms would potentially blow the lid off of the BCS, for good this time.
   

What is my angle?

As you all are well aware, the BCS takes an absolute maximum of 2 teams per conference. This is to prevent an east coast (or SEC) bias, I imagine.

The Fiesta Bowl contracts the Big XII representative to play in its game every year. Should they lose their champion to the BCS title game, they take another Big XII team. Should they lose both teams to the BCS Championship, what would they do?

• Florida would be the automatic SEC berth, and would thus be slotted to play in the Sugar Bowl.
• USC and Penn State are locked into the Rose Bowl, no matter what happens this week.
• Boston College or Virginia Tech, whoever wins the ACC, is in the Orange Bowl.
• Cincinnati is playing somewhere.
• Utah is playing somewhere.

This leaves 2 at-large berths, and the Fiesta Bowl has complete control over the future of the BCS. In terms of chaos, they could really "tear down this wall," should they so decide to.

The Fiesta Bowl can play it safe, picking Alabama and a team like Ohio State... Or they can spring for complete anarchy, picking Boise State and another at-large team like Ball State. Does this make monetary sense? Absolutely not! But it would leave these teams out of the BCS, big money bowls:

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech (already eliminated by virtue of Texas/Oklahoma title matchup)
   
3. Ohio State
4. TCU

The sheer amount of awfulness that the BCS Bowls would reek this year would be enough to have a playoff system appear as soon as the 2010 bowl cycle.

Lets look at the chaos:

Bowl Game	Participants
Fiesta Bowl	Boise St. Broncos (at-large) vs. Ball St. Cardinals (at-large)
Sugar Bowl	Florida Gators (lock) vs. Utah/Cincinnati
Orange Bowl	ACC Champion (lock) vs. Utah/Cincinnati
Rose Bowl	USC Trojans (lock) vs. Penn St. Nittany Lions (lock)
BCS Championship	Oklahoma Sooners (lock) vs. Texas Longhorns (lock)

The whole thing is a beautiful mess. If only it would happen.

All of this is moot if Alabama wins, or Florida passes Texas in the BCS bowls... It's just so glorious to conceive an alternate reality where undefeated teams are rewarded for their play.

Okay, let me pontificate for just a moment. I feel like Texas got hosed. Just my personal opinion. You beat Oklahoma? You have the same record? You should go to the championship game. Texas Tech was destroyed by Oklahoma; Texas lost on a last second touchdown to Tech. Thus, not the same scenario.

Either way, there were a lot of shakeups in the BCS bowls projections for this week, with Oregon State losing to Oregon and Oklahoma moving to #2 in the BCS standings.

Keep in mind, the Fiesta Bowl has the first at-large selection, after all tie-in games are satisfied. ACC goes to Orange Bowl, Pac-10 and Big Ten go to the Rose Bowl, SEC goes to the Sugar Bowl, and Big XII goes to the Fiesta.

In this scenario, Texas will be the Big XII representative in Glendale. With Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Penn State, USC, and Boston College/Virginia Tech all locked into their respective games, that leaves very few options for the committees to choose from. These include the Big East champion Cincinnati Bearcats, the undefeated Utah Utes, and an at-large pick of their choice.

After the Fiesta Bowl picks, it is the Sugar Bowl's turn. After that, the Orange Bowl gets its pick.

Bowl Game	Participants	Winner
Orange Bowl	Boston College Eagles vs. Utah Utes	Utah
Rose Bowl	USC Trojans vs. Penn St. Nittany Lions	USC
Fiesta Bowl	Texas Longhorns vs. Boise State Broncos	Texas
Sugar Bowl	Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Cincinnati Bearcats	Bama
BCS Championship	Oklahoma Sooners vs. Florida Gators	Florida

Bear with me here. The Fiesta Bowl loves the Boise State Broncos, right? They have the first choice, and can take either a guaranteed team (Cincy, Utah) or go with a team like Ohio State, TCU, Ball State, or Boise State. I think they are going to extend the invitation out of the realm of normalcy, sending ripples through the BCS picture.

With only guaranteed teams remaining, the Sugar Bowl will go with the Bearcats, who are far better than the Hawaii Warriors of last season.

Lastly, Utah plays the mediocre Boston College Eagles, winning that game easily.

Thoughts?

Another week, another shakeup in the projections of the BCS Bowls.

This much we know:

1. Utah is BCS-bound, with their undefeated 12-0 season.
2. Penn State is going to the Rose Bowl after winning the Big Ten.
3. Oregon State goes to the Rose Bowl if they beat Oregon on Saturday.
4. Unless Missouri wins the Big XII championship game, there will be 2 teams out of Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma in BCS games.
5. Florida and Alabama are in BCS games.

Keeping that in mind, where is there wiggle room?

The ACC is still wide open. As for the Big East, Cincinnati has to get by Syracuse, and they will be going bowling.

I am still very interested in Oklahoma State's and Missouri's influences on the BCS picture. If the Cowboys beat the Sooners, then Texas Tech will go to the Big XII Championship game, playing Missouri.

If Missouri is able to pull off that upset, we would see a very unusual event: a team that didn't even win its own conference playing in the BCS Championship game, the Texas Longhorns. Unfair? Probably. Missouri would then go to the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale.

Bowl Game	Participants	Winner
Orange Bowl	Florida St. Seminoles vs. Utah Utes	Utah
Rose Bowl	Oregon St. Beavers vs. Penn St. Nittany Lions	PSU
Fiesta Bowl	Oklahoma Sooners  vs. USC Trojans	USC
Sugar Bowl	Alabama Crimson Tide  vs. Cincinnati Bearcats	Bama
BCS Championship	Texas Longhorns vs. Florida Gators	Texas

Historically, Arizona has held the perch of college basketball greatness in the southwestern desert. No other school in the region could hold a candle to the consistency of the Wildcat basketball program,a team that has made the NCAA tournament in each of the last 24 seasons.

Unfortunately for UA fans (and no one else), their long-awaited collapse is finally at hand. In an ironic twist, it just so happens that right at the same time, the Sun Devil basketball program is on a meteoric rise to stardom. The timing is so antagonizingly perfect that it must be chronicled.

Jerryd Bayless, in much greener pastures.

In the meantime, the 2008 college football season began with Arizona finally appearing to be as good as advertised. Starting off with a 4-1 record, when a Sun Devil fan looked at the recent standings and saw their beloved ASU squad standing at 2-6, it felt as though the world was ending in Tempe, with calls for Rudy Carpenter to be benched, and Offensive Coordinator Rich Olson to be fired.

But now, as we take a gander at the standings, we see ASU has won 2 in a row, and is now 4-6 with two games left to play. Their schedule is at home vs. UCLA, and on the road to Tucson to take on the Wildcats in the season finale. Arizona, on the other hand, has gone 2-3 since their 4-1 start, and is now 6-4 and has two home games to close out the season, against Oregon State and ASU.

Oregon State is not to be taken lightly, and I believe they will take care of business against UA, making them 6-5. UCLA is a poor team, and ASU should beat them at home. That would make ASU 5-6.

That would ensure that it was down to the Territorial Cup game to decide the fate of UA and ASU in the bowl season. Would ASU resurrect their season and go to a bowl? Or would UA return the favor and keep ASU out of the postseason?

Should ASU and UA both finish 6-6, ASU would actually be 5-4 in conference play, with UA being 4-5. ASU would go to a superior bowl, and have another year of bragging rights over the boys down south.

In the end, there is nothing sweeter than beating Arizona. ASU has gotten particularly used to the feeling, winning the last 3 football matches and sweeping the men's basketball series last year. Inevitably, it can only continue, as UA scrambles to save their basketball program from the depths of mediocrity and at the same time maintain a professional atmosphere in a football program led by a bumbling coach, Mike Stoops.

You will see this face again soon.

Poll

Will ASU and UA both finish 6-6?

• Yes
• UA will win 8 games this year
• ASU will win 4 games this year
• Good Question

  23 votes | Results

UPDATE: You can find the new BCS Bowl Projections, as of November 24th, right here at House of Sparky.

Last week, I did my first BCS bowls projections. This week, after some interesting games were played on Saturday, I have decided to update my projections.

Without further ado, here are your House of Sparky-Sanctioned BCS Bowl Games! As a side note, allow me to point out the BCS rules: the BCS rotates its at-large selections by year. "January 2009 games: Fiesta, Sugar, Orange" is the rotation for this round. Also, read this interesting nugget:

5. After completion of the selection process as described in Paragraph Nos. 1-4, the conferences and Notre Dame may, but are not required to, adjust the pairings taking into consideration the following:

  A. whether the same team will be playing in the same bowl game for two consecutive years;
  B. whether two teams that played against one another in the regular season will be paired against one another in a bowl game;
  C. whether the same two teams will play against each other in a bowl game for two consecutive years; and
  D. whether alternative pairings may have greater or lesser appeal to college football fans as measured by expected ticket sales for the bowls and by expected television interest, and the consequent financial impact on Fox and the bowls.

The pairings may not be altered by removing the Big 10 Champion or Pac-10 champion from the Rose Bowl.

So, even though Oregon State has already played (and lost) to Penn State, they will still meet again in the Rose Bowl if things go according to plan.

Bowl Game	Participants	Winner
Orange Bowl	Miami (FL) Hurricanes vs. Boise State Broncos	Boise
Rose Bowl	Oregon St. Beavers vs. Penn St. Nittany Lions	PSU
Fiesta Bowl	Texas Longhorns  vs. USC Trojans	Texas
Sugar Bowl	Alabama Crimson Tide  vs. Cincinnati Bearcats	Bama
BCS Championship	Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Florida Gators	Tech

North Carolina is currently 3-3 in ACC conference play. Their schedule, however, is favorable, with games against 4-6 NC State and 4-6 Duke to close out the season. The driver's seat is held by both Maryland and Miami (FL), who are both 4-2 in the ACC.

Maryland has a tough finish ahead, playing Florida State (7-3, 4-3 ACC) and Boston College (7-3, 3-3 ACC), two teams with decent records and shots at the conference crown. All three of these teams are in the ACC Atlantic, and the winner of that section will play the winner of the ACC Coastal on December 6 to decide who will host the Orange Bowl.

Georgia Tech, at 4-3 in the ACC, has only one ACC game left: vs. Miami (FL). If they win, they are going to the ACC Championship unless UNC wins out, and then due to UNC's 28-7 victory over GT on November 8, UNC will go to Tampa for the ACC Championship Game.

The story gets even more convoluted when we look at Virginia Tech. 3-3 in the ACC thus far, they have already beaten UNC and GT but lost to Miami (FL). Should they beat Duke and Virginia, they will be 5-3 in the conference.

Long story short, I anticipate Miami (FL) and Florida State in the ACC Championship game.

As for the selection of Cincinnati to the Sugar Bowl, they don't want another SEC vs. WAC competition. Since they have priority over the Orange bowl this year, you can bet they will select the only other option, the Big East Champion Cincinnati Bearcats.

Should Utah go undefeated, they will take away Boise State's at-large berth. I don't know if they can beat BYU though, as this remains to be seen. I don't want to live in a world where a 12-0 Boise State team plays in some non-BCS bowl (like in 2004).

This afternoon on a warm, sunny day in Tempe, Washington State takes the field against the Sun Devils in a battle of conference bottom-feeders. At 1-9, Wazzu is awful. At 3-6, ASU is not much better. I expect ASU to take care of business, but still.

Keep your eyes peeled on this game thread, because I will be in the press box reporting live on the game, with insights and analysis you won't find anywhere else.

1:46 PM: I am in the press box, and just watched Jacquizz (edit: James) Rodgers explode for a touchdown against Cal to tie it at 7 in the first quarter. Down on Frank Kush Field, some kids are attempting field goals at the north end, and two undisclosed players are tossing a ball on the south end. No fans in the stadium yet, and most purple ProEm shirts are seated and waiting for the action to begin.

2:00 PM: Drinking a Coke Zero and getting a little antsy. I have to wait another hour and a half for this game?

2:16 PM: The press box is an interesting place, filled with media and scouts from the NFL. No specific teams will be divulged, but it is good to know that there are players on ASU (or, I suppose, WSU) that the professional teams think are worth looking at.

2:25 PM: The truly dedicated student fans are in the stands, with the front rows of sections 31, 32, and 33 covered in gold. Right now, I'd say there are 80-100 students in the section, sitting in the warm sun and getting more sober by the minute. Get back out into the tailgate! The field is being used by some WSU players to stretch.

2:40 PM: There is no TV broadcast of this game, and for good reason. Sun Devil Trivia: Frank Kush began his head coaching career at Arizona State in 1958.

2:48 PM: Thomas Weber is practicing his field goal attempts. He was true on all his tries from 47 yards, and now he is practicing 52 yard field goals. Weber is still in a cast from his broken arm. His first attempt was wide right. His second was a perfect kick that hit the "a" in Allstate.

2:57 PM: The wide receivers and running backs are running drills. They started with quick slant routes, trying to catch hard-thrown balls. Now they are working on over the shoulder catches. McGaha dropped a slant pass and looked furious with himself; Nance dropped one as well and didn't seem quite as upset. But that is just visual emotion, who knows how he truly feels.

3:00 PM: The stadium is still nearly empty, with only small pockets of fans currently seated. The student section is naturally the most full at this point, and I imagine that fans will filter in as the game nears closer. It is far too nice out in Lot 59 to come this WSU/ASU 35 minutes early.

3:07 PM: On my right is a TV broadcasting Minnesota @ Wisconsin, and my thoughts are with the hurt Badger on the field. Apparently, they are bringing out an ambulance and taking him to the nearest hospital. Hopefully he isn't permanently damaged. You can read the live blogging from Camp Randall at The Daily Gopher.

3:25 PM: 11 minutes to kickoff. Running with the Devils begins playing over the loudspeakers, and the tunnel is made for the team to run out of. Let the excitement build!.... The stadium is woefully underfilled, but there is a solid stream of maroon and gold coming through the turnstiles.

3:32 PM: The fireworks have fillled the air with smoke, but it is quickly dissipating. The weather conditions: clear, sunny skies, 81 degrees, humidity level 9%, Winds SE at 7 mph. In honor of homecoming, the Sun Devils are wearing old-school helmets! Recreation of the old design, worn from 1976-1979. A maroon sun with a gold ASU letting in the middle.

3:35 PM: The Sun Devils are going to receive the kickoff, driving towards the north endzone. Kyle Williams is back in the lineup for ASU today, ready to return the kick. Washington State tried some trickery immediately, trying an onside kick in a regular kickoff formation. #37 Mike Callaghan caught it and the Sun Devils start with a overthrown pass to an open Chris McGaha.

3:40 PM: The Sun Devils had an opportunity to inflict some early damage on the Cougars, and on 3rd and 8 Carpenter completed a pass to Kerry Taylor for the first down. Now at the Cougar 47, the Devils are well on their way to a score. DeWitty is currently the feature back.

3:41 PM: Rudy was sacked on consecutive plays by the Cougars. With their new 3-4 formation, I am surprised that they are able to get so much pressure on Carpenter up to this point. Weber's punt flies out the back of the end zone, and Lopina starts the drive for the Cougars at the 20. Their first play is a run by Tardy for 4 yards.

3:45 PM: The Devils blitzed 5, and Lopina was able to get it out just in time for a 30 yard passing gain. Now at the Sun Devil 44, their drive continues. Lopina just got tackled by Wooten. for a loss, and now it is 3rd and 15. They complete a 11 yard pass, but it is not enough to get a first down, or into field goal range. But with a 1-9 record, what can you do? The Cougs are going for it on 4th and 4. Lopina rolls out right and completes a pass to #85, Jeshua Anderson. First down at the 28 for the Cougs.

3:48 PM: The Cougars aren't doing anything fancy, but basic out routes are working against the Sun Devils. They are attempting to emulate USC's offensive plan against ASU, but without the team speed the Cougars are finding themselves tackled behind the line fairly frequently. On 4th down, the Cougars unsuccessfully attempt a 41-yard field goal, and the first bullet of the afternoon is avoided by ASU.

3:52 PM: Keegan Herring has checked into the game for the Sun Devils, and on his first attempt loses 3 yards. 2nd and 23, Rudy finds Pettes open and he gains a handful of yards. 3rd down and very long.

3:53 PM: More of the same mediocrity from ASU, unable to move the ball at all. Weber once again punts, but this time it is a beauty: rolls all the way to the Cougar 13.

3:57 PM: Lopina nearly throws a pick, but Nolan is unable to reel it in. That was a golden opportunity for a team with no momentum. 2nd down, RB Staden loses 3 yards, and now it is 3rd and 13. ASU shows blitz from its LOLB and MLB, but drops back into zone coverage. WSU is unable to gain any yardage on the inside slant pass, but ASU was offsides, and now it is 3rd and 8. WSU in shotgun with 2 RBs. ASU sends 5 and Lopina is sacked by Dexter Davis! Loss of 6. Punt!

4:02 PM: McGaha shakes a defender and gains a bunch of yards, down to the 32. On the next play, Herring gains 4 on the ground, and it is 2nd and 6. McGaha is the target once again, and he picks up a Sun Devil first down with a 14 yard gain. The offense looks like it is finally clicking. Here ends the first quarter. Boy, this game is moving quickly so far.

Start of 2nd Quarter

4:05 PM: The offensive cannot take advantage of field position inside the 5 yard line, and Weber is now attempting an extra-point distance field goal. It's good!

3-0 ASU

4:08 PM: There is a flag down on the return. Holding on WSU, and they now start their drive at the 14 yard line. As if they needed a longer road to the end zone. Lopina passes to Brandon Gibson for no gain. Another passing play, this time to Anderson, but they only pick up 3 yards, and it is 3rd and 7 from the 16.5 yard line. Out of the shotgun, Lopina finds Tardy, but he is one yard short of the first. WSU will punt again.

4:14 PM: Carpenter is "sacked" as he ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage. On 2nd and 13, he passes to Kimbrough for a 11 yard gain. 3rd and 2.

4:15 PM: Carpenter's pass incomplete to Jones. It looked like pass interference to me, as the Cougar was riding him all the way across the field. Punt time.

4:17 PM: At this point, I am going to move the commentary to the "comments" section; it will be easy for you to join the conversation with me there.

Despite the building excitement here in Tempe over tonight's season-opening doubleheader for both the Men's and Women's basketball programs, we still have some football left to play.

Without further ado, I present to you the enemy: (1-9) Washington State Cougars.

Continue reading to get all the important stats.

Continue reading this post »

Ranking	Team	Pts Total
1.	USC	59 (5)
2.	Oregon State	52 (1)
3.	California	44
4.	Oregon	43
5.	Arizona	42
6.	Stanford	30
7.	Arizona State	24
8.	UCLA	18
9. (t)	Washington State	9
9. (t)	Washington	9

This is the first week in a while USC hasn't received all the first place votes. It is also the first week in recent memory that the Cougars aren't in sole possession of last place: their performance against Arizona warranted promotion.... to the 9th spot.

Check out how we voted after the hump.

Continue reading this post »

In the runup to the BCS Bowl season, there have been many recent victims (Penn State, Texas) that have fallen out of the top spots and into the mix for a lesser BCS bowl. In the spirit of the unexpected nature of college football, I have decided to project our BCS Bowls for January 2009.

Bowl Game	Participants	Winner
Orange Bowl	North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Cincinnati Bearcats	UNC
Rose Bowl	USC Trojans vs. Penn State Nittany Lions	USC
Fiesta Bowl	Texas Longhorns  vs. Ohio State Buckeyes	Texas
Sugar Bowl	Alabama Crimson Tide  vs. Boise State Broncos	Bama
BCS Championship	Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Florida Gators	Tech

It is my opinion that Utah will lose to Brigham Young in the last game of their regular season, dropping them out of the BCS picture (much to the relief of the BCS). In their place, Ohio State will ascend into the picture, playing an interesting matchup between them and Texas in Glendale.

 

Showdown in the Emerald City. Let me begin by saying that  if ASU loses this game - and they very well might - I will have to think that big changes will be coming for the team.  Coaching, personnel, everything.

With that out of the way, lets take a look at the game. ASU (2-6) travels to Washington (0-8) to play at one of the most beautiful stadiums in the country.  I am from Seattle, and must say that I hold a fond place in my heart for Husky Stadium.  Seating 72,500 and offering arguably the most scenic view in colleg football (right on Union Bay, you can see the Cascade Mtns, Space Needle, floating bridge, and Mt. Rainer..) the stadium rocks.

via www.autumnspectacle.com

However, aside from the stadium, the Huskies really do not have much going for them this year.  Their coach has already been let go, they have not won a game, and their stud sophomore Jake Locker has not played since week 5 due to a broken right thumb.

The team is not well coached, and simply does not have a lot of weapons - whether that is due to poor recruiting or poor coaching, I am not really sure. The one thing I can say about them is the nearly every one of their starters is a lower classmen. The future looks at least semi-bright. Or not so dim.

Let's take a look at some of the guys we will see tomorrow.

QB - Ronnie Fouch, Sophomore, 6'1 203 LBS 
2008 stats - 79/165, 993 YDS, 47.9 CMP%, 4 TD - 7 INT, 97.95 RAT, 10 SACK

via cache.gettyimages.com

Heading into the season, the Huskies expected their Freshman phenom Locker to come out of the gates hard and lead them to a resurgent season, but Locker has been hampered by injuries all season and this has forced Willingham to play Fouch.  An extremely inaccurate passer, Fouch has never completed more than 53% of his passes in a game he has started and has completed less than 50% in 4 out of his 5 games where he played the majority of the snaps. He also is not the threat Locker is in the running game.  Really, if ASU sees Fouch throwing 25 or more times against them, we should be hopeful that a win is forthcoming. The guy just is not ready to start in college football - whether that is because his coaches havent placed him in a position to win, his supporting cast is lacking, or he just isnt that great.

RB - Terrance Dailey, Freshman, 5-10 194 LBS
2008 stats - 39 ATT, 174 YDS, 4.5 AVG, 1 TD, 1 REC, 9 YDS

via cache.gettyimages.com

A fairly highly recruited tailback/fullback hybrid who got his first carry in week 6 against Arizona, Dailey's numbers are slightly misleading.  Against Notre Dame, USC, and Arizona he rushed 23 times for 72 yards (3.1) average. Weak. While he had a solid game against Oregon State (16 rushes for 102 yards) 59 of them came on his long TD run. Take that out and his game is 15 rushes for 43 yards. Ew. He also is not involved/not a threat in the passing game.

While he has talent, Washington's offense is simply inept. Their leading rusher, still, is Jake Locker - and he hasnt played since September.

RB - Brandon Johnson, Sophomore, 5'9 207 LBS
2008 Stats - 50 ATT, 117 YDS, 2.3 AVG, 2 TD
 

via cache.daylife.com

The second leading rusher on the team behind Locker in terms of carries, Johnson has been stymied by his line and his lack of burst.  Sort of a Nance-esque rusher, Johnson had his most productive game against USC last week, which doesn't say much. 18 ATT, 54 YDs, for a 3 average. The team is averaging 2.8 per carry, so the bulk of the problem is the entire run game.

 

WR - D'Andre Goodwin, Sophomore, 5-11, 175 LBS
2008 Stats - 44 REC, 533 YDS, 12.1 AVG, 1 TD, 7 ATT, 17 YDS, 2.4 AVG

via media.scout.com

The kid is a stud.  A soph who is on pace for over 60 receptions and 800 yards, despite all the instability at QB. He has caught at least 5 passes a game this year, and has had 4 games with over 80 yards and has only been shut down against USC (and really, who hasn't been?). He had a monster game against Oregon State, (5 rec, 136 yards) and will probably be matched up against Omar Bolden. An unknown recruit out of high school, Goodwin will be an interesting player to watch on Saturday.

No other wide outs on Washington have over 20 receptions, and only two others have over 10. Freshmen Jermaine Kearse (16 for 224, 2 TDs) and Devin Aguilar (17 for 207). Both those guys are freshman though, and prone to inconsistency, so it is hard to say what the Huskies will get out of either of them on Saturday.

Defensive Playmakers
DE - Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Senior, 6'4 263 LBS
2008 stats - 37 TACK, 4.5 TFL, 3 SACK

via farm2.static.flickr.com

The fact that the Huskies leading sacker has only 3 sacks is telling.  The defense is really a major weak point of this team.  The senior lineman is a hustle guy, but for perhaps the first time all season, we might not have to worry about pressure on our QB and Rudy can have plenty of time to stare down his favroite receiver before throwing an interception.

MLB - Mason Foster, Sophomore, 6'1 229 LBS
2008 stats - 66 TACK, 7 TFL, 1 INT, 3 PD

via cache.gettyimages.com

The leading tackler on the team, Mason has been a solid player all year for the Huskies.  He has been solid against the run and has been decent in coverage. Other than him though, the defense has not had a lot of playmakers. This happens when you give up 42 points per game to opposing offenses though...

Team Analysis and Prediction

TEAM STATISTICS	WASH	OPP
SCORING	113	333
Points Per Game	14.1	41.6
FIRST DOWNS	142	194
Rushing	49	104
Passing	73	81
Penalty	20	9
RUSHING YARDAGE	716	1946
Yards gained rushing	974	2084
Yards lost rushing	258	138
Rushing Attempts	259	336
Average Per Rush	2.8	5.8
Average Per Game	89.5	243.2
TDs Rushing	10	23
PASSING YARDAGE	1505	1896
Att-Comp-Int	259-129-7	208-147-3
Average Per Pass	5.8	9.1
Average Per Catch	11.7	12.9
Average Per Game	188.1	237.0
TDs Passing	5	21
TOTAL OFFENSE	2221	3842
Total Plays	518	544
Average Per Play	4.3	7.1
Average Per Game	277.6	480.2
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards	44-750	18-405
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards	4-22	16-216
INT RETURNS: #-Yards	3-0	7-90
KICK RETURN AVERAGE	17.0	22.5
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE	5.5	13.5
INT RETURN AVERAGE	0.0	12.9
FUMBLES-LOST	14-7	11-2
PENALTIES-Yards	36-288	65-605
Average Per Game	36.0	75.6
PUNTS-Yards	47-1770	20-789
Average Per Punt	37.7	39.5
Net punt average	32.2	35.3
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game	29:01	30:59
3RD-DOWN Conversions	54/118	52/93
3rd-Down Pct	46%	56%
4TH-DOWN Conversions	4/8	7/12
4th-Down Pct	50%	58%
SACKS BY-Yards	5-44	20-162
MISC YARDS	0	0
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED	15	45
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS	3-8	7-8
ON-SIDE KICKS	0-0	0-0
RED-ZONE SCORES	13-19 68%	34-38 89%
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS	12-19 63%	28-38 74%
PAT-ATTEMPTS	14-15 93%	42-45 93%
ATTENDANCE	328728	194618
Games/Avg Per Game	5/65746	3/64873
Neutral Site Games		0/0

They have just been dominated this season, and if we don't manage over 30 points and at least a 2-3 touch down lead - we are as bad as we all think we are.

I say we go on the road and end this losing streak.

ASU 34 - WASH 17