Post-Game Thoughts
Published 9:00 pm Friday, November 3, 2006
The rain is falling hard now in Eugene, adding to the misery that was watching the Washington game today. Today made painfully clear that the Huskies are just not talented enough yet, especially from a depth standpoint, to compete with many teams in the Pac-10. The Huskies wins came early in the season when everyone was healthy. Now with no bye and with injuries piling up, it’s clear there aren’t enough good players on the roster to make up for losses. Oregon was clearly the better team at pretty much every spot on the field and really, the only reason Washington was in the game was because the Ducks turned the ball over.
I cover a lot of this in my stories tomorrow, things like Washington’s inability to run the ball and stop the run.
But the numbers in the game were just ridiculous: Oregon had 31 first downs, the UW had 10. The Ducks outgained the Huskies 454-138, including 316-13 on the ground.
The atmosphere postgame seemed a bit more tense and frustrated than it has after any loss. That tells me the strain of the season and the frustration from the close losses of October are really mounting.
A few notes: Brandon Ala may be done for the season, as he has a dislocated left elbow. Clay Walker’s status is also in question after spraining his ankle. That allowed Casey Bulyca to play for the first time as a Husky. That marked just the second time a non-starter played on the offensive line this season.
Coaches said Kenny James wasn’t yet ready to play. Tim Lappano said he may give Shelton Sampson a look this week.
Carl Bonnell took some shots at the end of the game but he said he was fine.
But while it seems like nonsense, there is still a little bit of hope. Washington State’s loss could set up a huge Apple Cup, and Arizona State is still up in the air. UCLA may not win again this season, and despite beating the Cougars you can’t count on Arizona to finish strong. So there’s still that outside chance that with two wins, Washington could somehow find its way to a bowl game.
