There were few changes to the Husky depth chart this morning. Kenny James is listed as a co-starter with Louis Rankin at running back. James was on crutches Saturday after injuring his ankle in the first quarter. We may or may not get an update on his condition today (with Tyrone Willingham, it’s hard to say). If he can’t play, Shelton Sampson would be the backup. Johnny DuRocher and Jake Locker are listed as co-back-ups to Carl Bonnell, though Willingham hinted after Saturday’s game that Locker is the backup. We’ll hopefully get an update on Bonnell’s condition today as well. He had a sling on his left arm after the game.
Brandon Ala is now listed as the clear starter at defensive end ahead of Greyson Gunheim. Gunheim has been one of the real disappointments this season and Ala played well. Jordan Reffett, who had a huge stop on Saturday, is also listed ahead of Donny Mateaki at defensive tackle, and Dashon Goldson is the starter at corner ahead of Matt Fountaine. Donald Butler is the backup at middle linebacker to Tahj Bomar, with Trenton Tuiasosopo no longer on the depth chart.
No other real news to report yet. Tyrone Willingham has his weekly media conference at noon.
A few asked what I thought about the end of the game. I can’t update it at the time because we’re down on the field late in the game, and then have writing duties after that. Sunday is a travel and catch-up-at-home day for me. So if you missed my column in the print edition, I’ll briefly answer:
I didn’t have a problem with not going for two after the Hail Mary. Washington was having no success in short-yardage, Cal had to know the Huskies weren’t going to run on a two-point conversion so a team that had already picked off four passes would have sat back and waited for a pass. I just don’t think Washington would have made it.
My two biggest problems were the squib kick near the end of the first half and giving Cal the ball to open overtime. I know there’s an un-written rule that you always go on defense first in OT, but it seemed to me Washington would have been better served riding the momentum that the Hail Mary gave against a Cal defense that had to be on its heels.
The squib kick just didn’t make any sense. Cal hadn’t been moving the ball, why not kick it long and make the Bears go the distance instead of giving them a short field and, consequently, momentum having scored going into the half?
It was just a weird game. A lot of good, a lot of bad, moreso than any game I can really remember.
Also, the Oregon game has been picked up by TBS for broadcast. Kickoff remains at 12:30 p.m.
Incidentally, this week is huge. If the Huskies lose this week, I don’t see any way they make it to a bowl game. That’s something I’ll touch on later in the week.
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