September 20, 2007
Gameweek: Washington - Monster.com Bowl??
Before the season started we at DD had marked our home game against Washington as this year's 1st of 2 Monster.com bowl games - where the losing coach would most likely be looking for a job at the end of the season. We predicted the loser of last year's Monster.com bowl game, between our Bruins and Arizona State led by then head coach Dirk Koetter, would get the boot. Sure enough, Dirk Koetter lost that game and then promptly was fired 2 weeks later. With Ty Willingham coming up with incredibly bad seasons at proud Washington, ending last in the conference and second-to-last in the conference in his 2 seasons, we noticed that that faithful were losing their patience.
But Willingham has come out firing this season with a road win against a seeking-new-head-coach Syracuse and a home win against darling mid-major Boise State. Last week he even had his team close at the end of the first half (down 3-7) at home against highly ranked Ohio State, until the Buckeyes outscored his dogs 30-7 in a runaway in the second half. Ty has won a bit of a reprieve … so this is not setting up to be the Monster.com bowl we thought it would be. However, it still may end up being just that. The second Monster.com bowl this season will be at Arizona … stay tuned for that.
We don't have the will to evaluate this game because frankly it's impossible to tell which team Karl Dorrell will be able to get show up. The inconsistency of play is the hallmark of the Dorrell era. It's anyone's guess what will happen. Schemes, players, history, stats are almost meaningless … although we will give you a Stat of the Week at some point before the game. So we will pass on the analysis and close out with some news:
- By now you know that Olson is out and Cowan is in at QB. Cowan is viewed by some, especially Dorrell cultists, as the savior, and Ben Olson as the problem. The problem with that line of thinking is the record. Cowan has lost many games and its due to his inaccuracy, his lack of touch, and his hair trigger decision-making that often leaves him giving up on plays too early, hence the constant scrambling. SuC last year finally did come up with an answer to Cowan's scrambling ability in the second half of our game. They put an LB on him to shadow him. It shut Cowan down. Anyone think Willingham, who has Dorrell's number, might not have picked up on that? It will be interesting how Cowan responds.
- Osar Rasshan might get PT at WR. Dorrell has made a big stink of trying everything … all options on the table kind of thing. So, its likely that he will put Rasshan in for some plays. Will that really help the offense?? Sure, there are dropped passes, and passes into coverage that comes down to players. But Training Jay is calling a horrible game, and the scheme Dorrell comes up with for the games, if it is indeed Dorrell (seems like he's just pushing paper and standing there), are ineffective. Rasshan is not the answer, but it will be nice to see how he can do.
- Only game between 2 black coaches. Much is already being made about the fact that this will most likely be the only game this season that will feature 2 black head coaches on the sidelines. The LA Times has an entire article devoted to this issue. Be prepared to hear a lot about this.
- Washington hasn't beaten UCLA at RB in 12 years. The last time the Huskies beat our Bruins at the Rose Bowl was in 1995, a streak of 5 games making it the longest streak ever against any Pac-10 team. There is much being made about this in Seattle. They want to obviously end that drought and it will be on their minds.
5 Comments on Gameweek: Washington - Monster.com Bowl??
September 20, 2007
Steve @ 12:38 pm:
Does anyone have the answer as to why there are no real successful Black HC at the Div 1 level? Robinson at Grambling
is one I remember, but that was not Div 1. So many great players, and no HC.
Steve @ 2:10 pm:
The following is for any KD supporters left, other than his parents and wife.
* USC leads the conference in red zone offense, scoring on 13 of 14 drives that reached the 20 yard line.
* USC averages 3 punts per game, lowest in the league.
* USC is tied for 8th in turnover margin with Stanford. Only Oregon State is worse.
* In two home games, Oregon State has had a combined attendance of 78,894. Washington State has had 78,354. Stanford has had 75,004. In just one home game, USC had 90,917.
* The Pac-10 is 20-6 (.769) in non-conference games and 3-2 against top 25 teams.
* Four Pac-10 teams are averaging 200+ yards per game on the ground.
James Chen @ 4:58 pm:
Let last year’s Super Bowl teams deflate the myth that black coaches can’t win. Two black coaches made it, despite the odds.
College football shouldn’t be about color. It should be about respecting the game, sportmanship and yes…playing to win!
DumpDorrell @ 7:22 pm:
Steve … hiring in college is not done by one omnipotent person such as an owner in the NFL. Its done by a committee, or board, on a college campus and that usually means consensus. Obviously, there is one person that makes the ultimate decision, but real power is not vested in one person.
These decision makers have numerous issues that affect their judgment … taking chances does not necessarily suit their breed nor their agendas, personal and communal. Also, they have to answer to numerous and huge donors, constituents that affect their positions and daily lives.
The prospective candidate does not interview or normally meet with these influence makers. It takes old boy networks to have a shot with all these people, networks that black candidates don’t necessarily have. So their chances of getting hired become significantly reduced. In such an environment, it’s easy to see how they would not get a fair shake.
Donahue and his lackeys (Field) got Karl in the door, and Karl interviewed with the right person (Carnesale) at the right time (scandals). Dorrell was obviously not qualified for the position and would never have even been interviewed for any other major college job. It was the Donahue old boy network that helped him get the UCLA job. Once Guerrero gets rid of Dorrell, UCLA football will finally be rid of Donahue and his damning influence. And Dorrell, if he truly was serious about head coaching, should go to a smaller program to actually learn how to do it … and see if he can actually be successful. That is what nearly all of the last 12 ncaa champion coaches have done.
Steve @ 7:46 pm:
It still begs the question of why there are only a handful, and they stink.