Weekend Thoughts

• It's good that the Huskies wanted to challenge themselves early in the season with these non-conference games, but at the same time losing twice in New York now makes the remaining road games against Oklahoma State and LSU almost must win. With the Pac-10 being as tough as it is right now, 4+ non-conference losses will not help in March, regardless of who they are against. The Huskies should continue to get better with Appleby coming back in December and the continued development of the young players who are once again being asked to play key roles. The impact of playing such tough competition early on won't really be known until later in the season, but in the future it seems like something to do with a more experienced team.

• Tyrone Willingham has got to be officially on the clock at this point. Personally, I think you have to give him this next season, but after that nothing should be guaranteed. A lot of the players that played key roles this season still aren't players Willingham recruited, so give him another full class, see how the young players turn out next season, but if they aren't pushing for a bowl berth next season then it's time to think about a change.
  

• Maybe the Seahawks didn't play great Sunday, but the bottom line is they got a win on the road against a division opponent. Style points simply don't matter in the NFL. After all that talk in the pre-season about the Seahawks being ready to give up their division crown, the Hawks once again find themselves in control of the division and should find themselves with a home playoff game for the fourth straight season.