Huskies Finally Get a Win

I know Stanford isn't a great team, but you can only play the team that's on your schedule each week and the Huskies needed this win bad. For a team that is rebuilding like UW it's most important to win the games that you are capable of winning and unlike last week they were able to do that tonight. Even better was that the win was a dominating performance by the Dawgs on both sides of the ball. The defense hadn't been able to stop anybody the last six weeks, so even though Stanford is not a good offensive team (to say the least), it was still great to see the defense play the way they did. If anything it should give them some confidence going into the final stretch of the season. Lost in the defensive woes during the losing streak had been the continued improvement of the UW offense and tonight was again a great performance on that side of the ball. The key of course is always Jake Locker and his continued development, but the man of the night was no doubt Louis Rankin. Rankin's 255 yards rushing were the fourth most in school history and tonight he provided the secondary rushing attack the Huskies have so desperately needed to ease the workload of Locker. Not bad for a guy who many Husky fans don't think should be an every down back. The turnovers continue to be a concern for Locker and the offense, but something you have to figure will improve with experience. The schedule gets much tougher from here on out, but the offense just keeps getting better and should be able to give the team opportunities to win. If the defense can build on tonight's performance, then the Dawgs may be able to make some noise down the stretch.

Weekend Picks

Huskies -3 over Stanford - I'm probably an idiot for thinking that the Huskies will win a game, let alone cover the spread on the road. But for some reason I think the Dawgs can get it done this weekend. Stanford's offense ranks near the bottom of the Pac-10 in both passing and rushing, so UW should be able to keep them at least under the 500+ yards per game they have been giving up. Plus, lost in the defensive woes has been the much improved offense of the Huskies, led by a very much improved Jake Locker. If he can continue to get better and not turn the ball over, then the Huskies should be able to move the ball and score some points.

Huskies can win if: The defense doesn't give up big plays and the offense limits the turnovers. UW 27, Stanford 20

Seahawks +1.5 over Cleveland - I never would have imagined the Seahawks getting points against the Browns. At the start of the season this looked like one of the easiest games on the schedule, but as it stands now the Browns are one of only three remaining teams on the Hawks' schedule with a winning record. The Browns resurgence has been led by a great offense thanks to the surprising play of this year's fantasy waiver wire wonder Derek Anderson. However, the Browns are still one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL and the Hawks should be ready to go thanks to a bye week and the return of receivers DJ Hackett and Deion Branch. There is no question the Seattle should be able to score some points, the game will probably come down to which Seahawks defense shows up for this game.

Seahawks can win if: The defense gets to the QB and forces a couple turnovers and the offense can find the balance it has been lacking. Seattle 34, Cleveland 28

NCAA Basketball Polls

The first NCAA basketball poll was released over the weekend and I feel compelled to ask, what's the point? Ranking teams before a game has even been played seems just silly. I know it's supposed to give meaning to those early season non-conference games, but in reality you never truly know what those mean until the end of the season and teams have gone through conference play. The Huskies were a prime example of this just last season. UW was ranked in the top 20 in pre-season polls and climbed to as high as number eight after defeating pre-season #5 LSU in December. At the time it looked as if the Huskies were poised for another strong season and tournament appearance. But come March the Huskies found themselves on the outside looking in after finishing below .500 in the Pac-10. Ditto for LSU who's fall from the polls left UW without a quality non-conference win come tournament selection time. Unlike college football, basketball crowns it's champion in the truest way in all of sports, with the 65 team tournament in March. There is no need for these polls that artificially rank teams and really have no meaning at season's end.