Musings On The Huskies And Holt
I’ve been out of town and out of touch the last week or so because of Christmas and a family vacation in Phoenix. We got here on Wednesday, and I’ve been playing golf and goofing off for the most part, aside from doing the Kevin Calabro Show from KTAR in Phoenix the past two days.
I’m taking my 7-year-old monsters to the Seahawks-Cardinals game today and might even go to the Fiesta Bowl between Oklahoma State and Stanford Monday night.
Anyway, enough of that, we’re a few days removed from the Alamo Bowl, otherwise known as one of the greatest games in Husky football history. I say this because no one will ever forget it. If you had the Huskies and 10, you can’t believe your team scored 56 points and you still lost your bet.
If you’re a Husky, and the year is 2040, you’ll look back and tell your grandkids about the night in San Antonio when your team gave up 777 yards and 67 points to Baylor.
One of your grandkids will look at you and say: “Come on, Gramps, 67 points to Baylor?”
Another grandkid won’t say anything because he’ll be thinking that Gramps has lost his marbles because there’s no way that a mid-major like Baylor could have scored 67 points on the Huskies.
If you’re a Coug, and the year is 2040, I’ll be dead, but hopefully you’ll still be alive and telling the grandkids about that wonderful night in the Alamo Dome on Dec. 29, 2011…
“Gather around children, and let your grandpa tell you a story about what happened to the Huskies 29 years ago.”
The grandkids, all wearing their throwback Jeff Tuel and Marquess Wilson jerseys and clutching their little Butches, will sit in front of you in a semi-circle. For a change, they will listen intently because like all good little Cougs, they have been trained to dislike everything about the Dawgs so they can’t wait to hear what you have to say.
“Once upon a time, there was this young man named Robert Griffin III, and man oh man, was he one heck of a football player. He was so good that he won the Heisman Trophy in 2011. And Griffin had this Ganaway feller as his running back, and all kinds of receivers to throw to. That year, they played the Huskies in the Alamo Bowl.”
“What happened, Grandpa? Tell us, tell us, tell us!” the grandkids said.
“Well,” Grandpa said, “the Huskies had a horrible defense that season. It was so bad that it was worse than the Husky defense during their 0-12 season in 2008.”
“The Huskies went 0-12 in 2008?” one of the grandkids asks. “Tell us about that season too, Grandpa!”
“OK, kids, I will, but let me finish this story about those Baylor Bears and what they did to the Huskies that night in San Antonio. They moved up and down the field all night long. Griffin and Ganaway blew through the Huskies like they weren’t even there. And there were other Bears that no one had ever heard of who became stars that night.
“But then, that was to be expected because everyone who played against that 2011 Husky defense became a star. In their first game that season, the Huskies nearly lost to Eastern Washington and a kid named Bo Levi Mitchell.”
One grandkid whispers to another: “Psst, I told you Grandpa was losing it. There’s no way the Huskies could nearly lose to Eastern Washington. They were a Division III team or something like that back then.”
“What a beautiful night it was,” Grandpa continued. “The Bears crossed the goal line with the greatest of ease, over and over again. In the end, Baylor took mercy on the hopeless Huskies by taking two knees at the end of the game.
“Ahhhh,” groaned one grandkid named Johnny. “Why didn’t they try to run up the score like Mike Leach did.”
“Mike Leach,” Grandpa said. “What a fine Cougar he was, Johnny. Led us to six Rose Bowls and two national championships. In the 2012 Apple Cup at Martin Stadium on the day after Thanksgiving, he led us to an 88-3 win over the Huskies.”
“Eighty-eight to 3!!!!????” exclaimed Johnny.
“That’s right, 88-3,” Grandpa said. “Steve Sarkisian was the Huskies’ coach back then, and that young whipper-snapper finally decided to fire his defensive coordinator, Nick Holt, after that game.
“Course it didn’t matter much, Mike Leach owned every defense anyway, and the 2012 Apple Cup was the first of 10 in a row that we won. We flat-out dominated the rivalry, got every in-state recruit, and it got so bad for the Huskies that many people thought they should be kicked out of the Pac-12 and sent to the Big Sky.”
“Those must have been fun times, Grandpa!” said Johnny.
“Yes they were, Johnny, yes they were. Go Cougs!”
“Go Cougs Grandpa!”
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times has some really interesting notes on the subject (like outrageous salaries and the cost of firing three defensive coaches). Check him out.
Love it Jim… Go Cougs!
Great!!!!! You can spin it better than anyone.
Written as only you could, Jim. Happy New Year. GO COUGS!
Fabulous! Absolutely Fabulous! Go Cougs!
Good story Jim. I just don’t think in 29 years we will be dead. We are much too young.
Thanks for your comments. Happy New Year. And Go Cougs.
Out of touch! goofing off! Sounds like a normal work day for you Jim. But then, you’re a Coug! I hope when you relate the story of the 2011 Alamo Bowl and Baylor, you also mention what the Cougs were doing at the time. Oh, not much to tell as all they did was watch TV. Yes, we got beat, and I almost broke the TV watching the game, but gosh, at least I had something to watch! Cougs, all they have are their fantasy’s and dreams to keep them going. So sad!
Dude…if you hate reading what the Go 2 Guy has to say, why do you visit his website!? You are a moron! GO COUGS!
I’d like to see how that story looks today.. probably singing a different tune-
Vols vs. Huskies
How Tennessee’s defense stacked up against Washington’s this past season.
Tenn. UW
271 Pts. allowed 467
22.6 Pts. per game 35.9
162.7 Rush yards 168.7
17 Rushing TDs 32
177.8 Passing yards 284.6
14 Passing TDs 22
340.5 Total yards 453.3
Tennessee lost two more games then the Huskies.
Actually in 2040 Dawg fans will be telling their kids about how the Cougs didn’t go bowling in 2011…again. They won’t be surprised.
I’m sure little Johnny wondered where grandads Cougs were the year of the Alamo while trying to wake him from a drugged induced slumber.
you left out a part. “Grandpa, what bowl did the Cougs play in the year Baylor beat Washington?”
Imagine what Baylor would have done to the team that finished last in the Pac12 that same year. Who was that again?
when wazzu starts producing players like hugh campbell, clancy williams, keith lincoln and dan dornick. I think yu can start making fun of the huskies. I dont think any of the present cougars will be remembered 29 yrs from now. yur tongue in cheek stuff just does not resonate as very cool rather ludicrouse in fact. we need to start producing before any of this anti husky stuff is worth reading.
Learn to spell, buddy!
I think you are getting a little to much sun down there.
Justin Wilcox and Peter Sirmon? This is the best the Snark could come up with? Uh, how did
Tennessee do this year? One big reason why Holt failed with the Huskies is that he and Snark
couldn’t get the same kind of athletes like USC did (Ray Maaluga, Clay Matthews, Chad Cushing).
Better question…how did their defense do? And considering their O wasn’t great and they didn’t have great athletes on D, they did quite well. And Wilcox figured out how to stop Oregon’s O!
Zach: When and where did Wilcox figure out how to stop Oregon’s O? When he was at Boise State? LSU didn’t stop Oregon’s offense. The only thing that stopped Oregon was turnovers.
According to Wilcox Tennessee lost 2 more games than the Huskies.