A few things were revealed in last nights Holiday Bowl: 1. Nothing is certain in college football: This game looked to be as one sided as games can be. Nebraska was a 10 win team and on Sept 18th, had already proven the Huskies were not even in the same league. In that game, Neb won 21-56 and outgained UW 533-246 yards. It was ugly. Every analyst I heard from was predicting one of the most one-sided bowls. Instead, UW came out and dominated on both sides of the ball, winning 19-7, and outgaining Neb 189-340. In their first meeting, Neb had 383 rushing yards. Last night? 91. 2. The Pac is not the "weak" conference many claim: Again, this was a 10 win Neb team vs a 7-6/5-4 conference team. Interestingly, Neb lost to Texas, who was dominated, 12-34 by a UCLA team that went 2-7 in conference play. Despite a disappointing AZ loss to OKSt, AZ killed themselves with turnovers, despite outgaining OKSt in yards. How does this relate to Oregon? UW's win proves, yet again, what happens when a team goes into a game with the right attitude, good gameplan and proper execution. Here's why I am optimistic and even confident regarding Jan 10th: We have the best coach head coach in college football. We have a DC who makes extraordinary adjustments at half. We have what I believe is the best OL in the nation. We have a confident, athletic and able QB. We have one of the best RB's in the nation. We have a defense loaded and deep, that came up big all season. They are not intimidated by anyone, I believe NA will be dialing up a few surprises for an unsuspecting opposing QB who often holds the ball way too long and over/under throws in pressure. Our boys not only believe in themselves, they believe in the program and the system that got them here. I was not confident going into The Rose Bowl last year because I had doubts in Masoli to deliver in the big dance. This team is different - much like the difference between UW in week 3 compared to the UW we saw delivery last night. Go Ducks! BRING IT!
I've always thought Nebraska was overrated, dating back to when they went to the NC instead of us and got crushed by the Hurricanes.
It's hard to ignore such a turnaround in head to head play in the same season. Football is a wacky and unpredictable sports. I like our chances.
Though I'm not a fan of the Huskies, I have to give credit where credit is due: that was a solid bowl win for them, as well as the whole Pac-10. Good Job Washington. Another thing to consider: the "OmgSoAmazingAndFastAndSuperiorToAllOthers" SEC conference = 0-3 so far in bowl games. We'll see if they can turn things around today.
The Big Ten is 0-4 today alone, and Wisconsin is losing. They're not looking so good. And I'd rather beat a good Washington team than a bad Washington team.
