Washington Huskies Football: A Bruin Response and a Husky Apology

Sometimes when I am churning out the content for Pac Ten Alley, I miss the true inflection, and in this case, the true source of what is being said and who is saying it.

So it makes sense to post the response from the great gang at the UCLA blog.  The UCLA blog, as you all know, is one of the very best in the country, and they have been very supportive of my blog.

Obviously I was clipping and posting before work and didn't take the time I needed to read through everything.  In my defense, it takes a lot of work to get this stuff posted every day, and sometimes I make mistakes.  It doesn't happen every day, but when I do make one it gets pointed out pretty quickly.

So here goes...and I apologize to our good friends at the UCLA blog who do a fantastic job, and who have a very keen and balanced eye when it comes to college athletics.

Hey John,

You are doing a great job as always. However, we think you missed our takes when you wrote this:

The Bruin Blog has this tidbit about the Washington game.  What Nestor and the gang are forgetting is that UCLA isn't going to be very good this year.  They have no offensive line, and by the time they play UW they probably won't have a QB.  No way does UW lose to UCLA this year unless Willingham is totally incompetent.  I can understand the half-empty glass scenario, an 0-3 start could mean big trouble.  By the way Nestor, Jake is Tebow good!

Unless Jake Locker really is the Tim Tebow of the West, this game should be one of the most manageable for UCLA in 2008.  Despite playing all three out-of-conference games at home, Washington will be punished by a schedule featuring Oklahoma, BYU, and Notre Dame.  Immediately prior to the UCLA game, the Huskies are facing potential blowout losses to USC and Arizona State.  Morale could reach epic depths.

Please note that was written by Adam Rose, a USC alum who writes for the LAT's "What's Bruin" blog (very screwed up and just one reason why we call LA Times the Trojan Times).  We totally disagreed with that take and wrote this in response:

(http://www.bruinsnation.com/2008/7/15/571476/roundup-from-bn-walk-news):

In his analysis Adam misses the central point that is going to be the backdrop in this game, which is emotion.  I guess Adam missed the 13-9 (or 9-13 from his POV) score from two years ago, when emotion (along with good defensive schemes, combined with some opportune/courageous QBing from Cowan) enabled UCLA to preserve its unmatched eight-game winning streak.

Adam writes up the Huskies' difficult preseason schedule, completely ignoring UCLA's preseason schedule, which is just as tough as UDub's, featuring Tennessee, Fresno State, and BYU on the road (while UDub is taking on the Cougars at home).

Adam also conveniently forgets to mention how UCLA has had a difficult time playing up in Seattle, losing two out of its last four games up there (would have been three straight losses if not for MJD's breakout game in his sophomore season).

So, we hope Adam will stick to sharing links and just reporting on news on "What's Bruin" instead of sharing his analysis/commentary which seems to be tinted from a Trojan point of view (not sure what else to call it since he is a Trojan).

Anyway, we will see how it turns out.  If Neuheisel finds a way to pull out a victory in that game, it will be a huge boost for UCLA.  However, it's a little ridiculous to call the game the "most manageable" for UCLA, completely discounting the emotional storyline that has the Huskies circling this date as their game of the year.

Moreover, we also wrote this last weekend:

(http://www.bruinsnation.com/2008/7/12/569853/drooling-over-a-hate-a-pal):

Well…we will see how it goes…when we get to that game week.  I am sure the reporters based in Seattle (and probably in LA) already have their templates written up for their stories, reiterating those 50 alleged violations in Washington, the interviews with Notre Dame and the 49ers, replete with one potshot after another about the March Madness pool.

Sure, there will be a few here and there giving Neuheisel's side of the story, but the majority of the MSM (and the New Media) will go with the easy storyline, especially if the Bruins come into that game with a very average W-L record (as we along with many others are expecting).  Simply put, people will look to pounce on Neuheisel and the Bruins, and that's fine.

So while we are not conceding defeat, we agree with you—Washington will be the favorite to win this game.

We hope you can note our real impressions because currently the way it appears it totally misrepresents what Nestor et al wrote. - BN Eds