Last night, Caleb Williams' reaction to their loss reminded me of Gardner Minshew

Gardner Minshew, now in the NFL, was disconsolate the night his Cougs lost to the Huskies in the Apple Cup in Pullman: (Snagged this screen capture) which I've never forgotten:

Gardner Minshew moments after the loss of the 2018 Apple Cup

Minshew is a warrior. Like Williams, he gave it everything he had.

Minshew knew he was only going to play for one year but he didn't care. He wanted it very badly.

Yesterday, Caleb Williams gave it everything HE had. And they'd likely have defeated most any other team.

I'd like that game, even as a USC loss, to be known for that effort, instead of a few minutes of post-game humanity he displayed in his mom's arms when it was over.

Caleb Williams, projected NFL QB Wunderkind

There's a lot more to the game then outcomes. USC did not lose because of him. But the loss hurt nonetheless.

This Husky Alum says Williams has nothing to be ashamed of.

Being human rarely does.

Major in juvenile delinqincy at the University of Oregon

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I've had a thing or two to say about Duckville, which resembles nothing so much as the football team at the juvenile camp immortalized in "Gridiron Gang."

Well, there are a few differences.

Like the fact that the coaching staff in the movie was more motivated by the positive effects of individual hard work, football teamwork and sacrifice for the greater good than the "winning at any price" crock that is Oregon football.

How many arrests this year? How many crimes? These, of course, are just the issues we know about. There's no telling how much has been swept under the rug... or where the pay offs have gone.

Well, it's frequently said that the fish rots from the head down.

Mike Belloti is an Oregon sports icon. I believe he's failed the school and failed his athletes by not stepping in as athletic director and taking the approrpiate steps to deal with the criminal element of the football team.

And then, to accept a $2.3 million dollar goodbye gift... almost like something from the hearts and flowers fund, is unimaginable in scope and justification.

There is no excuse for paying Bellloti this money. None. And that, as the administration of the school tells us, the money is private-sourced instead of from the taxpayers neither excuses the expenditure nor provides any justification.

But then, the criminal acts of players from Blount on down to Masoli has proven it to be next to impossible to be held properly accountable for their acts in the form of getting kicked off the team and out of school.

Why would anyone expect accountability for this buffoonery? Belotti's ability as a coach cannot be denied. As a judge of character... well, my spaniel does a much better job.

The stench of the Ducks football team will waft over the Pac 10 for years to come.
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Forget the NFL. You want an exciting football play? Check THIS out.

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Most readers are aware that I've stopped watching the NFL. Until they change their bigoted ways, they can kiss me and my money good bye.

So, I'm focusing on college ball. That said, here's a play from last year from a different angle.

These guys are Division 3, (Millsaps College on the defense, and the Trinity Tigers on offense... Both the college football equivalents of middle schools.) They play the game because they love the game. They know they're not going to get the big contracts, or see themselves on network TV. For them, it's the game, perhaps in its purest form.

And here is a play from one of those games. So, take 2 minutes out and revel in football and freaking out announcers. It'll do you good.

EMBED-Insane Football Play Wins Game - Watch more free videos

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So, the Ducks beat the Beavs, and that's just a damned shame.

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I detest both Oregon State and Oregon. But the Oregon Ducks are the football team with a criminal who should be in prison, instead of in school, so he can stay in a program reminiscent of the Jailblazer's halcyon days of basketball not so many years back.

Yes, Oregon proved they were the better athletic team. But in allowing this thug to remain on the team (which, of course, guaranteed his return to the playing field, just like I indicated it would the day he was "kicked off" the team.) they also proved something else. Something much worse... something much darker and underhanded.

I played college ball at a local Division 1A school. My involvement never got beyond "tackling dummy" stage, and orders to Saudi Arabia killed my budding walk on career before it ever started.

I have a clue about both the physical caliber of the athletes (One guy, who killed me on the field in high school, killed me on the field in college, and then went on to kill people on the field for the Oakland Raiders for several years... "kill," of course, being a rhetorical term) and the mental acuity it takes to play. Cursed with fullback's size but offensive tackle's speed, it just wasn't in the cards for me.

So, when I look at a thug taking up a scholarship that a much more deserving student could both use and appreciate, given the tens of thousands of dollars a grateful state pays for his "education," it infuriates me that the critical elements of character and integrity have no place while wearing a Duck's uniform.

Their win represents the most Pyrrhic of victories, where, ultimately, people around the world who follow football will forget the Ducks going to the Rose Ball LONG before they forget the thuggish behavior, and subsequent wrist slap of one of it's players.

There are all kinds of respect. And there are all kinds of reputations. The sham/scam of non-punishment this guy received when anyone else reading this would have went to prison for assault had they engaged in this kind of behavior is the thing that will become a legend.

And the scumbag Duck organization will deserve it.

Shame on them. And shame on the entire state of Oregon who has joined with them in looking the other way while this criminal continues to play a game that he didn't care enough about to stop himself from becoming a national embarrassment to the program and the entire state around this planet.

With any luck at all, Ohio State will drop these clowns by 38 to nothing.

Karma being what it is, that's what they deserve.
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Hope in Huskyville? First Sarkisian, now Holt?

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Face it, getting Sarkisian from a fabulous program like USC was amazing enough. Most of us who follow football have seen the machine that is the Trojan offense. On the surface, at least, it seems that Jake Locker and Steve Sarkisian are a match made in heaven.

But to get the genius behind the Trojan's NFL caliber defense as well?

Why, it's enough to get this Husky's heart ('81) beating Purple and Gold once again.

Take this year's defense: just Number One in the country.

Second in yards per game, first in points per game.

Put this together... and maybe.... just maybe... we can see the magic again.


UW trying to lure Holt from USC
Sarkisian reportedly has asked him to join staff

Last updated January 4, 2009 8:33 p.m. PT
USC defensive coordinator Nick Holt is raising eyebrows.

Just a day after telling the Los Angeles Daily News that "nothing had changed" regarding his job status, Holt was scheduled to check into a University District hotel Sunday night, apparently in Seattle to talk about a position on Steve Sarkisian's Washington coaching staff.

Holt did not return messages left to his hotel room late Sunday, however, and a hotel employee later said his plans had changed and Holt had rescheduled his arrival for Monday.

On Saturday night, Holt spoke to the Daily News about his rumored link to the UW's defensive coordinator vacancy. But, he said, "That was like three weeks ago, I don't know why it's still coming up."

Sarkisian reportedly asked Holt to join his staff shortly after Washington hired Sarkisian to replace Tyrone Willingham on Dec. 5. Holt declined.

Could his pending visit mean a change of heart?

More:
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