Washington Huskies 2018: The Season That Wasn't

Washington Huskies Football 2018: The Season That Wasn't

UW had extremely high expectations for 2018, but questions of 'what went wrong' loom over their heads

Alex Larson
Alex Larson Nov 8, 2018
162
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Ugh!

I've been a Seattle sports fan from the minute I was born, so I know what disappointment feels like. The Seattle Mariners haven't been to the playoffs since 2001, I was probably still eating boogers at the time. Before the Pete Carroll era, the Seahawks were a team that other teams would scoff at. The Sonics left in 2008. Finally, although they've been dominant over the last many years, the Huskies finished 0-12 in 2008, something Wazzu (surprisingly) has yet to do.

As for those UW Huskies, simply put: They blew it! Before the season started, talking heads ranging from Fox Sports to the mothership at ESPN predicted the Huskies to be one of the top four teams at the end of the season to reach the College Football Playoff. If you also recall, a certain Odyssey content creator picked the Huskies to not only lose one game, but he too predicted the Dawgs to return to the CFP. Yep...I was wrong.

The Huskies had all the potential in the world to be one of the absolute best teams this season. Seniors like QB Jake Browning, RB Myles Gaskin, DT Greg Gaines, LB Ben Burr-Kirven, CB Jordan Miller and DB JoJo McIntosh all returned for their final year of eligibility to prove why they're the (no pun intended) top dogs of the Pac-12, but they swallowed the olive. Everybody knew that even if UW lost to Auburn at the start of the year they would still be contenders for the CFP. When they did in fact lose that game, disappointment set in my heart, but hope wasn't lost. Hope was officially lost after the Oregon loss, and the cherry on top of the recent loss to the CAL Golden Bears. Last year, UW lost to ASU which officially killed their season, and this loss felt exactly like that one.

I'm not a beat writer for UW, nor do I have any close connection to the football team itself. I'm just a former UW student who got to sit in the Dawg Pack for a couple of years and am now a UW alumnus with season tickets to boot. This situation is worsened because I don't get paid to follow the team, my girlfriend bought me season tickets to support my Dawgs and I was hoping to see a dream season like I got to witness in 2016. When you love your team as much as I do, broken dreams and faulted expectations keep me up at night, and if you're a reader of my articles then you know I am not going to accept any, "It's just a game" comments.

So what exactly went wrong this season? I love Jake Browning, but we haven't seen the same production from him since he lost John Ross to the NFL after the 2016 season. Coach Petersen was so fed up with Browning that he benched him and put in backup QB Jake Haener later in the second half, only to have Haener throw a crucial pick-six that gave CAL all the momentum. Injuries could play a part in this for sure as star LT Trey Adams was lost for the season, as was stud TE Hunter Bryant, and Myles Gaskin missed the last two games with an apparent shoulder injury. Chico McClatcher recently left the team for "personal reasons" and he never got a chance to flash his talents this season, which is really frustrating because McClatcher is a fast stud who is a massive weapon when used right. Did the Huskies come into the season fat and sassy? We've seen it from teams before, they think they're bigger than their britches and talk a lot of smack, and teams like the 2018 Washington Huskies get slapped in the face by teams like Oregon and CAL, which result in a letdown of a season.

So what next?

The CFP conversation is done and over with, especially now that UW find themselves out of the top 25, but all is not completely lost. It sounds crazy but the Huskies can still win the Pac-12 Championship, but they must win their remaining three games. Oregon got destroyed against Arizona, Stanford lost to Wazzu, which puts UW in a good position if they can take care of business. If UW beats both Stanford and WSU, they'll own the tiebreakers against them and they'll surprisingly be in the Pac-12 Championship game. Take care of business the rest of the way UW! Although the national media will downplay your year, winning the Pac-12 will be a huge victory for a year that was lost after the Oregon disaster.


Alex Larson
Alex Larson Nov 8, 2018
At University of Washington

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When You Give A Girl A Dad

You give her everything
Tristen Duhon
Tristen Duhon Apr 10, 2017
45441
views

They say that any male can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad. That dads are just the people that created the child, so to speak, but rather, dads raise their children to be the best they can be. Further, when you give a little girl a dad, you give her much more than a father; you give her the world in one man.

When you give a girl a dad, you give her a rock.

Life is tough, and life is constantly changing directions and route. In a world that's never not moving, a girl needs something stable. She needs something that won't let her be alone; someone that's going to be there when life is going great, and someone who is going to be there for her when life is everything but ideal. Dads don't give up on this daughters, they never will.

When you give a girl a dad, you give her a role model.

If we never had someone to look up to, we would never have someone to strive to be. When you give a little girl someone to look up to, you give her someone to be. We copy their mannerisms, we copy their habits, and we copy their work ethic. Little girls need someone to show them the world, so that they can create their own.

When you give a girl a dad, you give her the first boy she will ever love.

And I'm not really sure someone will ever be better than him either. He's the first guy to take your heart, and every person you love after him is just a comparison to his endless, unmatchable love. He shows you your worth, and he shows you what your should be treated like: a princess.

When you give a girl a dad, you give her someone to make proud.

After every softball game, soccer tournament, cheerleading competition, etc., you can find every little girl looking up to their dads for their approval. Later in life, they look to their dad with their grades, internships, and little accomplishments. Dads are the reason we try so hard to be the best we can be. Dads raised us to be the very best at whatever we chose to do, and they were there to support you through everything. They are the hardest critics, but they are always your biggest fans.

When you give a girl a dad, you give her a credit card.

It's completely true. Dads are the reason we have the things we have, thank the Lord. He's the best to shop with too, since he usually remains outside the store the entire time till he is summoned in to forge the bill. All seriousness, they always give their little girls more than they give themselves, and that's something we love so much about you.

When you give a girl a dad, you give her a shoulder to cry on.

When you fell down and cut yourself, your mom looked at you and told you to suck it up. But your dad, on the other hand, got down on the ground with you, and he let you cry. Then later on, when you made a mistake, or broke up with a boy, or just got sad, he was there to dry your tears and tell you everything was going to be okay, especially when you thought the world was crashing down. He will always be there to tell you everything is going to be okay, even when they don't know if everything is going to be okay. That's his job.

When you give a girl a dad, you give her a lifelong best friend.

My dad was my first best friend, and he will be my last. He's stood by me when times got tough, he carried me when I just couldn't do it anymore, and he yelled at me when I deserved it; but the one thing he has never done was give up on me. He will always be the first person I tell good news to, and the last person I ever want to disappoint. He's everything I could ever want in a best friend and more.

Dads are something out of a fairytale. They are your prince charming, your knight in shinny amour, and your fairy godfather. Dads are the reasons we are the people we are today; something that a million "thank you"' will never be enough for.

Cover Image Credit: tristen duhon
Tristen Duhon
Tristen Duhon Apr 10, 2017
At University of Mississippi

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The Heart Of A Champion: Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods inspires millions with fifth Masters title and the comeback of a lifetime.

Derek Land
Derek Land Apr 21, 2019
51
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Tiger Woods. What do you think of when you hear that name?

For me, it is golf, champion, goat. Tiger Woods rose to success and won his first masters in 1997. The hunt was on, and the mission, be the best golfer the of all time. But Tiger's story started long before the 1997 masters it began as a toddler learning the basics of golf from his father at the ripe young age of 3 years old.

At that age, Tiger had one dream. Become a better golfer than Jack Nicklaus. With this win in 1997 Tiger began his quest to be the greatest of all time. He picked up back to back masters wins in 2001 and 2002 and a fourth in 2005 tying that of famed golfer Arnold Palmer. Along the way, he picked up 14 major championships as captivated audiences everywhere. Tiger put golf on the map in the 2000s and brought new energy and a new attitude towards the game.

Suddenly at the pinnacle of Tiger's success and as many thought, he would soon surpass Jack Nicklaus tragedy struck. On Thanksgiving of 2009, Tiger was in a car accident that was caused in part by his wife discovering that he had been cheating on her. This was only the beginning for Tiger's downward spiral. As more and more mistresses came out claiming to have slept with the golfer and being caught driving under the influence, his reputation and image continued to be tarnished.

When Tiger finally returned to golfing he just was not the same.

He lacked passion, excitement enthusiasm. He was just plain bad. He missed putts, drove balls into the woods and was facing competition tougher than ever. He was among a host of new faces in the PGA. Professionals that had grown up inspired by Tiger and not afraid to challenge him. Tiger would go on an eleven-year drought without winning a single major competition and had many believing Tiger would never return to the dominance he once held. With numerous nagging injuries, it seemed that all hope for Tiger's return and his lifelong goal of beating Jack Nicklaus and becoming the best golfer in history seemed utterly unattainable.

However, after five years winless in PGA tours, in September of 2018, Tiger wings a tour and had many speculators wondering if Tiger was on his return. Tiger went into Augusta this past weekend at 12th in the world and from the beginning of the tour on Thursday all eyes were on Tiger. He seemed laser focused and played with a determination we had not seen from Tiger in over a decade.

As the final round on Sunday approached Tiger had placed himself in the running tied for second place. Sunday it was Tiger's day. He came dressed in the classic red shirt that he wears on every Sunday at the Masters and there was a feeling that it was Tiger's show. Sunday he came in poised and determined to win and played with a passion that only Tiger has. He was gaining roars from the crowd with each stroke. Finally, after 11 years Tiger had done it. He won his fifth masters only one behind Jack Nicklaus and first major in 11 years.

On Sunday Tiger taught us to never give up on a dream and that through adversity and hard times you that through hard work and dedication you can still be the best.

Battling through the injuries, the scrutiny and the tarnished reputation Tiger was able to once again inspire millions and show that we are all humans we all make mistakes and he taught us to apologize for our mistakes, learn from them, make you better and that everyone deserves a second chance because nobody is perfect but through hard work, determination, the drive to never give up and having passion for what you do and understanding that you do make mistakes and how you learn from them showed millions of fans young and old that you can do anything you set your mind to.

Derek Land
Derek Land Apr 21, 2019
At Auburn University

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