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It's almost upon us - the day marked on calendars from Boulder to Bellevue since mid-summer. Oddly, I'm not that excited about Saturday's matchup. I think the hype built around this game is more on the Boulder side than Seattle. Anyway, here's what I think.

For some reason Rick Neuheisel is one of the most hated coaches in college football. While he was at CU, I trash talked him all the time. Why? He's honest, hard-working, intelligent and competitive. I think maybe it's because he hasn't "earned it yet." After all, he didn't really "earn" the head coaching job at CU. Others were more qualified. He didn't prove anything with his record there, yet he "earned" a $1,000,000 salary at UW and left the Buffs in the dust.

Many people in Colorado think he needs to be taught a lesson. Many think he's a charlatan, and this is the weekend he'll be exposed. Honestly, the hype in Seattle isn't that high. Mostly it's because we're 0-2, and most of us have accepted the fact that we're a mediocre team that needs a lot of work. It'll take some time to see if Neuheisel really knows what he's doing. We rode the crest of the wave for a while, and you have to take the bad with the good. None of the Husky boosters (that I know of) have a great animosity for CU. Still, it sure would be nice to beat the Buffs into the ground. We could really use a "W" before going into conference play.

That being said, I don't know a whole lot about the Buffaloes. I do know they have a good secondary, and a good QB, who may or may not be injured. There seems to be a smokescreen over this issue.

What I can do is make some conjecture from their previous games.

1: 41-14 loss to CSU. Massive turnovers hurt the Buffs. I can relate to that. New coaches, new schemes, missed assignments - I can relate to that too. But 41 is a lot of points to give up to anybody. Mostly I write this game off as first-game jitters.

2: 63-35 win over SJSU. That's a lot of points. Looks like the offense caught on. But giving up 35 to San Jose State? That's not acceptable. They have up over 500 yards, even between passing and running.

3: 51-17 win over Kansas. More points scored, less allowed. Looks like they played a solid game. Kansas rushed for about 1 yard per carry. CU passed for a little over 300 yards, ran for 136.

Summary: Colorado has a very powerful offense and a suspect but capable defense. They are turnover prone, and seem to have figured out how to top the run, maybe not the pass.

Washington summary: Coaches seem to have decided we're a passing team, even if the run is working. Tui had an awful game, forcing throws and causing turnovers. Clemen showed signs of being a great runner. (Pat-myself-on-the-back-mode - I wanted him to start last year.). Gerald Harris showed some moves last week, picking up extra yards. I think they call it YAC or something weird like that. Other receivers had a bad game, but are nonetheless very capable of catching balls. Coaches refuse to throw to tight ends, continuing the trend from seasons past.

The defense stepped up last week against the option, all but shutting down the Air Force running game. Lester Towns is a liability, he can barely move sideways. I love the guys, but he shouldn't be starting any more. Akbar shows promise. Corners will have to work this game, having last week off with only ~10 attempted passes from the Falcons. I am once again hopeful our defensive line will put pressure on the QB, but without blitzing it hasn't happen yet this year.

Other factors:
- Neuheisel knows the buffs. He recruited all of them, he should know the weaknesses. +4 Washington. - Moschetti may be injured. If he's out, subtract 14 points from possible CU score. He's good, our corners are not. Bad for Dawgs. Very Bad. - Revenge factor. The Buffs have more incentive to win this game. +7 Buffs.

Overall: Buffaloes have better athletes. They're faster and bigger, and they have more experienced players. Huskies are still figuring it out, but if San Jose can score 35, so can the Huskies.

Predicted score:
CU 41, UW 35. If Moschetti does not play, UW wins 35-27.

So far my predictions have been almost exactly backwards, so don't take my scores to Vegas.

Things I was pleased with:

1. Washington's offensive line made holes. Lots of holes. Willie Hurst had about 85 yards, and some very good carries. Unforunately Braxton Clemen is down after his first start in college football. Bad news for the Dawgs.

2. UW's defense held very well against the run. Since CU's passing was all short-routes, it allowed the Dawgs to play close to the line. It helped a lot. CU adjusted at the end of the game, but not enough to pull out a W.

3. We stuck with a running game WHILE it was still working. It seemed the coaches were intent on moving to a passing game when we had a 7 point lead, and it quickly led to an interception and touchdown. Thereafter we stuck to the ground, and all turned out well.

Things I am not too happy about:

1. Special teams did poorly. Punting was poor, and the tackling on the runback TD was awful.

2. Don't kick off to the fast guys any more. Please.

3. Turnovers. Lots of turnovers. It's been the downfall of the Dawgs so far.

Next week... the Ucks of Oregon.