Seems like with all the close games against ASU over the years we should have developed a pretty good rivalry between the two schools. For one reason or another it hasn't really developed in Seattle, despite this usually being one of the most exciting games of the year. Guess Arizona's too far away or something.

That being said, I see no reason to believe the trend won't continue on Saturday in Seattle. Here's a recap of the strange games between these two teams:

1998: UW's last-play 67 yard game-winner from Brock Huard was a thriller, shooting UW into the AP top-10 and deflating highly-ranked ASU. It later turned out both high rankings were undeserved, but it was fun at the time.

1997: A low scoring affair at Husky Stadium, the Huskies prevailing. We were still hurting from the Nebraska beating the week before.

1996: Brock's first game put the spotlight on young Huard, who brought the Huskies back from a 21 points deficit, only to lose on the final play to the Sun Devils - I believe it was a field goal.

Meanwhile, ASU is seemingly in a tailspin and all fingers are pointed at Bruce Snyder. I checked their Rivals board, and around 60% of their fans want him fired. That surprised me, but then I remember how Lambright's reception in Seattle was after starting in the top-25 and ending up 6-5.

After Jake left the Sun Devils seem to have really fallen off, and this year they don't have much to show for their above-average talent. After beating up on Texas Tech (I watched this game, they won handily), what happened?

It's easy to see why the fans are unhappy. Many of these failures can be blamed on bad coaching. Losing to a lame NMS team and committing massive turnovers at Notre Dame point to discipline and attitude problems.

ASU also has some big injuries, most importantly Heisman candidate JR Redmond. With him out the Devils will need to work with Flowers, also a very capable RB. Kealy is sore, so is Beck, one of the best LB's in the Pac-10. They mix the pass and rush pretty evenly, but are not outstanding at either. Defense tends to allow quite a few yards as well.

Meanwhile, the Huskies are finding an identity, especially on offense. Tuiososopo is as talented as everybody hoped. So far nobody has been able to stop the rushing game of the Huskies. With the running game working, the passing game opens up (sports cliche #13), and the numbers show it. Additionally, the playcalling has been superb. The Huskies are using some unexpected plays, the TE's, fullback and reverses to utterly confuse the defense. We have no worries on offense, unless Marques gets hurt - then we're doomed. (I am knocking on wood.)

The story of the Pac-10 is as true with the Huskies as with anybody. We have no defense. There's no excuse for giving up around 450 yards per game. They are improving, but are still playing "C" ball, compared to the "A" ball the Big-10 plays every week.

Clearly this game favors the Huskies. They are very hard to beat at home, and are on the upswing. Emotion and momentum has a lot to do with college football. Unless A) The Sun Devils can play through their injuries, and B) They can step up and put some effort into it, ASU is looking at another loss. This season just beating Arizona will probably not save Snyder's job. I hope he hangs in there, I think he's a good coach. I will long remember the Nebraska shellacking as one of my favorite Pac-10 victories.

ASU gives up in the neighborhood of 420 yards per game, allowing average scores of 25.5 against decent teams, and around 40 when they don't play well. With this in mind and the Huskies scoring an average of 35 in their last 3 games, I would expect the Dawgs to put up around 35 points.

ASU should be able to score 28 on the Huskies. That's within their average, even against suspect defenses like UCLA, and somewhat respected ones like Cal. With the QB and starting RB injured I have a hard time believing they'll score more than that, especially with the Husky defense improving as the year goes on.

Greg's call, UW 35, ASU 28. An important key for the Huskies - don't get all cocky. You'd still be 5th place in the Big-10.

- COMMENTS -

I got half of the equation correct: ASU 28. The other half, UW 7, was a complete surprise. The offense really fell apart this game. Here's my take:

1) Turnovers. Seven turnovers? C'mon guys.

2) Offensive playcalling. The Huskies kept trying to go outside, either with the run or pass. The Dawgs never threw once to the TE. Basically he was busy making up for miserable blocking on the inside, against the blitzing Sun Devil defense. To their credit, the Devil defense played a great game.

3) Marques needs to work on getting rid of the ball. Most of our turnovers would have been prevented had he just dumped the ball away after 3+ seconds. Holding on for anything longeris suicidal when the defense is that much faster than your guys.

4) Basic observation: The Huskies have been playing above themselves with great playcalling and a lot of initiative. It was only a matter of time before the odds caught up with them. We are still rebuilidng, after all. Add to the injury list: Mac Tuiaia, Braxton Clemen, Willie Hurst. Ouch.