Busy Saturday for UW Sports

Football
Washington's football coach Steve Sarkisian stirred up some controversy this week when he argued that USC's quarterback Matt Barkley would be a better pick than media favorite Andrew Luck in this year's NFL Draft. Now, we're not ready to jump on the Barkley-over-Luck bandwagon, but Washington definitely has their work cut out for them in this afternoon's showdown with USC.

In recent years, UW has had the Trojans number, winning the teams' past two matchups. But, a three peat is far from guaranteed for Washington. This season, the Huskies have lost to every ranked opponent that they have played, and USC's No. 18 ranking does not bode well. Furthermore, while UW's offense under the leadership of Keith Price has been on fire, regularly putting up 30 points or more, it has run out of steam at crucial moments against Stanford and Nebraska. Finally, while Matt Barkley might not be Number One Draft pick material, he does have a hell of an arm, and there is a distinct chance that he and his offensive corps will be able to outgun UW's defense today.

Ultimately, we expect today's game to be a high-scoring affair, but unless Washington's defense can make a few crucial stops, this will most likely end with a USC win. However, the setting is perfect for a Husky upset...it could happen.

Basketball
It's that time again, college basketball season is underway. The UW men's team kicks off their season with a game against Georgia State this evening. By all accounts, the Huskies, though a relatively young team, should pull off a relatively easy win. However, it has been anything but smooth sailing for other teams across the state in their season openers thus far.

The UW women's team fell to UC-Davis last night, and Gonzaga eked one out against Eastern Washington. Only Seattle Pacific put up a convincing win, topping Dixie State yesterday. Here's hoping the Husky men will have an easier time of it today.

We're predicting a UW win, but they should play some strong defense just to be sure.