TERRY MOSHER
TOP OF THE TOWN‑ Today we all find out just how good (or bad) the Washington Huskies are in football and basketball. It’s a night of reckoning as the Huskies take on 16th-ranked Baylor at 6:30 p.m. in Anchorage Alaska in the 9th Armed Forces Classic at Alaska Airlines Center on the University of Alaska Anchorage Campus. In football, the 5-4 Huskies venture to Corvallis to battle the 4-4 Oregon State Beavers in a Pac-12 Conference game. Normally we would consider the football match up with the Beavers as a road kill situation. The Beavers have been bottom feeders in the conference for quite a while, but under the second-year coach of Jonathan Smith, a former assistant under Husky coach Chris Petersen at Boise State and at Washington, the Beavers are trending upward. They are an explosive offensive team that still has not mastered the art of defense. But because the 2019 Huskies have not mastered the art of defense either, this could be a real struggle for the Huskies, and likely a high-scoring event. It is not going to be an easy task for Washington, that’s for sure. And if the underdog Beavers pull out the upset, it would not be a big surprise. But if Washington escapes with a stunning victory like what Utah did (52-7) against the Beavers, now that would be a surprise. … As for the basketball game, it comes down to an experienced Baylor squad led by 6-3 sophomore guard Jared Butler, who scored 30 points in the Bears opening walkover victory over Central Arkansas 105-61, 6-10 junior Tristan Clark and 6-3 junior transfer MaCio Teague who gunned in 18 against Central Arkansas. So it pits an experienced Baylor squad that some predict will be in the Final Four against a young inexperience, but talented Husky team that some expect to be the surprise of the Pac-10. These young Huskies are being led by two freshmen, 6-9 Jaden McDaniels and 6-9 Isaiah Stewart, that are expected to be one-and-done players. The Huskies are overwhelming tall and long all the way down the roster. The key, though, is whether they can bring the ball up the court under pressure. That solution depends on 6-foot sophomore transfer (from Kentucky) Quade Green and his ability to handle the ball. Both the basketball game and football game are on television. Baylor-UW jump it up on ESPN and the football Huskies go at 7:30 p. m. on FS1 TV. Before midnight we will find out whether these football and basketball playing Huskies turn into pumpkins or are fitted with silver slippers and get set for the big dance. That’s it for today.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.