UW gets the Sun Bowl

[DavidGee24]

If Louisville plays all their guys the Dawgs will probably get routed off the field again. Their only bad loss was to Stanford.

Their starting QB opted out and his two backups have transferred. They have one QB left!

Who is Harrison Bailey?

Unlike Washington, Louisville’s seen a couple of its most important players declare for the NFL draft and opt out of the Sun Bowl — including starting quarterback Tyler Shough.

The seventh-year quarterback might be a familiar name to UW fans. Shough spent the first three seasons of his career at Oregon before transferring to Texas Tech before the 2021 campaign. He spent three more seasons with the Red Raiders, but received a medical redshirt for his 2021 season after a broken collarbone ended his season early.

Shough transferred to Louisville for his final season of eligibility, throwing for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2024. He completed 63% of his passes, threw six interceptions and was an All-ACC honorable mention. Then, on Dec. 11, Shough announced he will enter the draft and won’t play in the Sun Bowl

His decision to sit out puts the Cardinals and coach Jeff Brohm in a difficult spot. Louisville also lost two backup quarterbacks, Brady Allen and Pierce Clarkson, to the transfer portal, essentially leaving one option for the Sun Bowl: fifth-year senior Harrison Bailey.

Bailey, a former four-star recruit from Marietta, Ga., is playing at his third school. He started his career at Tennessee and spent the 2022 season at UNLV where he was unable to win the starting job for the 5-7 Rebels. He’s completed all eight passes he’s thrown in 2024 for 63 yards in four games this season.

Washington took advantage of poor quarterback play in wins against Northwestern and Michigan this season and entered the postseason boasting the country’s No. 5 pass defense.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw- ... gn=6029210

They are still 4.5 point favorites. Probably because we can't stop the run.

Stop the run

Shough isn’t the only Cardinal star absent in El Paso. First-team All-ACC wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks declared for the draft on Dec. 10, and is expected to opt out of the Sun Bowl.

Brooks, a former Alabama receiver, caught 61 passes and nine touchdowns in 2024. His 1,013 yards accounted for nearly a third of Louisville’s entire receiving yardage. No other Cardinal reached 700 receiving yards.

Without Shough and Brooks, Louisville will be forced to lean on its run game, specifically running backs Isaac Brown and Duke Watson.

The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Brown and the 6-0, 180-pound Watson have combined for 1,588 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns as true freshmen this season. Louisville also has three All-ACC honorable mention offensive linemen: left tackle Monroe Mills, left guard Michael Gonzalez and center Pete Nygra.

The Huskies ranked 84th nationally in run defense entering the postseason. Washington’s inability to contain a dynamic rushing attack against No. 8 Indiana, for example, prevented the UW secondary from taking advantage of IU’s inexperienced reserve quarterback Tayven Jackson when Hoosier starter Kurtis Rourke missed the game because of a thumb injury.

So stop the run, let Williams run wild and maybe we'll stomp them. I guess this is where we really find out how smart of a coach Fisch is.

[Donn Beach]

You might think this stuff is pretty meaningless but there's actually a pretty significant impact on next season

“It was one of our biggest goals this season, to get to a bowl game, because we wanted 15 more practices,” Fisch said. “When you take over a program on January 18, you really need it, you need those practices. And I felt as if our guys, especially our younger players, really got a lot of reps, a lot of opportunity to improve.”

[Michael K.]

You might think this stuff is pretty meaningless but there's actually a pretty significant impact on next season

“It was one of our biggest goals this season, to get to a bowl game, because we wanted 15 more practices,” Fisch said. “When you take over a program on January 18, you really need it, you need those practices. And I felt as if our guys, especially our younger players, really got a lot of reps, a lot of opportunity to improve.”

Yeah, for the guys that will be there next year. Which is just another reason guys in the portal or going pro don't play.

[Walla Walla Dawg II]

I just got back....

I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

Great venue.
Great weather.

[Pharmabro]

I just got back....

I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

Great venue.
Great weather.

The PacX needs to target that venue for expansion. It is a beautiful arena sewn into the mountain.

[Walla Walla Dawg II]

I just got back....

I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

Great venue.
Great weather.

The PacX needs to target that venue for expansion. It is a beautiful arena sewn into the mountain.

Just don't look to the south or you will get a 'full frontal view' of Mexico. And I'm not talking about the Cancun of Mexico, but the shithole of Mexico.