Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

They've played plenty of games away from home so far this year, but the Washington Huskies have really only played one game that could be even remotely considered a home game - their win over Hawai'i in the Diamond Head Classic. And even that is not technically considered a road game on the schedule.

So when looking at the 11-4 schedule to date, there's a big fat goose egg when looking at Washington's road record. But UW Head Coach Mike Hopkins is hopeful the lessons learned already from an eventful home stand versus the Los Angeles schools will come in handy as the Huskies travel to the Bay Area to play Stanford Thursday night and California on Saturday evening.

Hopkins called their game against the Cardinal a 'heck of a challenge', primarily because the rest of the conference is sleeping on Stanford. They are currently 12-2, with their only losses being to Butler and Kansas. He talked about what they do well, especially outside with guys like Tyrell Terry and Daejon Davis, and inside with Oscar da Silva.

He was also asked questions about his team, especially about Nate Roberts and whether or not his game against USC was a breakout and how it will impact guys like Hameir Wright. He also went more in-depth on Isaiah Stewart, Jaden McDaniels, RaeQuan Battle, Quade Green, and a lot more.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds and Chris Fetters - recap what was a very busy past week on Montlake.

First, they talk about Washington's 32-point curb-stomping of USC, what went right, and what it means moving forward. They highlight the play of Isaiah Stewart (just named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the third-straight week), Jaden McDaniels, and wonder what head coach Mike Hopkins will do now that Nate Roberts has emerged as a legitimate big man threat. What might that mean for Hameir Wright, for instance?

Moving over to football, they talk about Salvon Ahmed's declaration to turn pro and what his future may hold in the NFL. They also break down Jimmy Lake's first hire as Washington's new head football coach, defensive assistant coach Terrence Brown. Brown was a graduate assistant under Lake for three years at UW before moving on as Vanderbilt's defensive backs coach the past two seasons.

Finally, they look at Washington's search for a new offensive coordinator. NFL assistants Mark Helfrich and Kellen Moore have been the names floated most often, but how does Dallas hiring Mike McCarthy as their new head coach change things for Moore, if at all? Does he stay in Texas, or does he have a legitimate interest in coming back to his home state?

Washington Head Coach Mike Hopkins said after Thursday's 66-64 loss to UCLA that championship teams respond. He was excited to see how the Huskies would respond Sunday night versus USC. Well, he got what he was looking for.

UW held the Trojans to 35 points below their scoring average, blowing them out 72-40 in front of an announced attendance of 8774 at Alaska Airlines Arena.

"We had a game plan," Hopkins said. "There were different things we had to have executed, and they had a great focus, and they had great energy. Those are the two things in any defense you play, you've got to be able to compete like that, with focus and energy. Everybody that came off the bench impacted the game and that was with focus and energy. I was really, really happy with our performance.

"It's not about making shots and missing shots, it's about playing great team defense. It's finishing, being tough, and rebounding. I thought those guys did that tonight. They executed the game plan."

 Quade Green, Nate Roberts and Hopkins talked post-game about the win and how they were able to pull it off.

Until Thursday night, the Pac-12 knew very little about Jake Kyman. But after his 21 points in UCLA's 66-64 win over Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena, the league is now on notice.

The freshman wing hit a dagger three-pointer - his seventh trey of the night - with 9 seconds to play in the game to give UCLA a two-point lead after UW's Nahziah Carter hit a dagger three of his own 15 seconds earlier.

Washington had one last possession to tie or win the game, but Nahziah Carter couldn't hold on to the ball and UCLA regained possession after a held ball with 1.1 seconds to play.

Chris Smith's double-double provided UCLA (8-6, 1-0) their only other scorer in double-figures. He finished the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Washington (10-4, 0-1) was led by the 24 points and 11 rebounds of freshman center Isaiah Stewart, whose 10 points kept the Huskies in the first half after UCLA threatened to run away with the game before intermission. Carter added 16 points and Quade Green for the Huskies.

Here's post-game audio from Stewart, as well as UW Head Coach Mike Hopkins.

Mike Hopkins was in a festive mood on Wednesday, and why not? The Washington Huskies are about to embark on their Pac-12 campaign as the reigning regular-season conference champions, and after working through a schedule where they went 10-2 in non-conference play (they were 9-4 last year), everything is lining up for them to make another strong run at a title. They host UCLA Thursday night at 7 pm.

But that doesn't mean they're the finished article, not by a long shot. Hopkins talked to the media Wednesday about the areas where the team needs to improve, and also specific questions about certain players (Jaden McDaniels, Quade Green, Isaiah Stewart, Nahziah Carter).

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund - dissect the decision of Washington junior quarterback Jacob Eason to declare for the NFL Draft in this emergency podcast. They definitely come at the decision from different viewpoints, and they share them here.

They also talk about whether or not he should be considered a sure-fire first-round draft pick, and they also have some differing takes on this question. Depending on the strength of the quarterback class, Eason could be ranked anywhere from the third or fourth-best available QB to near the bottom of the top-10. That range suggests that he could go early, or he could end up in the third round or even lower.

Of interest to UW fans, Fetters and Eklund also talk about where the Huskies go from here. Who has the inside track on next spring's quarterback battle between Jacob Sirmon, Dylan Morris, and Ethan Garbers? And will the coaches be able to keep everyone in the fold until fall ball? And how much of a change will new Head Coach Jimmy Lake be able to make with a newish offensive staff based on the available talent on the roster? Can they make wholesale changes?

Will the coaches go for another quarterback now, with the regular signing period still available to them? Or will they scour the market for a top preferred walk-on, especially now that Blake Gregory is gone too?

Eason's decision has opened up a number of big questions, and Fetters and Eklund get right to them in this emergency podcast.

Chris Petersen said it himself. He called it a combination of a funeral and a wedding, but more of a wedding. He was talking about the transition of him stepping away from being Washington's Head Football Coach and Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Lake taking his place.

Well, after the funereal aspects of the transition washed away, Washington Football was left with nothing but celebration. Celebration in the form of a 38-7 win over Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl, a celebration that saw Petersen and the UW seniors leave the program the right way with a big win.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - talk about the transition, how it's taken place, the aftermath of the Las Vegas Bowl, and Lake taking quick action the day after the game by not retaining offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan and tight ends coach Jordan Paopao.

Who will Lake hire? The guys break down some of the early whispers and talk about the direction the new UW Head Coach could go when revamping the offense. Could all the moves be made solely on the offensive side of the ball? That means staying put with the defensive coaches Lake currently has and continuing in his role as a defensive backs coach. It's possible.

They also talk about Petersen's legacy and what's in store for his next chapter. 

Dawgman.com spoke with Boise State Head Coach Bryan Harsin, as well as Washington Head Coach Chris Petersen, UW junior quarterback Jacob Eason, and UW junior defensive back Elijah Molden, after the Huskies defeated Boise State 38-7 in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl.

Harsin talked about his relationship with Chris Petersen and his emotions post-game when he met Petersen at midfield. Then the conversation went to Petersen, who talked about the game, specific parts of it, and also the idea of coaching his last game. Eason and Molden were also asked questions, from what they're going to look at when thinking about turning pro, to Molden's third-quarter interception.

It may not have been the bowl they wanted to play in, but it was certainly the way they wanted to finish off the Chris Petersen era at Washington.

Buoyed by stellar defensive play, including three turnovers, consistent special teams, and a steady offense that wasn't going to make any mistakes, the Washington Huskies gave the Boise State Broncos their first-ever Las Vegas Bowl loss, 38-7, Saturday night.

In doing so, the Huskies sent their head coach and seniors off with a win in their final game of the season, something they hadn't done in five years. They held BSU to roughly 185 yards less offensively than they would normally average, and had the ball for eight minutes more than the Broncos, including a 7:30 advantage in the fourth quarter alone. That allowed Washington to salt the game by playing keep-away.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - break down the particulars from the game, how the Huskies were able to win so comprehensively over the No. 19-ranked Broncos, and some quick thoughts on what the win means for the program moving forward.

While the rest of us will be braving the colder temperatures that the holiday season typically brings, the Washington Men's Basketball team will be going to a sunnier climate as they take part in the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. Houston, Portland, Georgia Tech, Boise State, Ball State, UTEP, and Hawai'i are the teams joining UW in the three-day tournament. The first game is scheduled for 2:30 pm PT on Sunday, Dec. 22 against Ball State. Depending on the result, they'll play either UTEP or Hawai'i the next day.

The media spoke to Mike Hopkins at Alaska Airlines Arena before the team headed out to the islands to get a feel for his thought on playing a tournament in Hawai'i a week before Pac-12 play begins, the challenges and unpredictability of tournament play and the styles they may face, an early look into their first opponent - Ball State - and more.