Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, Scott Eklund, and George Johnson - were joined post-game by the man who was Tony Casticone's sidekick on radio Saturday, UW legendary running back Greg Lewis.

If there was ever a guy to talk to about big wins over USC in Husky Stadium, it's Lewis. He was UW's running back that rolled through the Trojans during the 1990 'All I Saw Was Purple' game. The Huskies won that day 31-0, and while today's game wasn't quite as dominant, Lewis is always happy to talk about a UW win over the Trojans in Seattle.

He talked about what went well, and we also got a chance to talk to him about some of the local high school talent that he's kept his eye on lately, including recent 2020 OLB 5-star commit Sav'ell Smalls.

After they let Greg take off, the rest of the Dawgman crew dissected the good, bad, and ugly from the game, and if you're of the Purple and Gold persuasion, the vast majority of it was good.

They talked about the way Washington was able to scheme out USC's talented receiver trio and force the Trojans to beat them on the ground with long drives. They also talked at length about the 14-point swing in the middle of the third quarter that really turned the momentum of the game fully in Washington's favor.

Lastly, they talked about the recruits spotted on the sidelines, as well as some of the former players that were there, including Dante Pettis and Jermaine Kearse, as well as Third Quarter Legend Alameda Ta'amu.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got up bright and early Saturday morning in lieu of a pregame show on SportsRadio KJR to record a preview podcast to get you geared up and informed ahead of the USC-Washington game at 12:30 pm.

They talked about USC's key missing players, including quarterback Kedon Slovis, safety Talanoa Hufanga, and Olaijah Griffin, as well as spotlight the two or three key matchups that should tell the tale between the Trojans and Huskies.

Obviously there's going to be a lot of attention paid to the first career start for USC quarterback Matt Fink. Having that first start at Husky Stadium in front of a raucous crowd against him won't help things. But Fink has plenty of playmakers around him, especially at receiver (Michael Pittman, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyler Vaughns). But will USC try and slow things down and ground the Air Raid a little bit to find their football via the run game?

And when it comes to Washington's offensive line going up against USC's defensive line, UW senior center Nick Harris already referred to the matchup as a 'bloodbath'. The Huskies know they're going to have their hands full, but it takes two to tango, and UW's offensive line is feeling good about themselves and riding some positive momentum after an impressive 45-19 win at BYU.

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds was at Kennedy Catholic High School Friday when Sav'ell Smalls was presented with his game jersey for the 2020 Under Armour All-American game, which will be held in Orlando, Florida on January 2nd, 2020.

But Smalls had some other news to share too. He verbally committed to Washington over his other five finalists: Oregon, Florida State, Washington State, Tennessee, and Alabama.

The 5-star outside linebacker came full-circle in his recruitment. Washington was the first to offer him nearly three years ago, but when he cut down his list in the spring Washington wasn't on it. But the Huskies gave him some space, let him work things out, answered questions, and by the fall they were once again in the front of his mind.

Smalls broke down the reasons for the timing of his decision, what the rationale was for picking the hometown school, whether or not he'll sign in December, his relationship with Kennedy quarterback Sam Huard (a 2021 UW verbal commit) and a whole lot more.

"All my life I rep Seattle," Smalls said, responding to a question from the media. "I've repped it to the extreme. I've always said it's the best city in the world. There's no lie in that, and I still believe that, and I'm going to be at the Greatest Setting in College Football. So I'm excited."

There's always some kind of drama lurking around Heritage Hall. This season it's all about dealing with some leadership changes with a new university president and trying to find a new athletic director, as well as the ever-shifting status of head coach Clay Helton. That's why we had to go straight to the source and talk to USCFootball.com's Ryan Abraham to get the facts behind what's going on with the Men of Troy.

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds talked to Abraham about the embattled Helton and whether or not he has staying power as USC's head man. Abraham called the 26-13 win over Washington in 2016 the best win of Helton's career.

They talked about USC's new offensive identity, trying to run the ball within the new Air Raid concepts brought in by Graham Harrell, whether or not quarterback Jack Sears will return to USC, who will back up Matt Fink if he gets hurt, will USC run the ball more to protect Fink on Saturday at Husky Stadium, and more.

Defensively, they talked about the USC front, including true freshman defensive lineman Drake Jackson, their linebackers, the loss of Talanoa Hufanga and Olaijah Griffin, shoring up perceived tackling issues, and more.

They also talked about the difference for the Trojans playing on the road, compared to in LA. According to Abraham, there's definitely a difference.

Chris Petersen used the word 'calculus' this week to describe the 'big test' ahead of Washington on Saturday. The No. 21 USC Trojans are coming to town, and it doesn't matter of JT Daniels, Kedon Slovis, Matt Fink, or Brandon Perdue plays quarterback for USC...that's not something Petersen can control.

What Petersen is very concerned about is UW's response to whoever is throwing the passes for USC, as well as defending who is on the other end of those passes. And in that sense, he knows the Huskies are in for the biggest exam so far in a young-ish 2019 season.

"Test day is on Saturday, and this is a big test," Petersen told the media on Thursday. "This is a big exam, for sure. Hard one. Lot of calculus out there trying to solve. Fast and tight situations, so we'll see how we do."

He also talked a little bit more about the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between USC's Air Raid attack and that of Washington State, the atmosphere Husky Stadium could generate on Saturday, how some of his younger defensive backs have risen to the challenge of starting early in their careers, and more.

With their game against USC this weekend, the Huskies have plenty of challenges to prepare for.

First off, which quarterback will be at the helm of the Trojans' offensive attack? Kedon Slovis missed all but two plays of USC's big win over Utah last week and there is still some concern he might not be ready to go by the time they take the field against the Huskies on Saturday.

Washington defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake isn't necessarily worried about who takes the snaps (Slovis or Matt Fink) since the concepts of the Trojan offense are the same no matter who winds up distributing the ball, but he is more concerned about his players staying focused on their technique, their rules and making plays when the opportunity presents itself.

Ikaika Malloe's charges have their work cut out for them this weekend with USC's running game and trying to get some quick pressure on the young quarterback for the Trojans. He likes what he has seen from some of his younger players, especially now that they've gotten reps on the field, and he feels like the depth that USC has at every position has allowed them to absorb some of the injuries they've suffered and not missed a step.

Jordan Paopao loves the progress that his players have made, especially Hunter Bryant and his efforts as far as blocking is concerned.

The question also had to be asked, what was it like when they talked to Devin Culp about missing his block on the fake field goal attempt and how it was a great learning experience for the young player.

There's been a bit of adversity for running backs coach Keith Bhonapha to deal with as Salvon Ahmed has been determined to be week-to-week due to an injury, but he had players like Sean McGrew and Richard Newton step in and handle things and handled it well.

Lastly, Bush Hamdan said the offense is making progress, but he never wants to say they are where they want to be because the moment you do that, you can lay an egg and now you're right back where you started.

It's USC week, and the Washington Huskies know it - especially those that played in the last game between the two teams in Seattle. It was 2016, UW was ranked #4, ESPN Game Day was in town, and USC spoiled the party.

Obviously everything has pretty much changed since that time. Washington has continued to flirt with the college football playoff but hasn't quite reached the summit. USC, on the other hand, has really changed a lot. Their offense has totally changed. New offensive coordinator Graham Harrell brought the Air Raid system with him. He played and coached under Mike Leach, so are the Huskies going to be seeing WSU South? Probably not. There's enough wrinkles to keep Death Row guessing a little bit, but there's enough similarities between how they run the Air Raid in Los Angeles compared to Pullman to give UW a great sense of what they'll be up against Saturday at 12:30 pm.

Washington under Chris Petersen is going to keep an even keel as much as possible. They are going to practice the same for Eastern Washington as they would for USC. But for the players, especially the twenty-plus players that call the greater Los Angeles and San Diego areas home, this game means just a little bit more than the others. This is the mighty Men of Troy, the program they all watched as kids.

The Dawgman guys - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Jack McCauley - talked to a bunch of Washington players Tuesday about playing USC, recapping their emphatic win at BYU, and also the kind of atmosphere they're expecting on Saturday. Fall quarter starts up Wednesday, so this was the media's chance to talk to the players before the game.

For players like Aaron Fuller, Andre Baccellia, Benning Potoa'e and Myles Bryant who played in that 2016 loss to USC, they remember full well the 'Black Out', the Husky Stadium crowd at night...all of it. And they want even more of that kind of energy and enthusiasm this weekend.

The Lineup

Quarterback Jacob Eason

Running Back Sean McGrew

Receiver Aaron Fuller

Receiver Andre Baccellia

Center Nick Harris

Left Guard Luke Wattenberg

Defensive Lineman Benning Potoa'e

Outside Linebacker Ryan Bowman

Defensive Back Myles Bryant

A lot of people believe the Pac-12 is only as healthy as the USC Trojans are. Chris Petersen isn't necessarily one of those people. He was asked by the media Monday if the Pac-12 is a better conference if USC is better, and he flatly stated he doesn't want USC to be better.

Context is important. He's not wishing ill-will on the Trojans. He doesn't want USC to suffer. He's only worried about the Washington Huskies, and if that means Washington can benefit if USC is down, he'll take it. He can't control what happens in Los Angeles, only his little plot of land at Montlake. And when it comes to that little space, he knows the Huskies can take advantage when the Trojans aren't.

He also recapped UW's impressive 45-19 win at BYU on Saturday, including some of the talking points surrounding the fake field goal, Aaron Fuller's punt return for a touchdown, Joe Tryon's ejection for targeting, and more.

Chris Petersen, Jacob Eason, Aaron Fuller, and Myles Bryant talked to the media after the Washington Huskies defeated the BYU Cougars 45-19 Saturday afternoon in Provo.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - rehash the good, bad, and ugly from Washington's 45-19 win at BYU Saturday afternoon, and as the scoreline suggests, it was almost all good.

Yes, there was the fake field goal gaffe and Joe Tryon getting ejected for a questionable targeting call, but for the most part, it was a Purple and Gold block party in Provo. It started out strong, with the Huskies scoring 21 first-quarter points, and then they reversed their third-quarter curse by scoring 21 more that period. That was all they needed.

The news to start the game wasn't as good as the final result. Junior running back Salvon Ahmed suffered a 'lower leg' injury, per Chris Petersen, so he didn't make the trip. But Sean McGrew and Richard Newton filled in admirably, combining for 190 yards on 34 carries. And Newton did his best Myles Gaskin imitation on the first drive, staying inbounds and catching a 17-yard Jacob Eason pass for six.

In all, Eason had about as efficient a game as you could have as a quarterback, going 24-28 for 280 yards and three touchdowns. And the senior receivers were the happy recipients, as Aaron Fuller and Andre Baccellia combined for 12 catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Fuller added an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second half.

Defensively, it was Brandon Wellington's 69-yard fumble return for six at the end of the first quarter that felt like a real dagger in the heart of the home team.