Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

After white-knuckling their way to a 3-0 start, the Washington Huskies kick off Big Ten Conference play this weekend against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Jack McCauley and Luke Mounger get together to share their thoughts before Saturday evening's showdown.

Minnesota enters this game 2-1 on the season, having lost a couple of weeks ago to Kamario Taylor and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Even so, Minnesota boasts a veteran coach-QB combo, with PJ Fleck entering his 10th season as the head coach of the Gophers and Drake Lindsey garnering NFL Draft Buzz.

After recapping Washington's week three win over Eastern Washington, Jack and Luke turn their attention to storylines they are tracking as the Huskies take on their first conference opponent of the season. Among those topics is if Washington's young, yet talented defensive front will succeed in trying to disrupt Lindsey's rhythm in the pocket this weekend.

Additionally, the two life-long interns discuss takeaways on Washington's offensive performance so far. This includes Washington's heavy reliance on short and intermediate passes to keep the offense on schedule and how that tactic might fare against steeper competetion.

After picking their Bets to Bark, Jack and Luke share their plays for Betting B1G. Each is off to a 3-6 start, so it might be a good idea to ignore this part of the show! Finally, the duo shares their confidence interval that the Huskies can improve to 4-0 on the season. 

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds spoke this week with Gopher Gazette's Ryan Burns, who was nice enough to offer his take on this weekend's game in Seattle between Minnesota and Washington

Burns is expecting a lot of Minnesota fans in the stands at Husky Stadium, for a number of reasons - chief among them being the other Big Ten road trips in October are to Purdue and Indiana.

The guys then talk about the P.J. Fleck tenure and expectations going into the 2026 season for the Golden Gophers, especially trying to turn around their fortunes on the road.

Turning to the game itself, the 10 pm central time start is the first things they talk about and the problems that poses for the traveling team. Then they talk about Minnesota's quarterback, Drake Lindsey, and Burns compares him to a Washington State signal-caller from decades gone by. He talks about the style of offense the Golden Gophers want to run and the other skill players that help make it tick.

Flipping to the other side of the ball, Burns is very curious to see how first-year UW LT Kodi Greene will hold up against a Minnesota defensive line that possesses a ton of talent but did not show up on the road last season. And how will they be able to limit Demond Williams once a play breaks down?

Ryan also talks about some of the factors defensively that should concern the Huskies, especially in the secondary. And they also talk about the 'Elinneus Davis' factor where the Minnesota product can't wait to go up against the in-state school. And apparently Minnesota has four commits from Davis's high school (Moorhead).

Finally, the guys talk about their keys to the game, both in scenarios where UW wins and where Minnesota is able to pull off a rare away win. Could special teams end up being the difference? 

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got together after Washington defeated Eastern Washington 48-16 and had plenty to talk about. And again, for as many positives as there were on the night, there were just as many 'teachable moments' as the Huskies racked up over 100 yards in penalties and had two ejections on one play - something you'll probably never see again. How many of those were legit calls? How many of them were borderline? And how many of them just didn't make any sense? 

Usually against a Big Sky opponent there would be the obligatory plus points and things to watch out for moving toward the Minnesota game week. But given the offense's immense struggles through the first two weeks the guys talked about the positives, starting with Demond Williams and his ability to hang in and lead the offense even after getting rocked early in the second quarter on a pass that ended up getting intercepted. It was the only blemish on a really good night for Williams, as he accounted for over 400 yards of total offense. 

The guys also wanted to talk about the defense and how they gave up some points in the first half but definitely bowed up in the second half and denied the Eagles twice in the fourth quarter to get the ball back on downs. And there were plenty of first-year players that came in late in the game to get some much-needed experience ahead of Big Ten play. 

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - were able to get up just a little later this morning and get an extra cup of coffee in their systems before breaking down this afternoon's matchup between Washington and Eastern Washington.

Normally we wouldn't be that intrigued with a Big Sky matchup, but after the Montana fiasco during the Jimmy Lake days it seems like there's adventure around every corner when the Huskies face an FCS foe.

You won't be seeing Vernon Adams or Cooper Kupp coming out of the Husky Stadium visitors 'tunnel' today, but you will see an offense that can put up points and a defense that has shown themselves to surrender an equal amount.

Starting with Washington's offensive woes, the guys broke down all the things the Huskies need to improve on that side of the ball, starting with the quarterback, then the running backs, then the offensive line, and finishing with the receivers.

After a quick break the talk turned to the other side of the ball, the UW standouts so far on defense and how they guys expect 'Death Row' to handle EWU quarterback Nate Bell and the Eagles' offense.

Scott offers up a quick recruiting update and then the guys give their final thoughts. Would they take EWU and the 44 points if offered...?

Don't forget, there's also traffic disruptions happening on the east side of Lake Washington affecting 520 coming across the lake and also northbound I-405 between Renton and Bellevue, so plan ahead for your trip to Husky Stadium!

Jack McCauley and Luke Mounger are back with their third podcast of the regular season as the Washington Huskies gear up to take on the Eastern Washington Eagles. While Jedd Fisch's Dawgs are undefeated at 2-0, a 16-14 win over the Utah State Aggies last weekend has fans concerned about a lackluster offensive performance through two games. Considering the flat start offensively, the two lifelong interns decided to change up their approach for this week's episode.

Rather than looking forward to Saturday's in-state tilt with a Big Sky foe, Jack and Luke reflect on the first couple games of the season for Washington. Topics discussed include Washington's difficulty running the football, injuries to key skill position players, and young players being asked to step into new roles with little lead time between now and the start of conference play. Additionally, the duo discuss what they would like to see on Saturday from the Huskies to feel confident that Washington is making a step in the right direction offensively. 

This week, Jack and Luke pick just one "Bet to Bark", putting all of their eggs in one basket in calling their shot for a top performer on Saturday. Still, each picks three betting plays for Big Ten teams this upcoming weekend to keep their Betting B1G segment rolling.

You can listen to the latest episode of Mac and Mounger using the audio link below.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got together after Washington defeated Utah State 16-14 and had their own vent session instead.

As well as the defense played - and they limited Utah State to 75 rush yards and 271 total yards - it was pretty much all talk about Washington's offense and what they couldn't do right.

From an overall dearth of execution, to lack of blocking in the run game, to drops in the passing game, to a below average day running the offense for quarterback Demond Williams, and questions about Jedd Fisch's playcalling, there was all sorts of things to hash out.

To what lengths is Fisch going to have to go to in order to generate a semblance of a running game from the backs? And where has the confidence gone with the offense as a whole? 

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - woke up at the crack of dawn and turned their microphones on as the page has officially turned past the Apple Cup and now on to Washington's next opponent, the Utah State Aggies.

But before that game preview took place, the guys wanted one last crack at some final thoughts on UW's 24-10 win over Washington State.

Moving on, there's plenty of things to look forward to today at Husky Stadium, and most of it has to do with Washington's offense. They finally came alive in the fourth quarter of the Apple Cup, scoring two touchdowns to salt that victory away, but what has to take place today in order for the offense to take the necessary steps to prove game one was simply shaking off the rust?

Starting with the offensive line, the guys move through each offensive position group, with a special focus on the Washington running backs, and analyze what needs to be done in order to not just cover the 27.5-point spread, but do it in a way that allows the Huskies to bring in depth pieces in the fourth quarter.

After a quick break the chat then moves to the overall Apple Cup game day experience for the fans, and how 'cluster' is pretty much the only way to describe it. From long lines and slow security to get in to long lines and vendors running out of food in the concession stands, there's a LOT that needs to improve from game one to game two. Can UW get the job done?

Before the final game thoughts, Scott offers up a lengthy recruiting update because there were so many top-rated recruits from both coasts on hand for the Apple Cup, and he breaks down what he's learned talking to them after their trip to Seattle.

The Washington Huskies secured their first win of the 2026 Football Season by taking down the Washington State Cougars in the 118th Apple Cup. While the Dawgs added a tally to the win column, they struggled to find an offensive rhythm, requiring a late fourth-quarter touchdown to extend their lead to multiple scores before Alex McLaughlin eventually sealed the deal with an interception in the closing minutes.

Lifelong interns Jack McCauley and Luke Mounger got together this week to share their grades for the opening game of Washington's third season under Jedd Fisch.

Jack and Luke then set their sights to this weekend's tilt against Utah State. The Aggies are coming off a 12-point loss at home to Idaho State last week and will have a tall task getting back on track against a Husky defense that allowed just 242 yards of offense and 10 total points last week against WSU.

Dawgman's podcast duo share a couple of storylines each that they're looking forward to seeing unfold on Saturday. A couple of topics from this week include how Washington will manage their offensive backfield - now down three key contributors at running back - as well as Washington's discipline woes after notching 130 penalty yards last weekend.

Next, Jack and Luke move onto their Bets to Bark, calling their shot as Washington looks to garner some momentum after a hard-fought Apple Cup win.

Both interns started their years 1-2 on Betting B1G and will look to bounce back this week. They will keep tallies on their Betting B1G success throughout the year and are looking to get back on track in Week 2.

Finally, Jack and Luke share their confidence interval that Washington will improve to 2-0 on the season. 

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got together after Washington defeated Washington State 24-10 in the 118th Apple Cup to hash everything out; the good, the bad, and ultimately the delicious. And there was plenty to talk about. But the irony there is that most of the time was spent on the things the guys didn't expect to see.

They didn't expect to see 12 penalties on UW. How much of it was on them, how much of it was on the way the referees called the game? 

Then they talked a lot about Demond Williams Jr., his up-and-down day, and how he ultimately was able to make a few key plays when it really mattered to put the win on ice down the stretch.

There were also a lot of attaboys to hand out to the defense, as well as punter Hunter Green. And then there was that muff-turned-touchback that you don't see that often...

And how much of what happened Sunday is something the guys think they'll see next Saturday when the Huskies host Utah State? 

Scott also added a quick recruiting update on a day where prospects from coast to coast came to the Greatest Setting in College Football to check everything out.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got together for our annual Apple Cup pregame show, but for how much longer will the Apple Cup be around?

That's one of the main questions the guys start with as the 118th matchup between Washington State and Washington is about to kick off in a few hours. From a financial point of view, does it make sense for either team anymore?

Then the guys get into the guts of the matchup, starting with Washington State's offense against Ryan Walters and the UW D. What should the Huskies expect from a new lineup, new coaches and new schemes? Can UW turn the Cougars one-dimensional on that side of the ball, and will we see a defense that is more aggressive this season, especially at the line of scrimmage?

After a quick break the tables are turned and the guys talk about Demond Williams Jr and the Washington offense against a completely-new WSU offense led by former Oregon State Defensive Coordinator Trent Bray. How long will it take for the Cougars to gel on defense? And how big a move in his development has Williams taken from last year to this year? And who is going to help him move the ball at running back, receiver, and tight end? And can the Cougars get after first-year left tackle Kodi Greene and make his college debut one to forget?

The guys then talked about a revamped UW specialist corps and how they could impact today's Apple Cup.

To finish, Scott gives a brief update on what is expected to be a massive day for UW recruiting as top prospects from a number of states east of the Mississippi will be on hand, and then they give their final thoughts on what Washington needs to do in order to take care of business at their home, the Greatest Setting in College Football.