Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

Washington Head Coach Kalen DeBoer, quarterback Michael Penix Jr., running back Dillon Johnson, and cornerback Jabbar Muhammad talk to the media after beating the Cardinal on The Farm.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - had plenty to say after Washington's 42-33 win over Stanford Saturday afternoon at Stanford Stadium. And the first thing they talked about was the atmosphere at the stadium - or lack of atmosphere. The announced attendance was around a little over 24,000 fans, but it felt like closer to half that number. And maybe half of THAT number were wearing Purple and Gold.

The Huskies not only had to bring their own energy to the mix - which was difficult to do as many on the team were suffering from cold/flu symptoms, including quarterback Michael Penix Jr. - but they also had to do it down a number of key players. They did get Germie Bernard back, but Jalen McMillan once again wasn't able to get fully back in the mix. Julius Buelow did make his return, and the right guard started the game, which meant Parker Brailsford started at center.

On defense, the injuries were even more prominent. Tuli Letuligasenoa was at the game and suited but did not play. And the Huskies were down three safeties - Asa Turner, Kamren Fabiculanan, and Vincent Nunley - so Makell Esteen made his first career start.

Despite never trailing in the game, it always felt like the Cardinal were breathing down Washington's neck. Up 21-7 with 5 minutes left before halftime, Stanford was able to hit two field goals to bring the margin down to a single score. UW's offense rarely saw the field the first half, as Stanford had the ball for over 21 minutes.

The guys talked about the Cardinal targeting the defensive backs, specifically Esteen and cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, questionable pass interference calls on both sides, and the glaring lack of holding calls made (again).

After a quick break the guys turned to the other side of the ball, where the Huskies found a little more of the ball and also some timely plays - including a 92-yard pass from Penix to Ja'Lynn Polk for six. But two red zone turnovers in the fourth quarter made the game a lot closer than UW fans would have wanted, and the guys talked about the hit-and-miss nature of how the offense was as a whole, especially the receivers.

And then there was even more talk about penalties, as both teams were hit with costly personal foul calls at various points that stalled drives.

Before they close things out, Kim, Chris, and Scott give their final thoughts as the Huskies now get set to take another road trip - this time to USC - and the first College Football Playoff rankings come out on Halloween. How much credit will the Huskies get for being one of five Power-5 teams to stay unbeaten so far?

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got up bright and early Saturday morning to offer up their thoughts on Washington's opponent today, the Stanford Cardinal, as well as put to bed any lingering questions surrounding the Huskies' 15-7 win over Arizona State last weekend.

They start the conversation out with those lingering questions, as well as talk of sign stealing. It's become the hot topic in college football with what's going on right now at Michigan. Did it happen last weekend at Husky Stadium? And would UW moving from the north sideline to the south sideline help alleviate any possible sign stealing issues during games?

The guys also recapped what they heard from the Washington players and coaches this week about the Arizona State game, what they learned from that game, and the motivation - especially on offense - to set things right today on the Farm. There is certainly a lot to watch out for with the Huskies on that side of the ball.

After a quick break the guys turn their attention to today's game, starting with any injury updates. Jalen McMillan, Germie Bernard, Julius Buelow, Tuli Letuligasenoa, Asa Turner, and Kamren Fabiculanan are all players Kim will be looking for on the sidelines pregame, as well as safety Vincent Nunley. It's unclear what issue Nunley is dealing with at this time.

Then talk turns to the job new Stanford Head Coach Troy Taylor has in front of him revamping the roster and culture on the Farm after the departure of long-time head coach David Shaw.

Scott offers up a quick recruiting update, including thoughts on the two verbal commitments Washington received at the beginning of the week - and then Kim and Chris talk Husky Hoops for a minute. The men's team starts their 2023-24 season off with their exhibition game versus St. Martin's tomorrow night at Bank of America Arena.

To wrap up the pregame show, the guys give their final thoughts on the game and what they expect to see this afternoon.

Washington WR Coach JaMarcus Shephard, OL Coach Scott Huff, and EDGE Coach Eric Schmidt talk to the media prior to their game at Stanford.

Luke Mounger and Jack McCauley offer their insight into what they see happening Saturday afternoon at Stanford Stadium as Washington looks to go 8-0 on the season. Also included is their confidence intervals and Pick the Pac.

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds spoke this week with Stanford 247's Jackson Moore, who updated us on what's going on at the Farm with the Stanford Cardinal and the transition from David Shaw to Troy Taylor. Washington fans will remember Taylor as Jake Browning's head coach at Folsom High School.

What were the preseason expectations for the Cardinal and have they matched what has taken place on the football field so far?

Kim and Jackson start on the offensive side of the ball, talking about the personnel UW fans will see Saturday afternoon, as well as the style of offense Taylor wants to run. And then they turn to the other side of the ball. Can the Cardinal defense contain Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk and Washington's offense? And if they can match up, who are the Stanford players that can help them get the job done?

And when it comes to penalties, Washington may have met their match with the Cardinal - as both average at least seven flags per game.

Washington players Roger Rosengarten, Jabbar Muhammad, Edefuan Ulofoshio, MJ Ale, Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Bralen Trice and Mishael Powell talk about the Huskies' narrow win over ASU and look ahead to their game with Stanford this weekend

Dawgman's Kim Grinolds sat down with Washington women's basketball coach Tina Langley and went in depth on her philsophy on building a program and what she expects from her team this season.

UW Offensive Coordinator Ryan Grubb, Co-DC Chuck Morrell, and Head Coach Kalen DeBoer met with the media Monday to break down what they saw on the Arizona State tape, looking foward to their road trip to the Bay Area.

The Washington Huskies may have been wearing 'Husky Royalty' jerseys for the first time Saturday night, but their performance against the Arizona State Sun Devils was nothing more than a royal pain in the butt for the home team.

The Sun Devils were 27.5-point underdogs, yet held Washington to no offensive touchdowns and 13 yards rushing as the visitors.

On top of that, the Washington Huskies shot themselves in the foot with four turnovers before the defense was able to find a massive takeaway of their own that turned out to be the difference in their 15-7 win over ASU Saturday night at Husky Stadium.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - went through it...the not so good, bad, and downright ugliness of it all, but at the end of the day they could only come up with one incontrovertible fact: the Huskies still figured out a way to win the game.

Don't know how and don't know why - but the guys tried to break down the key points in the game to help offer some context to explain the unexplainable. Like how did ASU turn Washington's offense so completely pedestrian? And how did ASU's M.A.S.H. unit of an offensive line hold up against Washington's front seven? And why hadn't other teams tried what ASU found to be so successful?

There were a few guys out for the Huskies as well in receivers Jalen McMillan, Germie Bernard, and DL Tuli Letuligasenoa. During the game RG Geirean Hatchett left the action and later on safety Kamren Fabiculanan got banged up with a leg injury and he was unable to return.

The guys then talked about the team coming back out after halftime and promptly turning the ball over again, once more putting their defense on the spot. But Washington's defense came up with the goods time and time again, culminating in Mishael Powell's 89-yard pick-six to give Washington their first lead of the game with just over 8 minutes to play.

Kim, Chris, and Scott also talked about how clutch placekicker Grady Gross was, as well as some of the interesting decisions by ASU Head Coach Kenny Dillingham that saw the Sun Devils go for it on fourth down six times (they only converted twice), and how eventually the defense was able to put the final nails in the coffin and secure their seventh win of the 2023 season and 14th in a row overall.