Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds spoke this week with BearTerritory.net's Jackson Moore to get the inside scoop on the California Golden Bears and what to expect from the visitors when they travel to Seattle to face No. 8 Washington Saturday night at Husky Stadium.

It's already been a strange year and it got a little stranger when Cal and Stanford announced their move to the ACC starting next season. Moore talked a little bit about that news as well as the future of Cal Head Coach Justin Wilcox, who seemed to be moving forward pre-COVID but hasn't really progressed their football program since.

Ahead of the 2023 season, the Cal coaches flipped the roster with 50 new faces and three new assistant coaches, including new offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, who was California's OC during Sonny Dykes's final year in Berkeley.

Spavital has two main quarterbacks - Ben Finley and Sam Jackson V, with the recent nod going to Jackson. But it's a legitimate quandary right now, as both have their strong points and clear weaknesses.

The play of the quarterbacks mirrors the offense in general, as the Golden Bears can be explosive at times, and they can also struggle with multiple three-and-outs.

Jaydn Ott and former Bellevue star Isaiah Ifanse lead a thin running backs room, and they are playing very well. But Ott didn't play last week against Idaho and is expected to play against the Huskies. How effective will he be.

To round out the offensive side of the discussion, Moore talks about Washington receiver transfer Taj Davis and his impact on the team so far.

After a quick break, the talk turns to California's defense, led by former UW assistant coach Peter Sirmon and his son, former Husky linebacker Jackson Sirmon.

According to Jackson, they've changed their front scheme to more of a nickel base and even front. He talked about some of the new players that have been brought in to help shore things up on that side of the ball.

And Jackson answers the biggest question for California's defense: Can the Golden Bears try and cope with Michael Penix Jr and Washington's prolific offense?

What has it been about the recent Cal-Washington matchups that create close contests, even when they're not expected to be that close? And it seems fitting that Washington's first night game with their LED lights happens to be against California.

Could we be in for some more weirdness between the Golden Bears and Huskies? There's only one way to find out...

Washington RB Coach Lee Marks, OL Coach Scott Huff, and DL Coach Inoke Breckterfield spoke to the media this week about UW's 41-7 win over Michigan State and their upcoming opponent this weekend, the California Golden Bears. Saturday's game will mark the start of the final Pac-12 season for the Huskies.

Washington Quarterback Michael Penix Jr, Tight End Jack Westover, and EDGE Zion Tupuola-Fetui talk to the media as the continue to prepare for their game Saturday at Husky Stadium versus California.

William Inge, Ryan Grubb, and Kalen DeBoer talk about season-ending injuries, the Michigan State win, and what challenges await them from California this coming weekend.

Washington Head Coach Kalen DeBoer, quarterback Michael Penix Jr., and receivers Rome Odunze and Ja'Lynn Polk speak to the media after the Huskies defeated Michigan State 41-7 Saturday evening at Spartan Stadium.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - did their best to put into context just how dominant the Washington Huskies were in their 41-7 win at Michigan State Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium.

For a top-10 team, it felt like there were a lot of obstacles in their way pre-game; first road test of the season, playing on grass (which has never been a thing the Huskies have done well with), and everything that was going on with the Michigan State program.

The Spartans had suspended their head coach, Mel Tucker, and brought back former head coach Mark Dantonio to help first-time head coach Harlon Barnett. Would Michigan State rally around their long-time assistant and former head coach? Would they play like their backs were to the wall and the world was against them?

Nope. As it turned out, the home team withered at the first offensive foray by Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and his cadre of impressive receivers - Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and Ja'Lynn Polk - and the Huskies never looked back.

To start, Kim - calling in from East Lansing - set the pre-game scene. He was impressed with Spartan Stadium and how they do things there. The guys also talked about all of the injury issues Washington was dealing with too; their starting safety (Asa Turner) and starting center (Matteo Mele) were out, and then we found out during warmups that another safety, Kamren Fabiculanan, would be out as well.

And during the game, McMillan got banged up and left guard Julius Buelow was also hurt. But with all the walking wounded, the Huskies never flinched and actually took the game to their hosts.

The guys rolled through how thoroughly dominant the UW offense was, as they threw for a school-record 536 yards and 713 total yards - second-highest number in school history and the most ever gained against Michigan State in their program's history.

After a quick break, the talk turned to the defense and how the Huskies were able to hold Michigan State to only 53 yards on the ground. Zion Tupuola-Fetui sacked MSU QB Noah Kim twice and 24 defensive players were credited with at least one tackle in the game.

The guys finish it up with their final thoughts on the game and what it means for the Huskies as they continue to push forward in search of their first Pac-12 Championship in five years.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - hit the snooze button only once this morning to get up bright and early to talk about today's Washington-Michigan State game. Well, two of us did. Kim is in East Lansing, Mich. to get all the pregame and postgame news while Chris and Scott keep things locked down at home.

To start the show, Kim talked about the first thing that comes to mind when looking at the matchups for this game, namely the injury situation for the Huskies and who may be missing today's game.

Matteo Mele, Asa Turner, and Davon Banks all got hurt in UW's win over Tulsa in week two, but Huskies Head Coach Kalen DeBoer said this week that a couple of players that did not play against the Golden Hurricane - Faatui Tuitele and Zion Tupuola-Fetui - are expected to be available to play the Spartans.

So how will the injuries affect what the Huskies want to do on both sides of the ball? And who will be the 'next men up' to fill roles if that's required?

Will the Huskies have enough to force MSU QB Noah Kim to throw the ball in certain down-and-distance situations? Can they slow down UConn transfer RB Nathan Carter?

And on the offensive side of things, will the Huskies be able to generate enough of a run game to keep Michigan State honest? Will they continue to put receivers in the backfield to help supplement the running backs group? And will that even matter if Michael Penix Jr. is given time to find his targets?

Scott talks a little bit about recruiting, how many he expects the Huskies to sign for the 2024 class from the high school ranks, and how that number is going to reflect how many players they could take from the transfer portal.

The guys close the show out with their final thoughts on the game and what the Huskies need to do to move to 3-0 on the season.

Jack McCauley and Luke Mounger break down their keys on both sides of the ball when looking at Washington's weekend opponent, as well as their level of confidence in a UW win.

Lee Marks, JaMarcus Shephard, Eric Schmidt, William Inge, and Julius Brown spoke to the media before Washington leaves for their first road trip of the 2023 season - at Michigan State.

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds caught up this week with a very busy Stephen Brooks from SpartanTailgate, covering the Michigan State Spartans for the 247Sports Network. In this UW opponent preview podcast, they talk about the bombshell story about Michigan State Head Coach Mel Tucker that came out Sunday, the installation of top MSU assistant Harlon Barnett and former head coach Mark Dantonio to take over the coaching vacuum left by the Tucker's suspension, and who will really be running the show heading into the Washington game - Barnett or Dantonio?

The guys then talk about the expected atmosphere Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Brooks thinks it could be an 'all timer', and as much for the fact that they're going to be selling beer in the stadium for the first time ever as anything else going on.

Then they get down to the Michigan State team the Huskies will face this weekend. How are they different than the team that came to Seattle last year? How are they similar? How much of an impact will the coaching changes make on what we see on the field from the Spartans?

After a quick break the guys then delve into specific situations, starting with the quarterback. Gone is Payton Thorne to Auburn, in is Noah Kim. What do the fans think of Kim? What kind of QB will Washington face; a drop-back pocket passer or a dual-threat talent?

Does Michigan State have an offense that can hold on to the ball, keep drives alive and score touchdowns? Brooks offers some insight into what kind of offense Washington fans will see from Michigan State on Saturday and what their game plan should be to keep Washington's offense off the field.

And flipping over to the defensive side, do the Spartans have the ability to get to the quarterback and make things tough for Michael Penix Jr? Do they have a secondary that can disguise things and confuse Penix and UW's cadre of receivers?

Kim asks Stephen about Germie Bernard and what kind of reception he should expect from the MSU faithful on Saturday.

To finish things out, who is going to be the Michigan State head coach a year from now? Stephen only knows one thing right now; it's not going to be Mel Tucker. Outside of that, it's anybody's guess.

And ultimately what are the keys for UW fans heading to East Lansing? Any tips for those traveling from Seattle? Stephen gives his thoughts on what the visiting fans should do to maximize their Michigan State game experience.