- The Dawg Walk: As with all schools, the Huskies have a team walk into the stadium. The Dawg Walk is similar to a lot of the other team walks in many ways, the fans line the path to the stadium, the team walks off the bus and collectively make their way down the path to the locker room without tripping over one another and as a result, the fans become convinced their team is fully prepared to absolutely dominate the competition. However, something stood out at this Dawg Walk. Right as the Husky buses pulled to a complete stop, one bus started to shake so vigorously that I legitimately thought a riot must have ignited on the other side of the bus (perhaps the Sierra Club was enraged at the tree decimation the Huskies had planned). The bus began violently rocking to the point that the wheels were alternatively lifting off the ground on one side and then the other. Then suddenly, the shaking stopped and the team walked out calm and collected, ready to take care of business. Turns out, the isolated earthquake was just the defense getting pumped for “the biggest game in 15 years.” I thought to myself “they better save some of that energy for McCaffrey.” Needless to say, I’m an idiot. They could have tipped that bus over, climbed out through the shattered glass, and still kept McCaffrey out of the end zone, it was just the Dawgs day. (Although it should be noted that Christian McCaffrey who had a "poor performance" still ended up with 223 all-purpose yards on the day - albeit mostly due to his 5 kick returns).

- Husky Family in Full Force: When I first arrived at Husky stadium and walked over to the shore where sailgating occurs. I passed one man who was just sitting on a bench staring out at the water, chomping on a cigar with a large grin across his face. At the time, I thought to myself, "this guy is confident the glory days are back at UDub," but it was only when I walked back up to the tailgate lot, that I realized the guy who was sitting there taking it all in, was not just a guy, but the man, the myth, the legend himself, Lincoln Kennedy, a Washington Husky legend. Whether it was the magnitude of the game, the honoring of the 1991 team, or just a love for these fall Saturdays (or in this case, a Friday) at Husky Stadium, it was clear that former players of all generations were out in force prior to the game. It was pretty amazing to see the legends of old walking through the lot and stopping to play cornhole, drink a beer, and just make themselves part of the fans' tailgates. I don't doubt these old Dawgs remain loyal regardless of the current team's record, but no one can refute that these reunions are a lot more fun when there's a winning product on the field. One of the greatest parts of any program's resurgence is the way the winning brings the community of fans, players, and alums back together to celebrate history while enjoying the present.

The Game

Let's remember for a second that coming into this game, while the Dawgs were 4-0, they'd played Rutgers, Idaho, Portland State, and Arizona. If we're being completely honest, Bellevue High School could probably go 3-1 against that competition. So excuse me if I thought the resounding confidence of all the fans I spoke to pregame was a bit surprising given Stanford's recent history and the fact that the last time they played, a majority of the plays ended up looking something like this.

Despite the resounding confidence I heard all day long, by the time we were squeezing in with the masses to make our way into the stadium and up to our seats, there was a clear nervous energy in the air. You could tell that Husky Nation knew this was the night they were going to find out if "The Return" was for real. Then it started with a 3-and-out and grown men and women began barking their hearts out. The next thing you know the Dawgs are up 23-0 going into half and it still seemed like they probably left a few points out there. It was abundantly clear that this was as good a time as any to honor that 1991 national championship team.

With all due respect to the 1991 National Champs, I think Miami were the true champs that year and I wasn't going to sit around at halftime to celebrate #2. Just kidding. After being thoroughly educated about Steve Emtman's greatness throughout the tailgates, I now understand that UW would've rolled the U; but halftime was my opportunity to check out the Zone and I wasn't going to miss it. The Zone is an area behind the end zone where you can drink beer during Husky games. In the week leading up to the game, I saw tweet after tweet from the Husky faithful that the Zone should be closed for this game, as we couldn't take a chance that fans wouldn't be back in their seats for the 3rd quarter of the "biggest game in 15 years." Ha! With a 23-0 lead in hand, the Zone was packed to the brim and many Husky fans were already sharing celebratory barks.

As we walked back to our seats for the third quarter, I realized something - I was drunk. Quite drunk. It was only then that I realized you don't see very much Bud Light on Husky gamedays. Beer is not just a beverage in the PNW, its a masterpiece, and on days as important as this, you don't drink just any beer. From the boats to the buses to the woodchipped knoll, I was graciously handed good beer after great beer, IPAs and Pale Ales, Bale Breaker and Rainier. These beers are incredibly delicious (seriously, Bale Breaker Topcutter IPA is as good as it gets), but these beers pack a serious punch that sneaks up on you a few drives into the game and if it weren't for the voluminous barking ringing in my ears, I may have been interested in using the third quarter for a quick nap. After all, Mrs. Saturday and I had a long drive ahead to Pullman in the morning.