But, really, congratulations to Washington State for finally beating a Football Bowl Subdivision team and earning an emotional lift. It doesn't take away the humiliation of the season, but it's something to build upon.

If the Huskies had won, I would've thought similarly. The toughest part of watching this wretched football season has been seeing the athletes afterward. They all want to win. It's hard to listen to them struggle for answers after every inexplicable loss.

Hitting the links

OK, so in case you skipped reading the paper, here's a couple of links to get you caught up on the college scene:

Here's the column I wrote from the Apple Cup, and, no, my favorite part wasn't dissing the Huskies for another loss, but getting to capture the emotions of tight end Michael Gottlieb, who wanted to win so badly. He almost made me tear up. Too bad his senior season didn't turn out better.

And here's a story from Bob Condotta, who's wading through the coaching search. Texas' Will Muschamp got an offer? Dennis Franchione is a prime candidate?

Franchione, really? If he gets the job, you might as well put this program to rest. It'll be in for four more seasons between bad and mediocre, and then the Huskies will be searching for a new coach again.

On the flip side, in four years, Jim Mora really could get the job.

The Seahawks

As for the Hawks, well, if you read my column today, then you knew I was just tired of shooting bullets at them. I didn't see the need in trying to cull perspective from another loss. The game went about as planned. So I tried something different and discussed the rampant coaching gossip, especially the persistent rumors involving Mora. It was fun to write.

Two burning questions

1. Do I think Ty Willingham should be allowed to coach that final game against Cal?

This is a popular source of fan anger. If I were a Husky fan, I'd probably want to see the guy go away, too.

But thinking about it less emotionally, Mark Emmert and Scott Woodward made their decision a month ago to keep Willingham for the rest of the season. They're not going to renege on that, especially with one game left.

Cal is going to smash the Huskies regardless of who's coaching them. I'm more concerned about who's going to be coaching them in the future and how soon it will be before they make the announcement.

2. Will Matt Hasselbeck recover from this back injury and play at a Pro Bowl level?

For the second straight week, the Seahawks had the ball late in the game with a chance to win. And for the second straight week, Hasselbeck threw an interception to end it.

He's not right, obviously, as Danny O'Neil observes in his column. Therefore, I'm not willing to make any definitive statements about his future until we see how he looks at the start of training camp next year. The bulging disc in his back is a serious issue, and it's almost guaranteed to trim some life off his career, which means the Seahawks need to be in the market for his replacement ASAP. But I still believe Hasselbeck has 2-3 good years left in him if he can calm down his back problem.