Oregon State 49, Washington State 10
Why: The Beavers are 30-point favorites. Hard to believe, but as poorly as the Cougars defense has been playing, you must wonder if the Beavers aren't getting enough credit with that line. Oregon State will have an easy time in this one.

USC 35, Arizona State 17
Arizona 27, Stanford 20
Oregon 48, UCLA 13
Oklahoma 28, Texas 23

NFL picks

Seahawks 30, Green Bay 28
Why: The Seahawks defense has slipped to 27th in the NFL in total yards, but the Packers have fallen to 26th. So expect some scoring between two disappointing teams. The Seahawks, the most desperate for a victory, will triumph as Julius Jones has another charmed rushing performance at Qwest Field.

Denver 24, Jacksonville 20
Dallas 31, Arizona 24
San Diego 17, New England 16
Indianapolis 21, Baltimore 10

Last week's record: 8-2
Season to date: 42-18

10. Luke Walton's stalker
Comment: This woman allegedly has been stalking Lakers forward Luke Walton. Yeah, you can see why he'd file charges.

9. Tim McCarver
Comment: The Big Mouth of Beisbol ripped Manny Ramirez this week. McCarver made some valid points, but methinks he might want to avoid the Dreaded One for the next decade.

8. Arian Foster:
Comment: The Tennessee running back told reporters this week that he would only answer questions spoken in Pterodactyl. "Veeeeek! Veeeeek! Veeeeek!" he exclaimed. No need to further explain why he's on this list.

7. Terrell Owens
Comment: So T.O. shed a tear on the sideline last Sunday and then ranted incomprehensibly on Michael Irvin's radio show in an attempt to explain himself. It's just another bizarre memory in his scrapbook.

6. Elgin Baylor
Comment: The NBA legend has been forced out after 22 years as the Clippers general manager. Not that his record ever warranted much job security, but he sure exited in the harshest manner possible.

5. Seahawks defense
Comment: You know the story. It's pathetic, inexcusably pathetic. Now, let's see how they fix it.

4. Ricky Jean-Francois
Comment: The LSU defensive tackle wants to take out Florida quarterback Tim Tebow on Saturday. I see a chop block coming in Jean-Francois' future.

3. Tyrone Willingham
Comment: Well, at least there's not a game this week.

2. Travis Henry
Comment: The running back's drug-burdened decline continues. For his own good, this guy needs to go to jail. It's the only way he has a chance to learn.

1. Chicago Cubs
Comment: It'll happen any century now. Keep having children, Cubs fans. Maybe they'll see the misery end.

Depending on the quality of the reaction, there's a possibility that your answers could turn into a series that would highlight things we don't normally cover. So if you have a great local sports story that's not getting any attention, offer it up. I would prefer if you e-mail me the specific details of those stories at jbrewer@seattletimes.com.

Considering the sad state of affairs in Seattle sports right now, I think this is an ideal time to listen to readers and be more considerate of things you would like to read. The hot-button topics will continue to be addressed in my column, but when there's room for something different, for something more cheerful, I think it's important to capitalize on those opportunities. And your assistance is both welcome and greatly appreciated.

1. The Hawks have lost their edge. I agree with the premise of Steve Kelley's column today: The Seahawks are in serious, serious trouble. This isn't a playoff team unless things change quickly. And the upcoming schedule won't do them any favors.

The next nine games: Green Bay, at Tampa Bay, at San Francisco, Philadelphia, at Miami, Arizona, Washington, at Dallas and New England.

Not a dog in that group.

The Seahawks had better improve -- and fast. And even then, they're in danger of missing the playoffs.

Consider this: If the Seahawks play well enough to go 5-4 against the stiff competition, that would still leave them at 6-7 entering the final three games. They have to get it going now. And I'm not sure if they're capable of doing that this season.

We'll see. The defense is certainly capable of playing better. And in theory, better health should improve the offense. But I don't see a team consistent enough to reel off three or four victories in a row, which is what's required to right this season.

2. I feel for Deion Branch. The wide receiver is catching a lot of heat after returning from knee surgery, only to suffer a significant heel injury. Many fans have already decided he's a bust. In 2006, the Seahawks traded a first-round pick for the right to sign Branch to a $39 million deal. In two-plus seasons, he only has 105 receptions and has missed eight games to injury.

He's been snakebitten. Branch isn't a soft player, and he's dying to play and be more of a contributor. But his body is failing him. It's unfortunate because he's the kind of tough-minded winner who could really help this offense.

3. The defense's poor performance is inexcusable. The Seahawks were supposed to continue their transition into becoming a defensive squad. All 11 starters from a year ago returned (although rookie Lawrence Jackson beat out Darryl Tapp at right defensive end). This was supposed to be the defense's year, and next season, when Jim Mora took over for Mike Holmgren, the unit would be set to take another step.

But the Seahawks have opened the season with three bad defensive efforts in their first four games. Although special teams contributed to their woes in Buffalo, the D was poor in that game. Then it lost a double-digit lead to San Francisco in Week 2. And after a good showing against the terrible St. Louis Rams, the D allowed 523 yards Sunday to the Giants. And it could've been worse. After gaining 342 yards by halftime, the Giants let up in the second half after the game got out of hand.

The Seahawks look overmatched up front. Their philosophy of surrendering size for speed is hurting them now. The Giants mauled them. And when they got bored doing that, they exploited holes in the Seattle secondary.

It was pathetic. And it makes no sense for the Hawks to be this bad on defense.

Yep, the Seahawks have caught the loser's virus that plagues Seattle.

1. Tyrone Willingham is officially desperate. Before this game, even though Willingham was struggling, I never considered him completely desperate. But after his decisions to blow the redshirt seasons of freshmen Terrance Dailey and Cody Bruns, Willingham is no longer managing the roster with the best interest of the program in mind.

He wants to win a game, somehow, some way, and he seems willing to do whatever it takes. It makes you fear that he really might put Jake Locker at safety.

Afterward, offensive coordinator Tim Lappano tried to defend playing Dailey and Bruns, but he was unconvincing.

"There are seven more football games," Lappano said. "These guys came to Washington to play. And they want to play."

I like coach Lappano, but he's being shortsighted, too. There was especially no reason to play Bruns in this game. He entered when the score was 38-7. That's really helping the team win.

2. Ronnie Fouch is not better than Jake Locker. Please, stop saying that, really. Fouch isn't a better fit for this football team than Locker. He has more traditional quarterback skills, but he's got plenty of warts, too. In his first start, he finished 12 of 28 for 181 yards. He threw one touchdown and one interception. He looked good at times, but there's nothing special about the kid. He's the kind of player who manages an offense. If you have good weapons, he'll be suitable. But if you need the QB to do more than just get the ball to your weapons, he's going to struggle.

3. Scott Woodward is afraid of throwing the program in disarray. What's the No. 1 reason Woodward doesn't want to fire Willingham until the season is over? Well, if I'm reading him correctly, he fears the players running amok without a leader.

"It's stability," Woodward said after this game, explaining his reasoning. "You want to have your team orphaned."

If nothing else, Willingham will continue to run the program with discipline. You may doubt his tactical abilities, but he's good at holding the players accountable. Woodward seems to fear all hell breaking loose if he got rid of Willingham. I think it's a valid argument, but as you'll see in my column tomorrow, I'm thinking it's time for a merciful ending to this mess.

4. The Husky special teams are really, really bad. Much like the rest of the team. From Jordan Polk's inexperience returning kicks to Jared Ballman's non-exciting punting to missed field goals to poor coverage, the Huskies are suspect in every area.

5. Finally, some sacks. The lone bit of good news for the defense: end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim had an incredible game. He broke the Huskies' oh-for-the-season sacks slump, finishing with three sacks. In all, Te'o-Nesheim finished with eight tackles in his finest performance of the season.

Oh, and the Huskies only allowed 449 yards in this game, their best performance of the season. Then again, Arizona called off the dogs in the third quarter. The Wildcats would've had 500 yards if quarterback Willie Tuitama remained in the game.

Arizona 49, Washington 20
Why: The Huskies rank 118th of 119 teams in total defense, 114th in scoring defense, 116th against the run and 110th against the pass. Now you know what coach Tyrone Willingham says when he replies "It's a little of everything" when asked what's wrong with the Husky defense.

UCLA 27, Washington State 14
Why: This is a game to decide who's not that bad. Advantage, UCLA, on the strength of a Bruins defense that at least possesses some talent.

USC 42, Oregon 24
Notre Dame 21, Stanford 17
Arizona State 24, California 19

NFL picks

New York Giants 23, Seahawks 20
Why: The Seahawks will look good at times in this game, but it won't be enough to win. The Giants' defensive pressure and Brandon Jacobs' running will be too much for Seattle to overcome. Nevertheless, I think the Seahawks, despite falling to 1-3, will be on the way to finding themselves.

Pittsburgh 17, Jacksonville 13
Philadelphia 35, Washington 20
Denver 28, Tampa Bay 17
Tennessee 24, Baltimore 13
(Lane Kiffin 63, Al Davis 7)

Last week's record: 6-4
Season to date: 34-16

Here goes:

Pros
1. Recruiting is suffering already, so perhaps some clarity might help.
2. It will stop the fan angst and give the fans the hope of change.
3. It will end the media circus.
4. The season is already over.
5. It sends a message to everyone that losing is unacceptable.

10. Ben Gordon
Comment: Training camp has begun. He has no contract. And he's reportedly asking for $75 million over six years. Cuckoo.

9. Minnesota Twins
Comment: They won the season series against the Chicago White Sox but were forced to play a tie-breaking game on the road because of a coin flip. Think beisbol needs to revise its rules?

8. Plaxico Burress
Comment: Apparently, he has as many missed practices as receptions each year. And the NFL is investigating two domestic incidents involving Burress. So, for his serial defiance, he's back in the Powerless for a second straight week.

7. The Mariners
Comment: After 101 losses, they win their last three games to miss out on the No. 1 overall pick. It was the final bit of misery in a ridiculous season.

Naturally, there has been plenty of discussion about today's column, both in my e-mail inbox and on this blog.

The column is self-explanatory. It's an admission that I misjudged the situation with Tyrone Willingham last year when I advocated bringing him back for this dreadful season.

As I said in the column today, I don't regret it. I thought it was the fair and right thing to do at the time. But I was wrong. Wrong. Wrong. And considering what a big deal that piece became last December, it's only right that I don't try to pretend I didn't write those words. It's only right that I admit what the error.

I'll always hold myself accountable to you. You deserve it as readers.

Now, I know there's been plenty of debate of whether to keep Willingham for the entire season. So, my challenge to you is to explain why you're for or against Scott Woodward's inclination to keep Willingham the entire year.

If enough people comment, I'll put the pros and cons in a blog post later this week, so that we can put the lists up against each other and leave it to you to decide which argument is stronger.

Call it flip-flopping or seeing the light or being fed up with the losing or whatever. I don't care. In sports, all opinions tend to change once the results accumulate.

And also, to address your other question, PeteTheChop, I've never been on board with the idea that missing out on the chance to hire Jim Mora was an irredeemable mistake. There are a lot of true college coaches who can win here. (They likely won't have Mora's ties to the program, however, unless UW can convince Gary Pinkel to take the job.) The question is whether the Huskies can convince one of them to come.

One final thought: I'm never on any bandwagon. I think for myself. I don't want to be on the Bash Willingham Bandwagon, just as I didn't want to be on the Keep Ty For His Entire Contract Bandwagon (a much, much smaller group). I don't write to be accepted by any group. I'm not a screamer, either, so I'm usually the last one to rant uncontrollably. I just write my opinion.

If I'm right, I'm right. I won't gloat about those.

If I'm wrong, I'm willing to admit it. And not just in cyberspace.

I don't need to tell you what you already know. This is pathetic. In every way. For Tyrone Willingham, it's over.

For me, someone who advocated giving him one more year, I was wrong.

Washington 28, Stanford 24
Why: After playing Oregon, BYU and Oklahoma, this game will seem so much easier for the Huskies. True to form, they will do some silly things, but they are desperate, so they will win this one.

Oregon 37, Washington State 10
Why: In a matchup of quarterback attrition, the Ducks will turn to their superior ground game to dominate the Cougars.

California 28, Colorado State 17
Alabama 24, Georgia 21
Penn State 31, Illinois 21

NFL picks

New York Jets 21, Arizona 13
Tampa Bay 17, Green Bay 14
Minnesota 10, Tennessee 6
Dallas 38, Washington 14
Philadelphia 24, Chicago 16

Last week: 7-3
Season to date: 28-12

10. Marc Bulger
Comment: The desperate St. Louis Rams have benched Bulger and will start Trent Green at quarterback now. Yes, Scott Linehan, that's the answer to saving your job.

9. Stephon Marbury
Comment: Will the Knicks cut him or not? And which punishment is worse: Getting banished or being forced to play for the Knicks?

8. Plaxico Burress
Comment: The Giants have given their top receiver a one-game suspension for skipping work Monday. Good sign for the Seahawks. At last, after weeks of wideout peril, the Hawks will benefit from an opponent being shorthanded.

7. New York Yankees
Comment: First, Yankee Stadium closes. Then, the Yankees fall out of playoff contention for the first time since 1995. What's a bereaved franchise to do? Move into a $1.3 billion new ballpark, of course.

6. Mariners
Comment: Tonight, they will try again to become the first MLB team with a $100 million payroll to lose 100 games. Good luck.

5. WSU quarterbacks Kevin Lopina and Gary Rogers
Comment: Nothing lighthearted or snarky about this one. In a single game, two Cougar quarterbacks suffered spine injuries. As gruesome back injuries go, they were both fortunate it wasn't worse. Here's hoping their recoveries go well.

4. Greg Robinson
Comment: Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross says of his 8-31 football coach, "It isn't working out." Thanks for the insight. Quick question: If Robinson were 11-28 instead, might Gross have stolen from Scott Woodward and called his coach fabulous?

3. Matt Millen
Comment: The good news is, after a 31-84 record, Matt Millen is finally done doing damage to the Detroit Lions. The bad news is, if you're an inept leader, your reason to convince yourself of job security ("Well, I'm not doing worse than Millen, and he still has a job.") has vanished.

2. Mike Teel
Comment: Not sure what is worse. The Rutgers QB punching a player or his coach ignoring the issue? The blossoming Scarlet Knights program is officially beyond the lovable phase.

1. John Herrera
Comment: Here's another sign the Al Davis regime is beyond redemption. Herrera, a Raiders senior executive, verbally accosted San Jose sports columnist Tim Kawakami this week. Advice to Herrera: If you want to yell at a reporter, don't do it in front of five television cameras.

Once, he flirted with pursuing a job at a music magazine. He decided against it. Shocked, I asked him why he would bypass such a sweet gig.

"Because I don't want to wind up hating music as much as I hate sports," he said.

Unfortunately, this business beats the joy out of some journalists. I've promised myself to never get to that point. If I ever hate sports, I will quit writing about them and move onto something else.

But there are moments when I must check myself. I have to remind myself of what a wonderful job this is. Because this is a job, I also go through periods of fatigue, so I have to pinpoint the things that make me most excited and wring out all the enjoyment.

Often, I find myself going to basketball for that joy.

Which brings me to the Storm.

Seattle's only pro basketball team (Sonics, RIP) plays a deciding Game 3 tonight at KeyArena against the star-studded Los Angeles Sparks.

It's not my day to write a column, but I'm excited to watch this game. I love basketball, and therefore I appreciate what this team has accomplished this season.

A couple of weeks ago, I was the moderator for a Title IX discussion sponsored by the Northwest Women's Law Center. Anne Levinson, one of the Storm's part owners, was a panel member. During this horrid sports year, the Storm has easily been the winningest pro team in town, so I asked Levinson if she felt her team was respected in that manner.

She grinned, asked if we were taping this discussion (um, yes) and then went into a very eloquent, balanced conversation about women's sports and media recognition.

Obviously, it's not where Levinson wants it to be, but at the same time, he understands how media organizations must feed the incessant desire for information that fans crave for the most popular team sports (college football, NFL, MLB, men's college hoops, NBA). She just wants to her team to get more coverage.

If the Storm owners continue to show this kind of commitment to winning, the Storm will carve a bigger place in the sports media landscape.

As I told you last week, this team is worthy of your attention. If they win tonight, they inch closer to a championship that would've seemed probable before the new owners took over in early January.

Before then, Clay Bennett still owned the Storm. Before then, it seemed like they would be collateral damage in the fight over the Sonics.

Now, they're in the playoffs with a roster of women's hoops legends. Now, they have a chance to give Seattle an unlikely label in this brutal sports year.

Champion.

I'll be watching. By paying attention, I'm guaranteed not to hate sports.

COUNTDOWN TO 100: Though I haven't written about the Mariners in quite some time, I've been following their meltdown from afar. Today, they can make history.

They can clinch their 100th loss of the season. If you've been boycotting them, then you should be warned that they will become the first MLB team to have a $100 million payroll and lose 100 games.

There's only one thing to say.

Congratulations.

No, really, it's quite an accomplishment to be this bad. The Mariners were actually trying to win this season. Something went wrong, eh?

I'm planning to write some kind of season-ending column this week. Maybe I'll look forward. Maybe I'll write one final report from the ditch this team has been in all season.

I'm just ready for the offseason drama to begin. New GM? New manager? More leadership changes?

It will be far more interesting than the regular season.

CRUCIAL GAME, PART IV: Another must-win game for the Husky football team? Considering the state of this 0-3 team right now, shouldn't we just stop using the must-win tag?

The truth is, even if the Huskies win against Stanford on Saturday, they have a lot of stabilizing left. They have a must-win Pac-10 season, basically.

I keep coming back to the wise words of a reader who e-mailed me earlier this season. Regarding Tyrone Willingham's job status, he said you must look at it like Willingham is already fired, and his job is to earn it back over the course of the season.

That's a great way of capturing the situation.

I will be covering Saturday's game. Against a manageable foe, we should learn for certain whether the Huskies are fatally flawed or victims of a rugged schedule.

It's unreal. You'd think the Huskies could stumble into a sack during garbage time or something. But no.

And it's not one of those weird stretches in which the Huskies are getting good pressure on quarterbacks but somehow failing to tackle him. The defense has barely sniffed opposing quarterbacks. The way things are going, if any QB has a formal party immediately after playing the Huskies, he might as well just wear his tux on the field. There's no cleaner place for a QB to be right now.

The young Husky defensive line gets too overpowered to do anything, especially apply pressure. None of the linebackers are that caliber of playmaker. And whenever the Huskies blitz, they are a half-step late at best.

Like most aspects of the first three games, we're left to wonder whether superior competition skewed the Huskies' pass-rush efforts or whether this team is terminally bad at it. We should get more clarity on this issue Saturday against Stanford, but it's safe to bet the Huskies will struggle in this area all season.

"I want some sacks," linebacker Mason Foster said. "We've got to get sacks. It helps you win games. We've got to get pressure, or else every game will be a long game."

Gaze at Stanford's stats, and you realize this is not just a talent issue. The Cardinal still aren't blessed with great athletes on defense, but they still have 12 sacks already this season. That's because Stanford plays an attacking, blitzing system.

Meanwhile, the Huskies can't figure out if they want a 3-4 or 4-3 defensive scheme.

Considering the Huskies' defensive tradition, it's really annoying to spend all this time talking about the basics of playing defense, isn't it?

Keep an eye on this issue Saturday. If the Huskies can pressure Stanford QB Tavita Pritchard, who possesses good mobility, they'll put together their finest defensive performance of the season. If not, the Huskies better be prepared to win a high-scoring game.

Can the Seahawks beat the New York Giants after the bye week?

Here's how quickly things change in the NFL: Last week, we were wondering if the Seahawks could lose to the St. Louis Rams, the worst team in the NFL in my opinion.

This week, in the afterglow of the Hawks' first victory, we're wondering if they can go to Giants Stadium after this bye week and beat the defending Super Bowl champions.

Well, the Seahawks figure to get receivers Bobby Engram and Deion Branch back for that game. And despite all the injuries on offense, the Seahawks have scored 67 points over their past two games.

But here's the problem with expecting the Seahawks to win in New York: Have we forgotten how different this team is away from Qwest Field? Have we forgotten how familiar the Giants are with Julius Jones, a former Dallas Cowboy?

Can the Seahawks beat the Giants? Of course they can. Should they? Probably not. But if this team wants to redeem itself for losing its first two games, this is the kind of game it needs to win.

Both teams will be coming off byes, so they'll be equally fresh.

The deciding factor in that game figures to be the Seahawks' newfound rushing attack vs. the Giants' steady run defense. The Giants rank eighth in the NFL in stopping the run (84.7 yards). The Seahawks average nearly twice that number.

This game will be a better gauge of the Seahawks' improved ground game.

Quotable

"Against Oregon, we hardly ever had to deal with the O-line. They just ran over us." -- Husky defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, explaining why the Huskies didn't record a sack against Oregon.