The answer, straight from the UW sports info department, is 61,700 sold and distributed. Is that how many will actually be there Saturday? Probably not, and depending on the weather (showers and a high of 56 in the forecast) Husky Stadium could be as empty as Clay Bennett's soul (no, I'm not still bitter or anything).

Should be a better crowd the following week against Notre Dame. Official word is that the game is expected to sell out, however there are some single-game tickets not purchased by season-ticket holders that will come available. Those will go on sale Monday morning at 8:30 at the Husky Ticket Office or online at www.GoHuskies.com.

Also MIA on Saturday will be Spirit, the Husky mascot. Official word is that Spirit is expected to be out the rest of the season with a shoulder injury suffered while throwing a block (or chasing a rabbit, whichever it was) but that the hope is he will be able to attend the UCLA game for a proper sendoff
and a recognition of the Cross family for their years of service to the mascot program.

Finally, a couple of links to pass along:

--- ESPN's well-dressed Ted Miller offers up this mid-season review of the Huskies, while also splashing cold water on the thought that UW may be able to lure Gary Pinkel or Jeff Tedford. Ted also had this chat with fans today, and one of the first questions was whether the Huskies might be able to get Jim Mora.

--- Miller also picks OSU to win 41-17 Saturday.

--- Paul Buker updates the news from Corvallis, where even Joe the Plumber was apparently upset that there was no Beavers news in the Oregonian today. Will Joe be happier to know that OSU safety Al Afalava is apparently ready to return for the UW game Saturday? How about UW fans? Would you rather Afalava, who knocked Jake Locker out of the game last year, be on the field Saturday available for retribution, or sitting it out? Anyway, sounds like he and all the other injured Beavers will be ready for the Huskies. Buker also points out that OSU has a pretty realistic shot at the Rose Bowl, having already beaten USC and with a favorable schedule the rest of the way.

All for now, or until Ted Miller writes again, which could be a few minutes.

That's the day Isaiah Stanback suffered a Lisfranc injury and was lost for the season, with UW then losing four of its last five games without him after going 4-2 to start the year --- they were losing 27-17 with just over 10 minutes left at the time he was hurt so that was probably going to be a defeat that day, as well. Still, that team went from 4-3 with Stanback to 5-7 without him.

Obviously, it's a completely hypothetical question, and who really knows for sure what would have happened had Stanback stayed healthy? UW came close to winning the next two weeks, OT losses to Cal and Arizona State. Would Stanback have made the difference in those games? Maybe, especially considering replacement Carl Bonnell had to leave the ASU game with an injury, starting a merry-go-round of QB instability the remainder of the season.

Fans can argue the point, and those who have soured on Willingham I'm sure will say no, the collapse that has followed would likely have happened anyway. Obviously, last year's team started 2-0 with Jake Locker and seemed to have all the momentum in the world and couldn't sustain it, falling prey to greater weaknesses in the program. The six losses that followed may be just as relevant a turning point.

But I can tell you a lot of people close to the team at the time will say otherwise, and that's what I was trying to get at today --- that there are a lot of people who do think Stanback's injury was the difference between the 2006 team going to a bowl, and it instead finishing 5-7.

"Not to take anything away from Carl because he was good, too, but it definitely took away from the uprising and the fire we had as a team to see your starting QB go down,'' said Johnie Kirton.

And if that team goes to a bowl, a whole lot might be different right now. Maybe the players would have bought into Willingham's system a little more eagerly. Maybe going to a bowl, and getting those 15 extra practices, would have served as a tipping point to later success. Maybe the ugly Suddenly Senior controversy, which a lot of other people point to as a turning point in the public perception of Willingham, wouldn't have seemed like as big a deal if the team was 6-4 at that point and heading to a bowl, instead of 4-6.

What some will say is a flaw in the argument is that UW was on its way to losing that game that day even before Stanback got hurt, as I noted above. Indeed, Stanback was three yards shy of picking up a first down on the play he was hurt, so UW had to punt, making a comeback that much less likely. Also, he hadn't played his best game that day, though Tim Lappano told me this week Stanback was banged up a lot more than people realized during the close loss the previous week at USC.

But I thought it a worthy premise to at least explore with OSU again in town almost two years to the date of that game, which was played on Oct. 14, 2006.

And again, I realize completely it's all hypothetical. I didn't write it as a way to try to find another apology for Willingham --- I've already gotten some complaints along those lines --- just something I thought was interesting to consider in a season when storylines aren't exactly popping out all over the place.

The story also includes a chart with five other games when things seemed to swing downward for the Willingham Huskies, including the 2006 Stanford game.

I talked with Stanback last week, and as is always the case, there was a lot that I didn't have room for in the paper.

For one thing, Stanback remains a staunch supporter of Willingham.

"The last thing we need is another change at head coach,'' he said. "That's what got us into the position we are in. When I was there, there was so much change and not enough stability. Not that they listen to me. They listen to the guys who hand out the money.''

When I asked Stanback how he thinks instability hurts a program, he pointed to the uneven distribution of players at certain positions and said "that's what happens when you have three different coaches with three different philosophies.'' An example of that would be all the WRs in the class of 2003, one reason the team is so young at that spot now.

I also talked with Roy Lewis, who is now on the practice squad with the Pittsburgh Steelers, to get his views, and he's quoted in the story saying he also thinks things would have turned out a lot different if Stanback had remained upright. Lewis, however, said he didn't want to comment on the status of Willingham, which you can maybe read into whatever you want, saying only that "what is going on in the program at this point, it definitely has to change. It has to right now. We are not where we need to be and UW has always been, through history, known as a pretty dominant program. Everyone remembers UW as a dominant program. Things can always get better with time. Right now we are just a little down.''

--- Kevin Hampton of the Corvallis Gazette-Times wonders what's happened to the Huskies of old. He also wonders if it might be bad news for the rest of the Pac-10 that the Huskies may make a coaching change.

--- Also from the GT is the Beavers Blog with some news of a few assistants on each side with ties to the other. OSU assistant Reggie Davis is a former UW tight end best known for being on the receiving end of the Brock Huard pass to beat ASU in 1998. UW assistant Steve Gervais is a former QB at OSU.

--- Terry Mosher of the Kitsap Sun writes about a couple UW fans trying to keep the faith in trying times.

--- ESPN's Ted Miller has this mid-season report on Oregon State, which serves as a good primer for those who want their Beaver news in small doses. Miller should have a UW mid-season look up soon (I've been waiting for next week, when UW meets the actual halfway point of its schedule, to post something similar).

--- Matt Hayes of The Sporting News breaks down the candidates to take over at Clemson, a few of whom are also rumored as potential candidates at UW if/when. And he also points out the potential risk in hiring an assistant.

--- The line has stayed at 14, favoring OSU.

--- The WizofOdds breaks down the grad rates by conference, with the Pac-10 not faring all that well.

--- Here's an update on the health of former UW WR Dane Looker. Sounds as if he has an abnormal artery on the right side of his brain but should be able to return to play.

Guess it's back to the debate.

One man not as dressed as the rest, however, was RB David Freeman, who was not in pads, apparently not playing this weekend against Oregon State, leaving UW with Willie Griffin, Terrance Dailey and Brandon Johnson in the backfield.

Otherwise, the injury situation appeared as advertised. Kavario Middleton was back in full pads, shy a wisdom tooth that held him out of practice on Tuesday.

The organized portion of practice began with some field goal kicking, which was still under way when our available viewing time passed.

--- Donatell said DT Craig Noble is almost certain to redshirt this season, pointing to the lateness of his arrival and the fact that so many true freshmen are already playing. "We probably wouldn't be looking to throw another guy into that this late,'' he said.

--- When asked for a young player who is raising some eyebrows, he mentioned DE Everrette Thompson, saying "his arrow is going up pretty nicely.'' Donatell said Thompson is a "pretty squared-away kid'' who has spent a lot of time in the film room and "picks things up pretty well.'' He also said he weighs 262 pounds and has the ability to hold that weight and maybe get a little bigger. "He'll be a very good defensive end here for a long time,'' he said.

--- He said the biggest challenge in facing OSU is that they've "got good speed and quickness out at the skill positions'' a "nice running game'' and a "nice a group of receivers that are probably up there with most anybody's.''

--- He said screen plays will be something the Huskies have to watch for this week and that bringing pressure can be dicey against them because "with all their weapons, you've got to make sure you've got them all taken care of.''

--- He praised the way Nate Williams has handled playing with a lot of other safeties at the other spot all season and said that all the rest of the guys remain in the mix for time based on whether they are healthy or not. Said Williams has shown a maturity that shows that "he's not a normal sophomore.''

--- Also praised the recent play of Daniel Te'o-Nesheim and said he has brought a lot of leadership to that group. "We're just not seeing the fruits of that work yet, but someday it will be there,'' he said.

--- Said of UW's struggles on third down that it's "a combination of pressure and coverage and how it works together.'' Said he thought it was better against Arizona thanks in part to some of the sacks by Te'o-Nesheim. But said that "like some other parts, that's a concern that we want to improve and fix.''

--- As for the overall defense, said "the results speak for themselves. We haven't gotten the job done. There's no other way to look at it.''

And when he met with us, he said he had received no word yet on how Jake Locker's meeting went today with a hand specialist.

Willingham, however, said that despite whatever comes out of that exam that "the best guess'' is that Locker will be out the 6-8 weeks estimated originally. That seems to differ a little with what Tim Lappano told us Tuesday, that he doesn't expect Locker to play again this season. But it's also in keeping with Willingham's general tone on these kinds of things to keep options open. As has been noted, eight weeks does essentially take the Huskies to close to the end of the season, so there's not a real difference there one way or the other.

But Willingham said any definitive decisions won't be made until tests are in and the it's clearer how Locker's thumb is progressing. UW ends the regular season Dec. 6 at Cal, with a bye after the Apple Cup.

Willingham was a bit more definitive on guard Casey Bulyca, however, saying it "looks like his might be season-ending right now.'' Bulyca had arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday though Willingham said he didn't have the specifics of what was found.

There was better news on the Kavario Middleton front as Willingham said he sat out practice Tuesday after having a wisdom tooth pulled. He apparently will return to practice today with coaches saying his knee/leg injury is getting better.

Willingham also defended the use of Middleton lately, saying that "I think he's still doing very well'' and that he's simply lost some of the role he had the first two games after senior Michael Gottlieb returned.

In other notes:

--- Willingham said he likes having Tripper Johnson as the second up back on kickoffs because he not only has good "ball skills'' but also the ability to block, which he said is important for an up back. Some have questioned why there isn't a second returner back there who might be more of a threat to make a big return.

--- He said the defensive line has "still not played well enough'' and that it is obviously an area where experience is vital and that is something UW has not had enough of in that spot this year. Asked about the progress there, he termed it "steady but slow growth.''

--- Said that "gap integrity'' will be critical this week in defending OSU running back Jacquizz Rodgers. He said film has shown Rodgers to "bounce from one side all the way to the other side'' in eluding tacklers at the line of scrimmage. He said it will "be a test of strength and discipline'' for the entire defense to contain Rodgers, saying it falls on the linebackers and secondary as much as the defensive line.

--- Said that the Huskies are "right now, leaning more on a four-man front'' on defense after also trying out the 3-4 look earlier in the season. Said it simply seems to fit the personnel better right now.

--- Asked about the play of the cornerbacks, said he is "excited'' about the future of Quinton Richardson and thinks Mesphin Forrester has also played well at times this year. But also said "that's an area we still need a great step from.''

The team will practice this afternoon at Husky Stadium.

--- Among our stories today was this update on Jake Locker's injury and the possibility that he is done for the season. To answer again a question that has been out there a lot, Locker can't get a medical redshirt for this season because he has already redshirted once, in 2006 as a true freshman. Players get five years to play four from the minute they enroll, and can redshirt once, be it for medical reasons or otherwise. To redshirt a second time requires applying for a sixth year. But I've only seen those given in cases of players who miss two ENTIRE seasons, and the only two I've seen awarded at UW were for players who missed two entire seasons consecutively --- center Juan Garcia and WR Patrick Reddick. WR Gerald Harris was denied a sixth year in 2000 after he redshirted the 1995 season, then missed all of 1997 with an injury, as an example of how difficult it can be to get sixth years.

---- I also wrote this story today on OSU's Rodgers' brothers and their road to Corvallis.

--- We also had this today on the graduation rates at UW and WSU. When I posted some of this info yesterday, a few of you asked if there is a way to know how the grad rates are for Tyrone Willingham. There really isn't, as none of his classes have yet gone through four years. The grad rates released yesterday are for the incoming classes of 1998-2001, and at UW, that means it's been pretty much a collaborative effort of all the coaches for the success of the grad rates. The 2001 class, for instance, was brought in by Rick Neuheisel but also played for Keith Gilbertson and Willingham.

--- Also in our paper today, Bud Withers hands out his mid-year Pac-10 awards. Suffice to say UW needn't worry clearing out any room in its trophy case.

--- Here's the latest from Paul Buker's Beavers blog.

--- Buker also has this on OSU safety Al Afalava, whose hit sent Locker to the hospital in Corvallis last year.

--- The Corvallis Gazette-Times has this mid-season look at the Beavers.

--- The Eugene Register-Guard weighs in with these Pac-10 notes, including a couple of UW-related items.

--- Oh how Boeing must be proud of that Apple Cup sponsorship this year with the Cougars and Huskies residing 1-2 in ESPN's Bottom 10.

--- ESPN's Ted Miller says an upset this week isn't out of the question.

--- Ken Goe's links yesterday included his look at what has happened to UW.

All for now.

You can find out more here.

Among other events, the school says that Gov. Christine Gregoire has declared Friday as "Purple and Gold Day" in celebration of the UW's Homecoming festivities.

Friday is also the day of the UW Alumni Association's annual Homecoming Rally in Red Square. The event begins at 8 p.m. and, according to a school press release, brings students and alumni together for free food, live performances by the Husky Marching Band and Cheer Squad, and special appearances by UW student athletes and coaches. KJR sports radio host Dave "Softy" Mahler and Husky Hall-of-Famer Greg Lewis will co-emcee.

The injury report was mostly as advertised earlier. The biggest surprise was the sight of TE Kavario Middleton sitting out practice. Tim Lappano had indicated in his briefing with us earlier in the day that Middleton was getting back to full health. But he watched practice from the sidelines without pads.

In one apparent new injury, DT Tyrone Duncan had a big wrap on his hand.

Willie Griffin appeared to be running with the first offense at tailback when the team went through early drills.

Lappano says that the team will know more after that examination whether Locker will be able to return this season.

But Lappano held out the possibility that Locker is done for the year.

"Is he going to play this year before the season is over? Who knows,'' Lappano said. "It's highly unlikely I would guess. But tomorrow we'll know more when they find out a little bit more about it.''

UW coach Tyrone Willingham said Monday that the timetable on Locker remained 6-8 weeks from the time of the surgery, which was the week after the Stanford game Sept. 27.

But Lappano said that not only will Locker need time to recover, but he will also then need some rehab time to get back into playing form.

"I do think it's going to take some time to rehab it a little bit where you can squeeze and grab and feel the ball and get the strength back and all of that,'' Lappano said. "So I think it would be a tough call (that he could return this year). I pray I'm wrong, but I don't know.''

Lappano, however, said there is no worry that the injury will affect Locker long-term.

"He's not going to miss spring ball or anything like that,'' Lappano said.

Lappano said Locker now has the injury in a hard cast and that as of last week, still felt throbbing at times in the thumb, particularly at night.

In other notes:

--- Lappano said he doesn't expect RB David Freeman to play this week, leaving UW with three players at tailback --- Willie Griffin, Terrance Dailey and Brandon Johnson.

--- He said fullback Luke Kravitz was bothered by a foot injury against Arizona but should be back to full status this week.

--- He said G Casey Bulyca could be out 2-7 weeks depending on what is learned in his arthroscopic surgery today, again leaving open the chance that he could return this season.

--- Walk-on Taylor Bean remains the No. 2 QB behind Ronnie Fouch as the team will redshirt true freshman Luther Leonard.

--- TE Kavario Middleton is just about fully recovered from the knee injury suffered against BYU and could see more of a role this week against the Beavers.

--- Lappano assessed OSU's defense as rapidly improving and said "they do a great job of evaluating talent. They've got a good scheme and they do a good job of getting the kids that they have fit into their scheme. ... They recruit well to their system.''

--- Lappano said the Beavers remain an aggressive defense that likes to bump-and-run on the corners. "They've been able to bump you and not give up too many deep balls,'' he said.

--- Lappano said the Huskies are working to curb Griffin's fumbling issues. He fumbled twice against Arizona, losing one for a turnover, something the coach said has been an issue since last spring. Lappano said Griffin "was not a fumbler in high school.''

--- Lappano was one of the two assistants who did not go on the road recruiting last week, staying in town along with defensive coordinator Ed Donatell and Willingham to run practices and help formulate the game plan for this week. Lappano admitted recruiting is tough right now, saying other schools are using UW's current struggles to scare kids off of Washington. "It's a tough struggle right now,'' he said. "I'm not going to lie to you about that.''

Denbrock said the knee has been bothering Bulyca the last two or three games saying "he had trouble with his knees locking up on him.''

He said the surgery today is designed in part to determine what exactly is wrong with the knee. If it's serious, it will likely mean the end of the season, and career, for Bulyca. But if not, he could return this year, especially with UW not playing its final game until Dec. 6 at Cal.

"Hopefully it's just something that they can go in and clean up and we can get him back,'' Denbrock said.

Ryan Tolar will start in place of Bulyca this week with Jordan White-Frisbee at the other guard spot. Denbrock said Matt Sedillo, Morgan Rosborough and Scott Shugert will get a lot of reps in practice this week to determine a No. 3 guard. Tolar, Bulyca and White-Frisbee have been rotating at the guard spots all year with no one else seeing action other than in garbage time.

Denbrock said he was confident Tolar and JWF could play an entire game if needed.

Asked if the chemistry of the line will be disrupted by the loss of Bulyca, Denbrock pointed out that Tolar has seen a lot of playing time so "I think they all trust him and know him'' and that it shouldn't have "that big an impact in that'' area.

Asked about whether any of the linemen will carry hard feelings from last year's game into this one, Denbrock said "we've got a lot of things to be angry about. That just adds to the list.''

Among those things is the inability to mount a consistent running game this year. Denbrock said he has seen signs of it coming together at times but said "we just have seemed out of sync more than anything else.'' He said when the backs are running well, it seems as if the line isn't blocking as well, and vice versa. He also said the youth in the backfield, and now a change at QB, has also impacted the running game.

And UW fares well when compared to other Pac-10 football programs, graduating 65 percent of its players in the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate and 56 percent when measured by the federal rate --- the GSR doesn't penalize schools for transfers who leave in good academic standing.

Here's a story from the NCAA with more details.

And here are the numbers for football graduation rates for the Pac-10 based on the incoming classes of 1998-2001.

First, the GSR:

Stanford 93
Washington State 68
Washington 65
Oregon State 64
UCLA 62
ASU 60
USC 54
Oregon 53
Cal 53
Arizona 41

And here are the federal rates:

Stanford 89
WSU 65
Washington 56
UCLA 53
ASU 52
USC 51
Oregon 49
Cal 45
OSU 44
Arizona 38

As you can see, the federal rates are lower for every school as they simply count players who transfer as players who didn't graduate as opposed to the GSR, which rewards schools if those players were in good academic standing when they left.

And as you can see from reading the NCAA story, the national GSR rate for football bowl subdivision schools is 67 percent, while the federal rate is 56. UW is right on par with both, though many other Pac-10 schools lag a bit.

The 98-2001 period encompasses the final year of the Jim Lambright regime and the first three years of the Rick Neuheisel era.

It's all part of Pat Forde's column ruminating on coaches whose futures may best be measured in days and weeks. Forde speculates that Missouri's Gary Pinkel is the most logical candidate to take over for Willingham.

--- I wrote today about the physical nature of last year's game and whether any hard feelings might linger into this year.

--- Jerry Brewer includes some thoughts on the Huskies in this column on the uncertainty facing Seattle sports teams.

--- Here's a good update on the game from the Oregonian's Beavers blog.

--- The Corvallis Gazette-Times says the Beavers need to stay focused this week.

--- Sounds like good news for former Husky Dane Looker, who has passed tests involving his head and is set to return to practice this week for the Rams.

--- BeaverFootball.com breaks down all the TV/Radio info for this game from an OSU standpoint but which may be relevant for UW fans, as well, depending on where you live.

--- The first prediction of the week is out and it calls for the Beavers to win easily.

All for now.

But one who was, running back Brandon Johnson, said he still thinks there is some life in the Dawgs.

Johnson said he thought the bye week was a real positive for the Huskies, with what he said were intense and fun practices. With the team not having a game to prepare for, practices were a little different. The team worked more with the one offense against the one defense, and Johnson said there were some competitions built in, such as the losing team in certain drills having to run, or having to carry the equipment for the winners.

Johnson said the practices were among the most spirited of the season.

"If you saw us practice,'' he said. "You'd never think we were 0-5. ... We felt like a team again. It just felt like everyone was starting to understand what it's going to take to win and go out and play hard.

"There's been a lot of negativity going around the internet and the newspapers and stuff like that. But our guys are like 'forget about all the negative things' We've got to stay positive so we can win the next seven games. We just have to believe it and do it. We can't talk about it. We just have to do it. Just go out and play hard every single play and leave it on the field.''

And Johnson said he thinks all the players still have that belief.

"Everybody wants to win,'' he said. "I don't know one player who would ever say he wants to lose. If you say want to lose, you don't need to be playing football. This team worked too hard through the summer, running and conditioning at 6:30 in the morning, doing mat drills and all this stuff that we did and getting this result. Somewhere we have to find the answer to what is wrong. I think this bye week helped and hopefully we found the answer that guys just need to go out and have fun and stop worrying about everything else, stop worrying about who we are playing and our record and just go out there and play.''