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Stanford, CA - The visiting Washington Huskies (3-3, 1-2) get to make the trek to Stanford, to take on the Cardinal (5-1, 4-0), or, the only team in the Pac-12 to be named after a color. The Husky defense looks to continue it's stellar play against a Cardinal offense that has really picked up the slack after it's less than poor performance against Northwestern in their season opener.
Where: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California
When: Saturday, October 17, 2015
7:30 p.m. Pacific Time
TV Info: ESPN, Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Brian Griese (analyst) and
Tom Luginbill (sidelines) providing the commentary
Radio Info: KOMO AM-1000/FM-97.7; Sirius (137) and XM (197)
Game-Week Previews: Our Game Week Coverage; and their Game Week Coverage for the game
(Just about everything you'll need to read before you catch the game.)
How to Watch and Listen to the Huskies:
Audio Stream: TuneIn Radio
Video Stream: Watch ESPN
History
The Huskies lead their series with Stanford, ever so slightly, with a 41-40-4. The last 10 years have not been kind to the Huskies, as they have lost all but two of those games. The first win was way back in 2007, when the Dawgs traveled down to Stanford Stadium and beat the Cardinal 27-9. It was a much better showing than the year prior, when the Huskies lost at home to a Stanford team that only managed a single win on the season. That 2007 game was a big one for the Husky running game, as they racked up 388 yards (255 of them from Louis Rankin)
The other Husky win was a memorable one at the Clink, on a Thursday night in 2012. The Huskies had a whopping 2 explosive plays, and Keith price was completely abused. He threw a pick-6, and was on his back for most of the night. Fortunately, Bishop Sankey was able to get a run off right as time expired in the third quarter, when the Stanford D was caught thinking the clock would expire before the Dawgs could get a play off. Sankey juked the Stanford safety out of his cleats, and ran 31 yards for the score. Kasen Williams was also able to take a sideline pass for 35 yards, and a score, though he almost threw the ball out of the back of the endzone on the play.
Las year the Huskies and Cardinal played in Seattle, in a game many fans thought the Dawgs should have won. It was a very close game, the Huskies losing by 6 points, on a late Kevin Hogan rush for a touchdown. There was a controversial 4th down where the Huskies decided to fake the punt, and Shaq Thompson was stopped for no gain.
Numbers
0 - The number of times the Cardinal have converted a 3rd down with 10 or more yards to go this season with a rushing play. (It's only happened 5 times, but they are averaging -1 yards per attempt.)
8.5 - The number of points per game Stanford's kicker is averaging. (He leads the team.)
15 - The total number of plays the Husky Defense has allowed over 20 yards this season. (12 of those are pass plays.)
25 - The total number of Cardinal offensive plays that have gone over 20 yards this season. (13 runs and 12 passes.)
48.89 - Kevin Hogan's completion percentage on third down this season (in 45 attempts).
53 - Opposing QB's completion percentage on third downs this season (in 66 attempts).
253 - Christian McCaffrey's all-purpose yards per game this season.
351.3 - The Huskies' average offensive yards per game this season.
357.3 - Stanford opponent's average yards per game this season.
1518 - Christian McCaffrey's total all-purpose yards this season ... so far.
Questions Needing Answers
Offense:
Will the Huskies even need to worry about clock management this game? Can we stop it with the overthrows and dropped passes that should be resulting in 6 points? How will the O-line hold up to a killer front seven? ill the snap count be over or under 35 plays this week? Who's starting at QB?
Defense:
Can our front 3, or 4, get some serious pressure on Kevin Hogan? Will the linebackers be able to slow down McCaffrey? Who is going to have the first pick? Will the defense, once again, be able to keep the Dawgs in this one?
Miscellaneous:
How many different facial expressions will David Shaw sport (I'll wager 3)? Will the Husky Special teams show up? What about the Petersen death stare? Why hasn't Stanford fallen off the Harbaugh wagon yet?
Conclusion
This game could get ugly fast, though I don't expect it too. I imagine the Husky defense is going to give Stanford some serious fits, and is probably going to cause some turnovers. The big questions are going to come on offense, since we don't know if Jake Browning is going to be healthy enough to start, and we don't know if Carta-Samuels or Lindquist is going to start the game. Putting those question marks against a very stout Cardinal defense, and you're going to be lucky to put 10 points on the board.
However, I see the Huskies relying on Miles Gaskin a bunch this game, and he should give them a pretty good game. Hopefully this will open up the game enough to all the Husky offense to make a couple of big time passing plays over the top of the Cardinal defense for some nice gains.
While I can't see this game being closer than 2 scores, I don't think it highly unlikely that, once again, this game goes down to the final drive.
More Info
Pre-Game Dots
- Here's a few predictions on the game from the Stanford Daily. I think you'll find it amusing. Two of the authors give the Husky defense some credit (one picks an upset), while the other two seem to forget the Huskies can play defense at all.
- John Wilner has a feature on Stanford coach David Shaw's newfound emotion. Apparently he can do something other than Blue Steel.
Vegas Odds
Courtesy of VegasInsider, the Huskies are currently 19 point underdogs, with a total score line of 47.5 points. That's a score of 28-9 or 29-10. The Huskies are 4-2 against the spread this season, 5-0 against the spread in their previous 5 away games, and 9 out of their last 10 games have been under the point total. This is the second lowest line of the season for the Huskies.
Gamethread
Get ready for what is sure to be a rowdy gamethread. I can just imagine the numerous threads of negativity as soon as Oregon scores a touchdown, the calling for Jonathan Smith's head the moment the offense stalls, and the plenty of cuss words to go around. Don't worry, the anonymity of the internet makes people go a little crazy. You'll be in for a wild ride this week. Come on over to the gamethread, if for no other reason, than to have some good laughs.