#19 WASHINGTON (6-3, 4-2) vs Stanford (5-3, 3-2)
TODAY, 6:00 PM
Husky Stadium (Seattle, WA)
TV: P12
RADIO: KOMO AM 1000 and FM 97.7
LINE: Washington -10.5
The Series
The Huskies and Cardinal are tied, straight up 42-42-4 right now. So this year is a tie-breaker.
Last Season
Washington went to the farm and got dominated by the Stanford running game; anchored by Bryce Love who recorded 166 yards rushing and three touchdowns to give the Huskies a 22-30 loss, and knock them out of the Pac-12 North race. That game was a good example of Love can do even on a gimpy ankle — but this year he hasn’t had as much luck overcoming that issue.
The Rankings & Standings
The Huskies are still in the Coaches Poll (#19) but fell out of the AP poll last last week after losing to Cal. Stanford is not ranked at this time. Both teams have lost two conference games and one non-conference game. The Huskies stand in second place right now in the North with a half-game lead over the Cardinal.
The North Race
If Washington wins out, they would still get to the Pac-12 championship game — but only if they win out. Stanford no longer has that option as they lost to Washington State last weekend at the Farm.
On Offense
Despite the pre-season excitement for the return of Cardinal tailback, Bryce Love, he hasn’t been able to really get uncorked this season due to nagging ankle issues. He’s listed as a “game-time-decision” for today, but right now the Cardinal running game has gone into hibernation — averaging just 95 yards-per game.
In turn, they’ve relied heavily on the combo of K.J. Costello (66.93%) and receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who’s 743 yards and 11 touchdowns for the season.
On Defense
Right now, senior ILB Bobby Okereke leads the Tree with 57 tackles, flanked by fellow senior ILB, Sean Barton who has 56 tackles for the season. Junior DE Jovan Swann leads the team with four sacks.
Keys to the Game for Washington
** The Huskies need to apply a lot of pressure to Costello and not let him get into any kind of rhythm. They need to get Costello off his spot and make him throw on the run.
** The Husky secondary needs to start showing their teeth more in this pass-happy offense that Tree are running. They haven’t posted the same number of picks this season and the time is now to start flying around and getting that part of the defense lit.
** The crowd needs to be ready to make ears bleed from the noise. Don’t give up on these Huskies yet — the Pac-12 North race is still wide open in terms of the Huskies controlling their destiny — and Husky fans need to take the opportunity to pump up their Dawgs in these last two home games so they can be ready to do battle in the Apple Cup on the road later in the month.
Predictions
Kyle Waltos: Washington 28 Stanford 20
Ruth Robbins: Washington 34 Stanford 14
