#15 WASHINGTON (6-2, 4-1) @ California (4-3, 1-3)
TODAY, 3:30 PM
Memorial Stadium (Berkeley, CA)
TV: FS1
RADIO: KOMO AM 1000 and FM 97.7
LINE: Cal +12
The Series
Despite some very good years for the Golden Bears, Washington still leads the series 59-34-4.
Last Season
Washington hosted Cal and completely dominated the Bears, beating them 38-7 in Seattle. The Husky defense held the Bear’s offense to just 93 total yards, and a wretched -40 yards rushing.
The Rankings & Standings
The Huskies enter this game firmly in command of their own destiny in the North. Washington is ranked #15 in the AP Poll and #13 in the Coaches Poll. The Huskies are sitting out front in the North standings with a half-a-game lead over Washington State. Cal, on the other hand, is in the lower tier of the North — but finally got their first Pac-12 win last weekend when they routed Oregon State 49-7.
On Offense
The Bears have seen two quarterbacks on the field this fall; freshman Chase Garbers, and sophomore Brandon McIlwain. Garbers and McIlwain both have thrown for over 700 yards this season, but McIlwain was thought to have been shown up by Garbers more recently due to too many interceptions. Garbers will likely start today as he threw for over 230 yards and three touchdowns last weekend against Oregon State.
Patrick Laird continues to be the go-to guy on the Bear offense. He was their leading rusher last season and this season he’s accumulated 577 yards on 120 carries and five touchdowns. Last season Laird got knocked out of the game early against the Huskies, which accounted for why the Bears couldn’t get anything else going with their ground game.
While Cal is a huge passing threat, they do field some good receivers in Kanawai Noa and Vic Wharton.
On Defense
The Cal defense is led in tackles by senior ILB, Jordan Kunaszyk. He has amassed 59 tackles for the season, and also leads the team in sacks. Safety Ashtyn Davis and corner Traveon Beck each have two picks a-piece.
Keys to the Game for Washington
** Washington needs to be focused on what they do today and stick to their plan. They are a better team both physically and talent-wise than Cal right now and so they need to just play their game.
** Do not look past Cal. They may be the big underdog here but no one wants this to be a trap game as the Huskies are really going to face a big opponent next weekend with Stanford.
** Force the Cal offense to be one-dimensional. Stop Laird on the ground and force the offense to rely on a rather shaky passing game. Last weekend against Oregon State, the young QB Garbers was able to come in and do a decent job because Laird was going off against a terrible run defense in Corvallis.
** The secondary needs to exploit Cal’s underwhelming recievers and really get after it. It would be cool to see guys flying around and really bearing their teeth against this struggling Bear team.
** Just be dominant. The offensive line has played well the past couple of weeks and they are getting better with every game. Jake Browning can get time to throw against this Cal defense, but the Huskies should be able to run it down Cal’s throat.
Predictions
Kyle Waltos: Washington 31 California 14
Ruth Robbins: Washington 42 California 10
