Stanford (1-2) at #22 Washington (3-0)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Seattle, WA (Husky Stadium)
Line: Washington -11.5
TV: FOX Radio: KJR 950
The Washington Huskies enter the week 3-0 and ranked No. 22 in the latest College football playoff rankings. The Huskies overcame a 21-0 halftime deficit to stun the Utah Utes, 24-21 last Saturday night at Husky Stadium.
“I think our whole coaching staff was extremely pleased with our training camp,” head coach Jimmy Lake said about what he saw in training camp and how focused his team has been.”We felt we practiced at a really high level. We practiced a bunch of situations all the time. We all pride ourselves on running an NFL type practice, an NFL type training camp. Which you have to be totally engaged in because you have to know which situation you’re bouncing back and fourth from. I know our players really enjoyed training camp because they were fully engaged in every situation that we bring up. And it brought out their competitive juices. I think as a coaching staff we are definitely not surprised that we’re able to operate and be able to perform at a high level in some crucial situations so far.”
The Huskies focus this season has resulted in them being the lone undefeated team in the North Division of the Pac-12 with two games left.
For Stanford, their season has been a turbulent one. The Cardinal got their first win at California last week thanks to a blocked extra point. But the win was short lived as local health restrictions in California prevented Stanford from playing/practicing in their home confines. The team will spend the next two weeks practicing and playing in the Pacific Northwest.
This Stanford team is far from the vintage David Shaw teams we’ve seen. In what used to be a given that the Stanford would rush for over 200 yards per game, the Cardinal have rushed for over 100 yards just once this season. And the team ranks No. 7 in the Pac-12 in rushing yards averaging 120.7 yards on the ground. More have been asked of Stanford quarterbacks in the last few years. Quarterback Davis Mills has thrown for 532 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions in his two starts this season. Mills missed their season opener due to a false positive Covid test. Look for Mills to target wide receiver Michael Wilson plenty of times on Saturday. Wilson leads the team with 218 yards receiving and one TD.
Washington’s offense enters Saturday averaging 196.0 yards rushing per game. And in some ways look like the old Stanford teams that used to out physical their opponents. And as more and more teams continue to stack the box against the Huskies QB Dylan Morris has found his future NFL tight end Cade Otton in the play action game. Otton has caught 16 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. The junior had the game winning TD catch against Utah last weekend.
The Cardinal will face a stout Washington defense. The Huskies lead the conference in scoring defense – allowing 23.0 points per game. Washington also leads the Pac-12 in passing defense – allowing just 162.7 yards through the air. Washington’s defense has been led by senior defense back Elijah Molden and the emerging star pass rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui. The 6-foot-3, 280-pound sophomore leads the nation with 2.33 sacks per game and is second in forced fumbles per game (1.0).
“He’s on a hot streak to say the least,” Washington head coach Jimmy Lake said when talking about Tupuola-Fetui.”I don’t know if I’ve seen a 3-game stretch with that stat line with forced fumbles, the sacks, the fumble recoveries, the tackles. You know he’s come to work every single week. Even after all the accolades, the players of the week, the production – he just comes right back to work.”
Last Meeting
Washington was dominated in a 23-13 loss at Stanford last season. Stanford controlled the line of scrimmage and out-gained the Huskies 482-294 yards. The Cardinal used a balance offense as they passed for 293 yards and rushed for 189 yards.
Prediction
This season has been anything but normal for the Stanford Cardinal. So much of a teams success is based on routine and Stanford won’t have that this week as they continue to practice in Washington. This is a game that the Huskies must stop the run and force Stanford to attack them through the air against one of the best secondaries in college football. Washington should be able to get back to their running game as the Cardinal have surrendered an average of 229 yards per game rushing. Washington gets off to a better start this week and controls the game from start to finish.
Washington 35 Stanford 21
