Washington Football: Huskies look for redemption against Stanford
Washington football returns home after an ugly loss to Cal to take on David Shaw and the Stanford Cardinal. Can the Huskies get back on track?
Washington lost to the California Golden Bears last week without giving up a single offensive touchdown. The Huskies played lights out against the Cal offense and did their job. Saying that Washington’s offense was stagnant almost seems like a compliment with how bad this team has looked.
Their passing offense is currently ranked 58th nationally which would be fine for some power five schools but it shouldn’t be for the Huskies. Just two seasons ago, the very quarterback that started against California last week threw 43 touchdown passes. What made things worse is that quarterback, Jake Browning, got pulled from the contest and Jake Haener came in and immediately got shell-shocked and threw a pick-six. The defense played lights out for the whole game but this offense needs to figure some things out.
Stanford actually looked incredible in a loss last weekend. The Cardinal were put into a position against the now-No. 8 Washington State Cougars to where they had to pass to win the game. KJ Costello threw for just under 80 percent completions with 300+ yards and four touchdowns and the Cardinal put the Cougars in a position that they had to score 17 points in the fourth quarter to win. The big-bodied receiving corps of Stanford has played huge roles in bigger games for Stanford and they will be important against a stingy Huskies secondary this weekend.
Can the Huskies pull it all together this weekend at home? or will they pick up their fourth loss of the season?
Date: Saturday, November 3, 2018
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Location: Seattle, WA
Venue: Husky Stadium
TV: Pac 12 Netword
Live Stream: Pac 12 Network
Keys to Victory
Washington has to get something going on offense. The defense has played fine all season long and will find a way to make plays. Jake Browning must prove that he can move the ball downfield or they need to start handing the ball off more often. Stanford’s defense is not near as good as it has been over the past several seasons (2018: 87th total defense; 2017: 76th total defense; 2016: 38th total defense) and Washington has to move the ball on the ground or in the air.
Stanford’s passing game and defense will largely determine how this game goes. JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Kaden Smith, and Colby Parkinson need to play as big as they are in stature and make themselves open against the Washington secondary. Not many teams can play against these guys and even though the Huskies have a good defensive unit, they’re mortal. Defensively, the Cardinal have to make Jake Browning throw the ball. The Huskies haven’t been able to rely fully on Browning to win games and Chris Peterson knows this and showed it last week when he pulled him.
Betting Odds
Points Spread: Washington -10
Over/Under: 45.5
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Prediction
The point spread for this game is ridiculous. I haven’t seen anything out of the Huskies to believe that Washington can beat Stanford by more than a touchdown with this offense. The Huskies defense is the safest bet this game so I’m inclined to go with the Huskies but expect the Cardinal to cover.
Final Score: Washington 23, Stanford 17