Game Thread: Washington Huskies @ Stanford Cardinal

[mcnabb7542]

And Berkeley. Remember how Cal had to delay the construction on the stadium renovation for months because a bunch of tree hugging moonbats climbed up trees next to it. I wish I was in charge of that situation. I would of grabbed a chainsaw and informed them they had a min to get down before Mother Earth gets a hair cut.

Yep... Thanks Regent for the reminder...LOL....

 

[WizardHawk]

Most football games come down to which team has the better athletes on the lines, at QB, and at the skill positions with the x-factor of coaching and home field thrown in.

I'm not sure anyone really knows if UW can keep playing as they have against a solid defense or if Stanford can keep getting the deep passing plays against a decent defense. And I'm not sure we know just how good either defense will be in the tougher games of the year.

Hogan is a big improvement over who they started the season with last year and not only can throw it, but is a real threat running it as well. He is no Luck and I wouldn't put him above Mariota, but he is a dangerous QB that so far hasn't lost a game as the starting QB.

Price has been vastly improved over last year and is still doing better than his first season as well. He is up around 70% completion and only has two INT's this year with one of them really being the fault of the receiver. But is he ready for a big road game? He hasn't performed well in any tough road game in his career and this would count as one.

You should give the nod to Hogan > Price then considering it is a home game for him.

As for skill positions UW should really get the nod at pretty much all of them. Their TE is among the nations best, they have the nations leading rusher in Sankey, and they have at least a couple of NFL caliber WR's. Can Stanford contain them all while putting enough pressure on Price to keep him from using them to their fullest?

The lines? It would be easy to simply say Stanford as they always have size and athleticism on both, but UW has improved substantially on both. This is really the battles that will count this game. Will UW have enough depth and focus to fight off a front 7 for Stanford that will be the best it will see all year? I'm sure Price will spend time running from the pocket and will be sacked, but how often will be the difference in this game.

UW's defense must continue to prevent the big plays as it has done in every game so far. It was long bombs that blew up ASU (6 of them) and another one that put WSU in a hole it could never climb out of. If they let Hogan beat them deep more than once it will be a long night for them. Specifically can Ducre cover well enough to not need bracket coverage?

I don't know who will win this game, but I expect it to be close. Both teams have too many weapons on offense to be kept quiet.

Either way this is the biggest game in the conference this week and I just hope both sides come out of it without any substantial injuries given how physical this game will be.

Good luck trees.

 

[SUBuddha]

Good luck to the Dawgs as well. I second the sentiment of no major injuries. Sadly I have to work during the game so I will be watching it on TIVO tomorrow around 12am.

 

[tshirt]

a look at some of the guys on Washington's front four:

#71 DT Danny Shelton (6-1/327)
--2012 All-Pac-12 honorable mention
--as a recruit: Rivals #10 DT -- #120 overall on Rivals150
--offers to Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Cal, UCLA, etc
--former state shot put champion

#55 DT Sione Potoa’e (6-2/278)
--as a recruit: #4/10/17 DT, #52/92/202 overall
--offers to Southern Cal, UCLA, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, etc

#93 DE Andrew Hudson (6-3/252)
--2012 honorable mention All-Pac-12
--offers to Tennessee, Oklahom State, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, Utah, etc

#22 DE Josh Shirley (6-3/232)
--as a recruit: #9/#12/#14 OLB, #120/137/184 overall
--offers to Notre Dame, Miami, Tennessee, Nebraska, Southern Cal, Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Utah, etc

 

[WhiteMamba]

 

[yeodonie]

Must have been the only Husky highlight.

 

[tshirt]

those two DEs Josh Shirley and Andrew Hudson were #1 and #2 on UW with sacks both last year as sophomores and the year before that as freshman. Last year they had 13 sacks in 13 games and the year before had 12 sacks in 13 games

 

[RACER-MIKE]

fuck Stanford overrated . UW needs to win

 

[RegentDenali]

Thanks for all those great posts tshirt. Awesome stuff.

Go Dawgs!!!! Beat the trees!!!

 

[SUBuddha]

fuck Stanford overrated . UW needs to win

Says the guy with a BOZ avatar? In what way is Stanford overrated?

 

[yeodonie]

Go Trees. Smash the puppies

 

[RegentDenali]

From the lead story right now on CFL Gameday Kickoff

"What a cool week for the Huskies, man."

That's how Washington coach Steve Sarkisian opened his Monday meeting with reporters. His team is gearing up for a trip to Stanford, a game that might be the cool one on the Week 6 agenda, but it's not alone.

The first Saturday in October follows a September highlighted by scintillating SEC shootouts, emphatic ACC statements, Oregon and Baylor lighting up scoreboards at record rates, targeting calls, overturned ejections, coaches getting ejected from their chairs and others barely keeping a cheek on their thermonuclear seats.

What we haven't had yet is a true breakthrough team that shakes up the top of the polls, and in turn the quickly approaching BCS standings. In September, no top-10 team lost to an unranked opponent. In fact, the only top-10 team to lose to a team ranked outside the top 10 was then-sixth-ranked South Carolina's loss to then-No. 11 Georgia.

Opportunities are abundant for landscape-shifting wins this week, though. The question is whether the challengers are good enough to shake things up.

Sarkisian's "cool week" is actually the first of two cool weeks for Washington. The Huskies get No. 2 Oregon next week in what qualifies as the nastiest back-to-back slate anyone has faced. And yes, I know about Georgia's first two games.

Washington has had great wins under Sarkisian. It beat USC back-to-back in Pete Carroll's last season and Lane Kiffin's first. It avenged a regular-season loss to Nebraska by besting the Huskers in the 2010 Holiday Bowl. And it derailed a top 10-ranked Stanford team last season.

That win came in the college football version of "Here Comes the Boom." The Cardinal defense pummeled the Huskies all night, but an anemic Stanford offense left a jaw sticking out. Running back Bishop Sankey and wide receiver Kasen Williams landed a pair of improbable, nearly impossible late haymakers, and Washington pulled out the win.

Payback is on Stanford's side when the teams meet at Stanford Stadium on Saturday. But that's not as important as having Kevin Hogan on its side. Hogan wasn't the starting quarterback for last season's game in Seattle, but now he is and the junior is blossoming. He is ranked sixth in total QBR. Without the fleet of Humvee-sized tight ends Stanford has employed in recent years, Hogan showed quick-strike capability with his wide receivers last week against Washington State. He fired three touchdown passes longer than 30 yards.

But Washington has allowed only three pass plays of 30 yards or longer all season. Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox has put together the Pac-12's stingiest defense, allowing just 3.8 yards per play.

The Huskies have two excellent pass-rushers in Josh Shirley and Hau'oli Kikaha. Linebacker Shaq Thompson is their most athletic and versatile defender.

The Huskies were close to scouring intramural fields for healthy offensive linemen before the Stanford last year. This year's healthy front five is paving the way for Sankey, who leads the nation in rushing, and quarterback Keith Price, who is running the offense with precision.

The Cardinal front seven have treated quarterbacks like crash-test dummies this season -- Washington State probably ran out of smelling salts for its quarterbacks last Saturday night. So protecting Price will be a huge indicator as to whether Washington has a chance to pull off the win.

Notice I said win, not upset. While beating Stanford would qualify as an upset, the earlier wins in the Sarkisian era were in the puncher's chance genre. Beating the Cardinal would not only be the best win in Sarkisian's tenure, it would announce Washington's arrival as a championship-contending fighter, not just a puncher who can land a knockout blow every now and then.

 

[yeodonie]

Thank God that in two weeks, after dropping two in a row, we can all forget about the Huskies again

 

[TheDayMan]

Thank God that in two weeks, after dropping two in a row, we can all forget about the Huskies again

We'll be on your mind win or lose.

 

[WizardHawk]

Thank God that in two weeks, after dropping two in a row, we can all forget about the Huskies again

You mean you will stop obsessing over us after next weeks game? I'm going to hold you to that and you know it.

You know full well doesn't matter what happens in either of these games duck fans will still be obsessive the entire year over us. Next week's game is your superbowl. Makes sense since your boys never really do contend for a real title, but it is a bit pathetic to be so fanatical over a team year round that doesn't even have any impact on your national standings or title hopes. Shows just how young of a team you really are. You don't notice the tide obsessing over auburn do you?

 

[Texas Jefe]

So lonely being the only Stanford fan!

Yeah, I'm kind of surprised there aren't more of you.

Anyway, I've watched them and they are just too solid and fundamentally sound.

I'm saying 38-24, Stanford.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Always tough watching two schools you attended going up against each other but I will always root for UW as it was my undergraduate school and my hometown school.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Was just scanning through the thread, great posts tshirt!

 

[tshirt]

those two DEs Josh Shirley and Andrew Hudson were #1 and #2 on UW with sacks both last year as sophomores and the year before that as freshman. Last year they had 13 sacks in 13 games and the year before had 12 sacks in 13 games

these two also combined for 18 TFL last year as sophomores and 17 TFL the year before as freshmen

 

[TheDayMan]

I got your avatar all ready Buddha!