Blogging With the Enemy: Washington Huskies

So far the Stanford Cardinal have simply done what's been expected. These first six games were all seen as nearly certain victories when the schedule was released, so I suppose you could say that the Cardinal has held serve.

As long as we're being honest, I'll admit that I saw this seventh game against the Washington Huskies as a sure thing as well. If you consider that the Huskies were crushed by the Cardinal last season, 41-0, and then lost quarterback Jake Locker to the NFL, this game looked like a walk.

It doesn't look that way anymore. Keith Price has replaced Locker, and I'm guessing there isn't a single Husky fan would have it any other way. You might not have heard of him, but you'll definitely remember him after Saturday night. Price ranks second in the conference to Andrew Luck in quarterback rating, and his 21 touchdowns are tops, three better than Luck. When you add running back Chris Polk, who's second in the conference in rushing, Washington has a fairly formidable offense. Will that be enough for the #25 Huskies to score the upset? I posed that question and several others to two people who know an awful lot about UW football. First up is Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, and he's followed by John Berkowitz of UW Dawg Pound. (If you check the Dawg Pound, you should be able to find my answers to John's questions about the Cardinal.) Anyway, there's lots of great stuff from both gentlemen, so pull up a chair...

Go Mighty Card:
Stanford, Oregon, and Washington are all undefeated and sit atop the Pac-12 North standings. Stanford and Oregon, of course, were expected to be there. Do the Huskies belong?

Bob Condotta:
Well, we'll see. Probably not the definitive answer you're looking for, but hard to really know until UW plays, and beats, some teams like that. UW is off to a nice start at 5-1, but it lost to the only team it played with a winning record (Nebraska), giving up more than 300 rushing yards in the process, so the jury is out on if it can consistently play to that level, especially on defense. And Stanford and Oregon are a step up from Nebraska. So this weekend will  be a really measuring stick of just where UW fits in.

GMC:
In any other year, quarterback Keith Price would be getting a lot of hype, but with Andrew Luck, Darron Thomas, and Matt Barkley in the same conference, he great season has largely gone unnoticed. How good has he been so far?

Condotta:
He's been phenomenal. UW had high hopes that Price would do the job, but no one expected 21 touchdown passes in six games. He's been the MVP of the team, and it's probably not stretching it to say UW might be only 3-3 right now if not for Price. And the most intriguing thing is that he has yet to be completely healthy for a game --- it will  be really interesting to see what he can do once he is healthy and can run a bit more than he has so far. Maybe that will come this week against Stanford.

GMC:
We've known about Chris Polk, as he's probably been the most consistent running back in the conference for three years now. How good might he be this Saturday against Stanford's stout run defense, and how good might he be next year when he's playing on Sundays?

Condotta:
Polk is as good a running back as UW has had since Corey Dillon in 1996, and he's right there with all the best the school has ever had. I don't question that Polk could do the job against Stanford. The better question might be if the UW offensive line can create much room for Polk to run. If so, there's no reason Polk can't have a big day. But a running back can't do it alone, and that to me will be the bigger question. I think Polk  has all the attributes to be a solid NFL running back --- size, speed, ability to make people miss and ability to catch the ball. I have little doubt he'll have a solid NFL career.

GMC:
What can we expect to see from the Husky defense? Who are the playmakers on that side of the ball? How will they try to slow down the Stanford offense?

Condotta:
The first one is a good question that's hard yet to answer. UW's defense has statistically improved quite a bit the last few weeks. But it hasn't played any offense as good as Stanford's, and obviously no quarterback even close to Andrew Luck. UW's hope will  be that it can play a lot better on the defensive line than it did a year ago and make it hard for the Cardinal to run and force Luck to have to make some harder plays than he might want. Some of UW's best players on defense include tackle Alameda Ta'amu, who some project as a potential first-round pick, and whose matchup with David DeCastro is as good an OL-DL matchup as there will be in the Pac-12 this year; MLB Cort Dennison, who isn't the flashiest player in the world but is a real solid and steady leader; and cornerback Desmond Trufant, who has given up some big plays this year but is the leader in the secondary and seems to always come up with some big plays of his own at the most critical time.

GMC:
You've been covering the Pac-12/10 for a while now. What are your thoughts on Andrew Luck? How does he compare to some of the quarterbacks you've seen in the conference?

Condotta:
He's as good as I've ever seen. Because Stanford is so balanced, and Luck is so good at operating the offense, he likely won't put up numbers as big as some guys have. But no quarterback has had the overall impact on winning as has Luck.

That's it from Bob. And now, heeeeeeere's Johnny!

GMC:
When we talked last summer you said the best-case scenario for this team was eight or nine wins. With the Huskies sitting at 5-1 with only two ranked opponents left on the schedule, that dream season looks like it's happening. How excited are the fans about all this? 

UW Dawg Pound:
We are really excited but we also know that until we beat an Oregon and/or a Stanford we aren't 100% back. Not sure if that will start happening this weekend but I am confident that we will give Stanford a better game than last season.

GMC:
Stanford fans who haven't been paying attention to conference teams other than Oregon might be surprised to see that the Huskies and Cardinal are tied for first place (along with Oregon) in the Pac-12 North. The last we saw the Huskies, after all, they were on the bottom of a 41-0 Cardinal whipping. How has the team changed since then?

UWDP:
Washington's offense is a lot better than last season. Keith Price is a much better quarterback then Jake Locker. I do concede that he has more tools to work with but he is simply more dangerous with his arm. Keith has pinpoint accuracy and he sees the entire field which is something Jake never mastered. Price's numbers on the year are very similar to Stanford's Andrew Luck. We have even heard rumblings over the past week that the third year sophomore may be positioning himself for a late season Heisman run if the Huskies do the unthinkable which is beat Stanford on Saturday.

The Husky offensive line is bigger, stronger, and more athletic despite being younger overall than last season. They have protected Price well and have given the Husky running backs led by Chris Polk plenty of holes to run through. These guys have improved with every game but the Stanford defensive front is going to challenge them.

GMC:
Tell us some more about Keith Price. His numbers are off the charts, but how has he gotten so good so quickly? What style of quarterback is he?

UWDP:
Keith is a pro style QB. He has been in the Sark system for three years. I answered quite a bit of this in the preceding question, but Keith was good last year too. He started against Oregon after your defense finished off Locker, and he did really well. Before that he came in for a single play against USC and threw a TD pass in the red zone... so I think he just needed to see the field.

GMC:
And what about the defense? Who are the playmakers on that side of the ball, and how likely is it that they'll be able to make things difficult for Andrew Luck and the Stanford offense?

UWDP:
Alameda Ta'amu and Semisi Tokolahi are twin 340 lb tackles that anchor the defensive line. Teams don't run very well against us because they are tough to move around and very mobile in their own right. MLB Cort Dennison is having an All Pac 12 type of season. Our secondary is prone to being picked apart but they have improved over the last three games. Andrew Luck is really going to challenge us.

GMC:
Coach Steve Sarkisian is midway through his third season at the UW, and he seems to be a perfect fit. Aside from the obvious improvement in record, how has he done? Also, when Jim Harbaugh was rebuilding the Stanford program, fans were constantly worried about his eventual departure. Do Husky fans worry that Sarkisian might leave, or is the University of Washington more of a destination job than a stepping stone?

UWDP:
Sark has a done a great job in all area's as far as the program is concerned. We are winning games. Our graduation rates are second only to Stanford. Kids are staying out of trouble and he and his staff have been a dream for the media to work with. They are very open, honest, and inviting. Will Sark leave? Well, let me start that off by saying Washington is more of a destination type job than Stanford. Historically we tend to keep our successful coaches longer than most schools. Husky Stadium is being rebuilt this year in a remodel that will include all the bells and whistles... It is one of the highest paid staffs in the country... I don't see these guys leaving anytime soon. 

GMC:
Finally, take out your crystal ball and tell me how you expect the game
to go, complete with a final score.

UWDP:
Stanford 41 Washington 35. Obviously I want the Huskies to win but I have to give the advantage to the Tree this week. I think the game will be close, high scoring, and will go down to the wire.

Comments

[Mike G]

Husky fans are showing incredible confidence in their team in their online predictions (yeah, I realize a fanboy post doesn't account for much.) 90% are predictin an outright win over at Bob Condotta's blog. Personally, I'm expecting something like 45-24. It should be a decent game, but as soon as they fall behind, the Huskies will lose their balanced attack that has made them a threat early on.

[laparka]

Dominant offensive performance, but Stanford's secondary without Howell was not good. If we face an offense that can slow down the pass rush, we're in trouble. Great game but it didn't do anything to sooth my fears of losing at SC and/or getting outscored by the ducks in an epic shootout. And if the losses of Wisconsin and Oklahoma move Stanford up to the top 5 in the country, let's hope it doesn't go to people's heads. This is not even close to a top-5 defense right now. Get well quick Delano.