When I look back on my twenty-eight years following Cardinal football, the Stanford-Washington series has been interesting. While the yearly tilts with the Huskies lack the marquee value of Cal, Oregon, USC, or Notre Dame, those games have always served as barometer of the program.
In 1991 and 1992, the last year under Denny Green and the first under Bill Walsh, Stanford won a total of 18 games and appeared in consecutive bowl games for the first time since 1977 and '78. But as good as those teams were, they couldn't stay on the field with Washington. The Huskies dominated Stanford, winning 42-7 one year and 41-7 the next.
Then there was the 2006 game. If you were to plot the fortunes of Stanford football from 1892 until today, I have no doubt that the deepest valley on your graph would be 2006, and the Cardinal team that walked into Husky Stadium that year was at absolute rock bottom. The team stood at 0-9, and there were no indications that it would win a single game that year. Somehow, though, the Cardinal managed to beat the Huskies 20-3, avoiding the program's first ever winless slate.
As the program rose to national prominence under Jim Harbaugh, the team's 41-0 drubbing of the Huskies in 2010 followed by an even more impressive 65-21 romp in 2011 (with a school-record 446 yards rushing) helped establish Stanford's brand of intellectual brutality.
And then came 2012. In its first season without Andrew Luck at the helm, the Cardinal landed in Seattle fresh off a stunning upset of the #2-ranked USC Trojans. They left in disarray, having lost 17-13 without scoring an offensive touchdown. A year later, though Kevin Hogan led the Mighty Card to a narrow 31-28 win.
What will happen today? I'll say Stanford wins (shocker!) 31-13. But for some insight into the Huskies, let's hear what UW Dawg Pound's Anthony Cassino has to say. Read on and educate yourself...
GoMightyCard:
The Huskies are 4-0, but not all of those four games have been convincing. How good is this team, really?
That would be nice to know, wouldn't it? Through four games, I have no clue. They've looked terrible, fantastic, and everywhere in between so far -- often all in one game. When they're playing their best, they look like world beaters as they did for most of the Illinois game and the second half of Georgia State. When they're bad they look like they probably can't beat anybody in the Pac-12, see the first half of Georgia State and the defense against Eastern Washington. I'm as eager as anybody to see which Husky team shows up in conference play.
Chris Petersen has probably been the hottest coaching commodity in sports over the past five years. Now that he’s in Seattle, what’s the feeling in the fan base? I know it’s early, but how is he doing?
Most fans are still having their love affair with him. And when you're undefeated, that's easy and probably somewhat warranted. He's winning and recruiting is going well, so he deserves all the plaudits he's getting. We'll see what happens after some losses though.
Tell me about the Husky offense. I feel like Keith Price and Bishop Sankey were each there for at least six or seven years, so there seems to be a void in name recognition. Production, however, hasn’t declined, with the Washington offense averaging more than 40 points and north of 200 yards rushing per game. What are the strengths of this offense, and who should we watch for on Saturday afternoon?
The offense right now doesn't really have a strength. Though they're putting up good yardage rushing, it's mostly because they're running a lot of plays and running on about 2/3 of those plays; they haven't been terribly efficient. Throwing the ball has been both good and bad in that they have yet to throw an interception, but also haven't really done a ton in the way of stretching the field. The one guy that has to be accounted for is John Ross. He's far and away the most explosive player on offense, but he was injured and sat out last week. He's got world class speed, and if the Huskies can get the ball in his hands a few times per quarter, it's only a matter of time before he finds the end zone.
Stanford’s offensive strength so far has been the wide receivers, but there’s also been tremendous improvement in the short passing game. How do you expect the Husky linebackers and defensive backs to match up against this threat? Which team has the advantage there?
I'd have to give the advantage to Stanford. The Huskies have great linebackers (the star being All American candidate Shaq Thompson) and one great defensive back (Marcus Peters) but the rest of the secondary is composed of two true freshmen and a sophomore. The youth has seen its share of growing pains in the early portion of the schedule, and I don't think there are any magic solutions from last week to this one.
Tell me about the defensive line, which seems to be the strength of the defense. Who are the stars there, and how worried should Kevin Hogan be when he steps on the field?
Defensive tackle Danny Shelton and defensive end Hau'oli Kikaha are both being talked about as potential first round picks in the upcoming NFL draft, and have combined for 13 sacks so far this year with Shelton leading the nation and Kikaha tied for second. The team returns basically everybody from the 2013 squad which was 4th in the country in sacks a year ago, so it's no surprise that they're replicating that success this year. It'll be interesting to see if they can be as efficient against what is easily the best offensive line they've lined up against this year. Shelton and Kikaha seem talented enough that they'll get pressure on any quarterback they play this year.
Finally, how do you see this game going? Give me a final score and an explanation.
I haven't yet seen enough consistency from the Huskies to expect them to win this one. I wouldn't be completely surprised if they do -- they're always a tough out in Husky Stadium -- but I think Stanford is a bit better right now. I like Stanford 31-20.
