Stanford v. Washington Preview

On Friday night, the Washington Huskies get their first test at home against the Stanford Cardinal. This is one of the three Top 10 matchup during Week five of College Football.

This game has the possibility to be one of the most explosive of the weekend.

John Froschauer/ AP

The Washington Huskies’ offense features one of the great passing attacks in college football. Quarterback Jake Browning is tied for third most touchdown passes in college football so far. His passing offense is one of the more efficient passing attacks in college football. The Huskies have completed 71.4% of their passes, which is fifth in the nation. They are also second in the nation in quarterback rating.

Who have the Huskies played this year? They have not played a defense ranked higher than 61st in points per game, but that will change on Friday. The Huskies will play host to a Stanford defense that ranks eighth in points allowed.

That will be a deciding force in the game on Friday. It won’t be how great Christian McCaffrey is, because McCaffrey is usually lights out when the lights are the brightest. The difference will be if the Cardinal defense can get to the Browning and disrupt the passing game of the Huskies. If the Stanford defense shuts down the passing game and make the Huskies run the ball, it will be an easier game for Stanford on the road.

Luis Sinco/ Los Angeles Times

Stanford should escape Washington with a win because of this important stat: Since the 2010 season, both Washington and Stanford have played 23 ranked Pac-12 teams. Washington record against those opponents is 6-17. While, Stanford’s record is 17-6 against those teams.

Stanford is coming into this game with really good big game experience, while Washington’s big game experience is not too good in the recent past. David Shaw knows how to get his troops ready for a big game. And we have seen him do it countless times inside and outside of the Pac-12. Washington’s head coach, Chris Peterson, has good big game experience, but it was at Boise State, not Washington.

Washington is a team on the rise, but I will go ahead and go with the team that has done it before. So, I am picking Stanford to beat Washington in a close contest.

Stanford beats Washington 35-28.