The “Pac-12 After Dark” phenomenon is back in focus Friday as (9) Washington (8-1, 5-1) brings its juggernaut down south to Palo Alto to face (21) Stanford (6-3, 5-2). The Cardinals’ stud RB and Heisman hopeful, Bryce Love, has been nursing an ankle injury. He’s been limited the past couple weeks, including sitting out a loss two weeks ago at Oregon State. Love’s impact is worth several points to the line, and completely changes a coaches game plan. UW head coach Chris Petersen knows just how much of a game changer Love is, saying, “He’s just one of those guys that’s really fast, strong, keeps his legs going at all times,” Huskies coach Chris Petersen said of Love. “He’s hard to tackle. He bounces off, runs through hard tackles, really powerful. Obviously, he’s got really good vision. The way they put all those big offensive linemen and you’re not sure where the crease is going to be and he always finds it.” The Huskies’ #12 ranked run defense will clearly have it’s biggest test of the season Friday night in the Golden state.
Washington vs. Stanford College Football Preview
Date/Time: Friday, November 10th at 10:30pm EST
TV: FS1
College Football Betting Odds from 5Dimes
College Football Betting Favorite: Washington -6
Total: 45
Washington Huskies
The Huskies are bringing the nationally ranked #10 pass offense and #43 ranked run offense (adjusted for strength of schedule). Junior QB Jake Browning is a game-changer himself. The 6’2” 210 lb. future NFL prospect brings in a terrific 16/5 TD to INT split, and has 1907 passing yards this season. Myles Gaskin leads the rushing attack for the Huskies. The 5’10” 191 lb. Junior from Lynnwood, WA is sporting 10 TD on the season with 918 yards on 148 attempts. Gaskin is once again trending to top 1,300 yards for the third straight season. He might also find himself playing on Sundays in a couple seasons. Senior Dante Pettis leads the team in most every passing stat, averaging 11.7 yards per play this season with seven TDs and 571 yards. For all the flash on the offensive side, the calling card of UW is their defense. They are #1 in the nation in total defense, giving up 240.9 yards per game. The Huskies are sixth nationally in rushing defense, allowing a meager 91.1 yards per game. Petersen said of his team’s defense, “That’s one of the things that, if you’re going to have a good team, to me it’s always going to start out on defense,” Petersen said. “We’ve had good defenses for a long, long time. Everybody likes to talk about offense, complain about offense or brag about offense, but I think it always starts on defense.”
Stanford Cardinal
The injury bug has bitten the Cardinal quite hard recently. QB Keller Chryst went out with an injury in the first quarter of the UCLA game. Sophomore K.J. Costello stepped into the role of starter last week in Pullman in a snowy and cold affair against WSU. He was 9-20 with 105 yards and only 45% completion percentage. The question is, how much of this was due to inclement weather? Costello does have gave experience, seeing action in six games this season. As previously mentioned, Bryce Love will have to come through huge on Friday for the Cardinal to even have a chance. The 5’10” 196 lb. Junior from Wake Forest, NC will assure himself a Heisman finalist spot if he has a big game this week. Love is averaging a staggering 9.6 yards per carry this season, with 12 TD on 151 attempts. Stanford must have ground success in order for them to pull off the upset. Stanford has the #8 ranked run offense in the nation, so they definitely have had success on the ground. Junior JJ Arcega-Whiteside leads the Cardinal in passing with five TD and 386 total yards. Stanford’s pass offense is ranked #71 in the country. There is a revenge spot here, as Stanford was flummoxed by UW last season 44-6 up in Seattle. Head Coach David Shaw assuredly not let his team forget about this game 13 months ago. They get their chance to serve up a cold dish of revenge on Friday at home.
Sin City Sharp (@SinCitySharp on Twitter) Free Pick
The Huskies have a possible path to the CFP this season. If they win out, they could secure themselves a spot in the playoff. They were there last season, and a one-loss effort this season plus a PAC-12 crown would put them in contention. I see them bringing full focus and effort here. Stanford isn’t the same team with K.J. Costello under center. He played poorly against a great defense at WSU, and this defense is even better. Suffice to say, Petersen will have plenty of wrinkles in place to throw off Costello. Stanford does have Bryce Love, but Myles Gaskin is no slouch himself. Gaskin also isn’t facing the #6 run defense as well. I see Dante Pettis scoring a special teams TD to break the game open. Huskies are a more complete team on all three phases of the game, and I see them covering this number on Friday. The Huksies are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 conference games, and I see this trend continuing. The only dog barking here will be the favorite, Washington Huskies.
Kyle Hunter is 22-11 in his last 33 college football plays! All his guaranteed premium packages are here.
