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It hasn’t been the type of start to the season that the Stanford Cardinal had hoped for. Losing to in-state rival USC at home isn’t something the Cardinal thought would happen with a veteran quarterback under center. David Shaw will have his troops ready for a trip to the Pacific Northwest in week five.
With a new head coach in Chris Petersen at the helm, the Washington Huskies are looking solid this season, even taking down one of the best FCS squads in the nation in Eastern Washington. The Huskies are now 4-0 on the season and a home win over Stanford would flip them from pretenders to contenders instantly.
Stanford has been relying on Kevin Hogan to lead it to the promised land for the past couple of seasons and the senior quarterback needed to step up in 2014 in order to ensure a deep run for the Cardinal. Hogan has been solid this season, however, passing for 705 yard sand seven touchdowns with a lone interception while completing an impressive 73 percent of his passes. Hogan has also rushed for 34 yards and a touchdown this season. Wide receiver Ty Montgomery is living up to expectations for the Cardinal this season, catching 22 passes for 246 yards and two scores while Austin Hooper is the only other target with over 10 catches, racking up 12 for 170 yards and a score. Barry Sanders, a familiar name to anyone who loves football, leads the 75th-ranked rushing attack with 142 yards on 7.9 yards per carry and Kelsey Young has 122 yards on just 21 carries.
Washington’s passing offense hasn’t been nearly the same this season without veteran QB Keith Price under center, ranking 106th nationally in passing yards per game. Sophomore Cyler Miles has done a solid job in limited time this season, accounting for 525 yards and five touchdowns through the air with a completion percentage of about 68. Miles has also recorded 114 receiving yards and three touchdowns on the ground. John Ross seems to be the team’s deep threat, catching six passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns — averaging 37.3 yards per catch. Jaydon Mickens leads all receivers, by far, with 20 catches for 200 yards and one touchdown. DiAndre Campbell is the only other target with more than 100 yards receiving, catching nine passes for 108 yards. The run game has been solid despite the loss of Bishop Sankey from last season. Lavon Coleman leads all rushers with 286 yards and a touchdown while Dwayne Washington has 187 yards and three scores of his own.
Defensively, the Huskies haven’t been very impressive this season, ranking 72nd in points allowed per game. Washington has also been poor at slowing teams down, allowing 405.3 total yards per game — most of which have come through the air. Stanford remains the best defensive team in college football, ranking first in both yards allowed and points allowed. The strong crowd in Washington will be hoping the Cardinal defense isn’t as potent as it has been.
Stanford will travel to Washington to take on the Huskies at 4:15 p.m. EST on Saturday, Sept. 27. The game will be broadcasted on local listings.
PREDICTION: Stanford 24, Washington 20
Want to see the Cardinal travel to Washington to take on the Huskies? Check out ScoreBig for tickets.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
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