EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, November 3^rd, the (5-3) Stanford Cardinal will be on the road to take on the (6-3) Washington Huskies.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Washington 30.7 – Stanford 22.7 with an over/under of 53.5.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Washington 34 – Stanford 28.

Mark is predicting a final score of Washington 33 – Stanford 26.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Stanford 270.6 YPG > Washington 242.7 YPG

Rushing offense: Washington 167.8 YPG > Stanford 95.1 YPG

Scoring offense: Washington 26.6 PPG > Stanford 26.5 PPG

Scoring defense: Washington 15.2 PPG > Stanford 23.3 PPG

Passing defense: Washington 171.7 YPG > Stanford 275.4 YPG

Rushing defense: Washington 129.6 YPG > Stanford 141.1 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Stanford +0.1 > Washington -0.4

Summary:

Stanford is (5-3) with wins over San Diego State, #17 USC, UC Davis, #20 Oregon, and Arizona State.  They were defeated by #8 Notre Dame, Utah, and #14 Washington State.  The Cardinal have fallen on hard times dropping three of their last four games.  Stanford allowed 17 fourth quarter points last week in a 41-38 loss to #14 Washington State.  The Cardinal rank 89^th in points per game (26.5) and 42^nd in scoring defense (23.3 PPG).  Quarterback K.J. Costello has completed 66% of his passes for 2,165 yards with 17 touchdowns to 6 interceptions.  Despite having one of the best running backs in Bryce Love, Stanford averages fewer than 100 yards rushing per game.  J.J. Arcega-Whiteside leads the team in both receiving yards (743) and touchdowns (11).  The Cardinal defense ranks 113^th against the pass (275.4 YPG) and 44^th against the run (141.1 YPG).

Washington is (6-3) with victories over North Dakota, Utah, Arizona State, #20 BYU, UCLA, and Colorado.  They were defeated by #9 Auburn, #17 Oregon, and California.  Washington’s offense was sleep walking in their shocking 12-10 loss to California last week.  The Huskies rank 88^th in points per game (26.6) and 8^th in scoring defense (15.2 PPG).  Quarterback Jake Browning has completed 64% of his passes for 2,049 yards with 12 touchdowns to 8 interceptions.  Running back Myles Gaskin has rushed for 623 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season.  Aaron Fuller leads the team in receiving yards (675) while Ty Jones leads the team in receiving touchdowns (6).  The Huskies’ defense ranks 12^th against the pass (171.7 YPG) and 29^th against the run (129.6 YPG).  Washington has the 89^th best turnover margin in the country (-0.4).

Bottom Line:

Both teams entered the season with playoff aspirations but have been disappointments thus far.  Stanford has become a passing dominant team despite having Bryce Love and Washington has been overly reliant on their defense to win every game.  A one-dimension Stanford offense will have trouble moving the ball against the Huskies.  Stanford will cover the spread but Washington will eek out a win at home.

Washington wins 24-17

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