GAME: Stanford (3-0 overall, 0-0 Pac-12) at Washington (2-1 overall, 0-0 Pac-12). WHEN: Thursday, 6 p.m. PT, CenturyLink Field. MEETING: 83rd (UW leads 40-38-4). COACHES: Dennis Shaw, Stanford; Steve Sarkisian, Washington. RANKINGS: Stanford 8 AP, 9 USA Today. LINE: Stanford by 7. TV: ESPN. RADIO: KJR-950 AM, 102.9 FM
Starting with the No.-8 rated Stanford Cardinal Thursday night, the Washington Huskies have five consecutive games scheduled against opponents currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. Since AP introduced rankings in 1947, UW has never faced more than four ranked teams in a row, and that occurred just once.
In 1989 under Don James, Washington took on No. 23 Arizona, No. 5 Colorado, No. 19 USC and No. 17 Oregon in consecutive weeks. The Huskies lost three of the four, beating only Oregon, 20-14.
After meeting the Cardinal, which mashed the Huskies 65-21 a year ago in Palo Alto, UW contests No. 2 Oregon, No. 13 USC, No. 11 Arizona and No. 18 Oregon State.
Washington has met ranked clubs three weeks in a row 10 times since 1947. In reverse order, those years were 2010 (1-2), 2008 (0-3), 2007 (0-3), 2005 (0-3), 1994 (2-1), 1992 (3-0), 1986 (2-1), 1975 (2-1), 1974 (2-1) and 1964 (0-3). Washington went 12-18 in those games.
UW’s will also play a pair of top-10 teams in back-to-back weeks (Thursday and Oct. 6 at Oregon). This will mark just the third time since 1947 that has happened. In 1982, UW played No. 9 UCLA and No. 3 Arizona in consecutive weeks, and in 2001 faced No. 9 WSU and No. 1 Miami to close out the regular season. In a far different era of Husky football, UW went 3-1 in those games.
Against this year’s gauntlet of ranked clubs, Washington is a combined 16-34 in the last 10 meetings and 5-10 in the Steve Sarkisian era. So the chances of Washington starting the season 2-6 are high, and means the Huskies would have to win their final four, three of them on the road (at Cal, Colorado and WSU) to become bowl eligible.
Making the next five even more difficult is the sorry state of Washington’s offensive line, the latest blow coming Monday when Sarkisian announced that sophomore guard Colin Tanigawa will be out for the season, likely with a knee injury (Sarkisian wouldn’t say, given UW’s new policy hiding such information).
This brings to four the number of UW offensive linemen injured since spring practice. Colin Porter, a two-year starter at guard, retired due to shoulder issues. Erik Kohler, a starter last seeason, is out indefinitely with a dislocated knee. Ben Riva broke his forearm against San Diego State and is out four-to-six weeks.
Which means the Huskies will be using mainly freshmen and sophomores against a Stanford defense ranked No. 3 in the Pac-12.
With a weekday game Thursday, the UW ticket office times will be unusual. Phones (206-543-2200) will be open 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. In-person assistance and will call will be available at the ticket office (in the Graves Building) 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and then the CenturyLink Field box office opens at 2:30 p.m. Online sales for the Stanford game will end at 3 p.m. Thursday.
SERIES: Dates to Dec. 29, 1893, when Stanford crushed Washington 40-0 at West Seattle Stadium. Since 1976, Washington has gone 21-8 against the Cardinal. The Cardinal, though, have won four in a row and six of the last seven, Washington’s last win coming in 2007, when Louis Rankin rushed for 255 yards. Last year in Palo Alto, No. 7 Stanford battered No. 22 Washington 65-21, gaining 615 total yards, including 440 rushing.
UW HEAD COACH: Steve Sarkisian (21-20-0) is in his fourth season. After a 5-7 record in his first year (2009), Sarkisian guided the Huskies to a 7-6 record in 2010, which ended with a 19-7 victory over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. That marked Washington’s first postseason game since the 2002 Sun Bowl. Sarkisian coached the Huskies to another 7-6 record in 2011, including a berth opposite Baylor in the Alamo Bowl. Prior to joining the Huskies, Sarkisian served as a USC assistant under Pete Carroll (2001-03, 2005-08). He also worked as an Oakland Raiders assistant in 2004. Sarkisian played quarterback at Brigham Young University and later played in the Canadian Football League.
UW STATS / NOTES
- SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 2-1. Home: 2-0. Road: 0-1. Neutral: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-0. Vs. Non-Conference: 2-1. Points For: 76 (25.3). Rushing Yards Per Game: 113.7. Passing Yards Per Game: 199.7. Total Offense Per Game: 313.3. Points Against: 66 (22.0). Opp. Rushing Yards Per Game: 174.7. Opp. Passing Yards Per Game: 167.0. Total Defense Per Game: 341.7.
- PAC-12 RANKS: Scoring Offense — 8th (25.3); Scoring Defense — 8th (22.0); Total Offense — 11th (313.3); Total Defense — 5th (341.7); Rushing Offense — 9th (113.7); Rushing Defense — 11th (174.7); Passing Offense — 11th (199.7); Pass Defense — 2nd (167.0); Passing Efficiency — 10th (123.5).
- Washington has a combined record of 102-77-8 vs. opponents from the Bay Area. Washington is 50-38-4 against Cal, 40-38-4 vs. Stanford, 10-0 vs. San Jose State, 1-1 vs. St. Marys and 1-0 vs. Santa Clara.
- QB Keith Price had a career-high 25 completions in win over SDSU (25-for-35, 222 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT); was 17-for-36 for 157, 0 TD, 1 INT at #3 LSU; went 14-for-19 for 181 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INT vs. Portland State . . . Price ranks 11th in the conference at 186.7 ypg and 11th in passing efficiency at 126.9.
- RB Bishop Sankey posted his first career 100-yard game vs. Portland State, rushing for 103 yards on 14 carries; scored a pair of TDs vs. PSU, also good for a career high; rushed for 66 yards. and 1 TD on 22 carries vs. SDSU; eight carries for 16 yards at LSU . . . Sankey ranks 11th in the conference in rushing at 61.7 yards per game.
- TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in receptions per game at 6.7 and 10th in yards per game at 70.3.
- Washington ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in red zone efficiency with eight scores in 10 chances, 80 pecent.
- Washington’s game at Oregon Oct. 6 will start and 7:30 p.m. with TV coverage by ESPN. The Pac-12 won’t announce the starting time of the Oct. 13 game with USC until Monday.
HUSKIES OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Rushing
| Player | G | Att. | Yards | TDs | Long | Y/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Sankey | 3 | 44 | 185 | 3 | 21 | 61.7 |
| Erich Wilson | 3 | 21 | 119 | 0 | 31 | 39.7 |
| Dezden Petty | 2 | 23 | 63 | 0 | 17 | 31.5 |
| Willis Wilson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Total | 3 | 104 | 341 | 3 | 31 | 113.7 |
| Opponents | 3 | 116 | 524 | 6 | 32 | 174.7 |
Passing
| Player | G | Att. | Cmp. | Yards | TDs/INT | Effic. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Price | 3 | 90 | 56 | 560 | 4 /1 | 126.9 |
| Total | 3 | 96 | 59 | 599 | 4 /2 | 123.5 |
| Opponents | 3 | 72 | 40 | 501 | 3 /3 | 119.4 |
Receiving
| Player | G | Rec. | Yards | TD | Long | Y/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Seferian-Jenkins | 3 | 20 | 211 | 1 | 40 | 70.3 |
| Kasen Williams | 3 | 15 | 163 | 2 | 25 | 54.3 |
| Kevin Smith | 2 | 6 | 68 | 0 | 22 | 34.0 |
| Bishop Sankey | 3 | 4 | 30 | 0 | 15 | 10.0 |
| Jaydon Mickens | 3 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 12 | 8.3 |
| D. Campbell | 3 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 20 | 9.3 |
| M. Hartvigson | 3 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 4.0 |
| Jesse Callier | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 8.0 |
| Marvin Hall | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 16.0 |
| Totals | 3 | 59 | 599 | 4 | 40 | 199.7 |
| Opponents | 3 | 40 | 501 | 3 | 70 | 167.0 |
HUSKIES DEFENSIVE LEADERS
| Category | Skinny |
|---|---|
| Tackles | Tutogi 19, Timu 18, Glenn 15 |
| Sacks | Hudson, Freeney, Trufant, Shirley, all 1 |
| Interceptions | Glenn, Watson, Peters 1 |
| Passes Defensed | Watson 4, Peters 2, Glenn 1, Shamburger 1 |
| Forced Fumbles | Feeney, Fuimaono, Stevenson, 1 |
| Fumbles Recovered | Tutogi, Glenn, Shamberger, 1 |
Pac-12 Standings / North
| Schools | Overall | Conf. | Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 4-0 | 1-0 | Sat at WSU (Seattle), 7:30 p.m., ESPN |
| Stanford | 3-0 | 1-0 | Thursday at Washington, 6 p.m., ESPN |
| Oregon St. | 2-0 | 1-0 | Saturday at Arizona, 7 p.m., Pac-12 |
| Washington | 2-1 | 0-0 | Thursday vs. Stanford, 6 p.m., ESPN |
| WSU | 2-2 | 0-1 | Saturday vs. Oregon, 7:30 p.m., ESPN |
| California | 1-3 | 0-1 | Saturday vs. ASU, 1 p.m., FX |
Pac-12 Standings / South
| Schools | Overall | Conf. | Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASU | 3-1 | 1-0 | Saturday at Cal, 1 p.m., FX |
| Colorado | 1-3 | 1-0 | Saturday vs. UCLA, 3 p.m., Pac-12 |
| USC | 3-1 | 1-1 | Oct. 4 at Utah, 6 p.m., ESPN |
| Arizona | 3-1 | 1-1 | Saturday vs. OSU, 7 p.m., Pac-12 |
| UCLA | 3-1 | 0-1 | Saturday at Colorado, 3 p.m., Pac-12 |
| Utah | 2-2 | 0-1 | Oct. 4 vs. USC, 6 p.m., ESPN |
STANFORD NOTES: The Cardinal opened with a 20-17 win over San Jose, defeated Duke 50-13 and USC 21-14 . . . Stanford averages 30.3 points per game and holds opponents to 14.7 . . . Stanford averages 149.7 rushing yards and 207 passing yards . . . Stanford is ranked No. 6 in the conference in scoring offense, No. 3 in scoring defense (14.7) and No. 2 in total defense . . . Stanford is a quick-start team, scoring 34 of its 91 points in the opening period . . . Senior Josh Nunes, who replaced Andrew Luck as Stanford’s quarterback, threw two touchdown passes in the Cardinal’s win over USC . . . Stepfan Taylor is Stanford’s leading rusher, averaging 112.7 yards per game (three TDs) . . . Junior free safety Ed Reynolds leads the nation with 144 return yards on three interceptions . . . Punt returner Drew Terrell leads the Pac-12 with a 22.3-yard average . . . The Stanford roster includes five players from Washington, including OG Joshua Garrett from Puyallup High, DE Charlie Hopkins from Gonzaga Prep, FB Geoff Meinken from Lynnwood High, WR Michael Rector from Bellarmine Prep and LB Sam Shober from Archbishop Murphy . . . Stanford defensive line coach Randy Hart coached Washington’s defensive line from 1988-94, was an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 1995-98 and was defensive line coach from 1999-08.
HEAD COACH: After serving as Stanford’s offensive coordinator from 2007-10, David Shaw was hired Jan. 13, 2011, becoming the 34th head coach in Stanford history. A 1994 Stanford graduate, he is the fifth alum to hold the position of head coach, joining Charles Fickert (1901), Carl Clemans (1902), Chuck Taylor (1951-57) and Paul Wiggin (1980-83). In Shaw’s first season in 2011, the Cardinal was 11-2 and made its second consecutive BCS Bowl appearance, falling to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. Stanford won its first nine games of the season to extend its winning streak to 17 before falling to No. 6 Oregon. Prior to coaching at Stanford, Shaw coached with the Baltimore Ravens and Oakland Raiders in the NFL. He began his coaching career at Western Washington (1996-97).
COMING UP: At Oregon Oct. 6.
University of Washington 2012 Schedule/Results
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/1/12 | vs. SD State | — | — | W | 21-12 | 1-0 |
| 9/8/12 | at LSU | — | 3 | L | 41-3 | 1-1 |
| 9/15/12 | vs. Port. State | — | — | W | 52-13 | 2-1 |
| 9/27/12 | vs. Stanford | — | 8 | — | — | — |
| 10/6/12 | at Oregon | — | 2 | — | — | — |
| 10/13/12 | vs. USC | — | 13 | — | — | — |
| 10/20/12 | at Arizona | — | 11 | — | — | — |
| 10/27/12 | vs. OSU | — | 18 | — | — | — |
| 11/2/12 | at California | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/10/12 | vs. Utah | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/17/12 | at Colorado | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/23/12 | at WSU | — | — | — | — | — |
2012 RECAPS
UW 21, San Diego State 12 (Sept. 1): Keith Price completed 25 of 35 passes for 222 yards and an eight-yard TD to Kasen Williams, and Will Shamburger returned a fumble 44 yards to a touchdown as Washington defeated San Diego State in front of 53,742 at CenturyLink Field. The UW defense, maligned throughout the 2011 season, gave up 199 rushing yards but just 128 passing yards, recovered two fumbles, had three sacks and an interception.
LSU 41, Washington 3 (Sept. 8): No. 3 LSU sacked Keith Price four times, hit him an additional dozen times and romped easily to victory over Washington in the Huskies’ first trip to the Southeastern Conference since 1983. LSU outgained Washington 437 yards to 170 and held Price to 157 passing yards with one interception.
UW 52, Portland State 13 (Sept. 15): Keith Price threw three touchdown passes in the first 23 minutes, Bishop Sankey ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns, Shaq Thompson blocked a field goal that Tre Watson returned 79 yards for a touchdown, and the Huskies massacred the Vikings at CenturyLink Field. It marked the Huskies’ biggest win since a 53-3 win over Idaho in 2001.