Huskies tall task against California Golden Bears

Huskies tall task against California Golden Bears photo Huskies tall task against California Golden Bears

And California’s defense is still suspect enough that I expect a pretty competitive game at Husky Stadium on Saturday. Cal is now 3-0 for the first time since 2011, after managing to beat Texas on the road Saturday, thanks to a missed extra point on the final play of the game.



Prediction: Washington will put up a fight and Browning may turn even more heads in his duel with Goff, but in the end the Huskies just won’t have the firepower to keep up with Cal this time around. In just his third collegiate game, Browning threw for a freshman school record 368 yards against Utah State. No team handcuffed the Bears offensively in 2014 as effectively as UW…. They’re undefeated this season, but defense isn’t the name of their game.

The Huskies are one of the youngest teams in the country, with only 13 seniors on the current roster compared to the 52 freshmen and 24 sophomores. He’s smart and he can flat out sling the rock. Keep in mind, he’s accumulated those numbers in just over two seasons at Cal. He’s a big reason the Golden Bears rank 7th in the country in scoring offense, putting up 51 points per game this season.

But to join Goff as one of the nation’s elite quarterbacks, Browning must fine-tune the position’s subtleties: footwork in the pocket, throws under pressure, pinpoint ball placement.

The Huskies are expected to stay in the game till the end, but the Golden Bears are 3 point favorites. Though Goff two seasons ago passed for more yards and touchdowns in the first three games of his career than Browning has with the Huskies, Browning has a significant advantage in completion percentage and an overall rating.

Goff remembers Cal offensive coordinator Tony Franklin expressing a similar philosophy in the spring of 2013, when he, Dykes and Goff were newcomers to Berkeley, having arrived within one week of each other.

Chris Petersen is the first to admit that Washington’s run game is a “concern”. The Huskies were held to 29 yards rushing against Boise State, and then managed 74 yards against the aggressive blitzes of Utah State.

“They all did some very good things”, Petersen said of the Huskies’ quarterbacks, “and Jake was probably behind the furthest, but the last week or so, he probably performed the best”. There’s a good chance for progress again California. UW ranks eighth nationally and first in the Pac-12 in yards-per-play allowed (3.88), and is particularly stout against the run, allowing only 2.56 yards per carry.

Washington’s running backs aren’t getting the job done on the ground, but they’re taking care of business in the passing game.

Petersen’s choice of Browning as Washington’s starter over K.J. Carta-Samuels and Jeff Lindquist could have been interpreted as playing for next year or the year after. Lasco’s absence allowed Khalfani Muhammad to rush for 164 yards on 10 carries, including a 74-yard touchdown run.

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