Saturday, November 5
Berkeley, Calif.
7:30 PM
University of Washington
at
California
Dawgs And Bears Set For Saturday Night Matchup
October 31, 2016 | Football
No. 4 ranked Huskies take on Cal at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
THE GAME: The Washington football team (8-0 overall, 5-0 Pac-12) puts it 11-game win streak on the line as the Huskies travel to Berkeley to face California (4-4, 2-3) Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT and the game will air on ESPN. The Huskies maintained their No. 4 ranking in both major polls with a thrilling win at Utah last Saturday while the Golden Bears are coming off of a Thursday night loss at USC. After the Cal game, Washington plays back-to-back-games at home: Nov. 12 vs. USC and Nov. 19 against Arizona State.
QUICK SLANTS: The Huskies' current 11-game winning streak is the second-longest in the nation ... UW leads the nation in fumbles recoveries (12), turnover margin (+1.63 per game) and pass efficiency (196.69) and are fourth in fewest turnovers (6) and takeaways (19); and fifth in fewest interceptions (3) ... UW is also fourth in scoring offense and seventh in scoring defense (one of four teams in the nation in the top 10 in both, along with Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State) ... Dante Pettis broke the UW record vs. Utah with his 5th career punt return for a TD ... he's one of just five players in the FBS with two punt return TDs this season ... the Dawgs have allowed just seven points after a turnover this season while they've turned 19 takeaways into 69 points ... of the six times the Huskies have turned it over, they've gotten a takeaway on the ensuing drive four times ... Jake Browning, who ranks No. 2 the FBS in pass efficiency (195.6) entering this week, broke the school record with 6 TD passes at Oregon ... with 28 TD passes in 2016, he's already easily surpassed his 2015 total of 16 and has thrown the second-most in UW history ... Browning ranks No. 3 in the nation in touchdowns and No. 4 in yards per attempt ... linebacker Keishawn Bierria leads the FBS with five fumble recoveries this season, tying the UW record ... the Huskies had a kick return for a TD (John Ross, 92 yds.) and a punt return for a TD (Pettis, 68 yds.) in the win over Rutgers ... only twice before in recorded history have the Huskies done that: 1940 vs. WSU (Ernie Steele had an 87-yd. KOR and an 83-yd. PR) and 2001 vs. Idaho (Roc Alexander, 95-yd. KOR; Charles Frederick, 87-yd. PR) ... Ross now has five scoring plays of 90 or more yards in his UW career – four kickoff returns and a 91-yard TD reception ... five true freshmen have played for the UW this season: DB Myles Bryant, WR Aaron Fuller, OL Nick Harris, DB Taylor Rapp and LB Brandon Wellington.
TELEVISION: The UW-Cal game will air live to a national audience on ESPN with Mark Jones (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (color) and Quint Kessenich (sidelines) providing the commentary.
RADIO: The Washington IMG College Network, with its flagship station KOMO AM-1000 and FM-97.7, will carry the live broadcast of every football game on 17 Northwest radio stations. Longtime play-by-play man Bob Rondeau and color analyst Damon Huard are joined by sideline reporter Elise Woodward. The home broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius (137) and XM (197) satellite radio.
THE YOUNG AND THE OLD: Washington was one of the country's youngest teams in 2015, as the UW roster included 52 freshman (both true and redshirt freshmen) and 24 sophomores, as compared to just 13 seniors. Not surprisingly, the Huskies returned a great deal of experience in 2016. In fact, not counting specialists (kickers, punters, long snappers, returners), a total of 33 different Huskies have started at least one game in a Washington uniform, 18 on offense and 15 on defense. However, the 2016 roster still includes just 13 seniors to go along with 41 freshmen and redshirt freshmen, as well as 28 sophomores.
HUSKIES vs. GOLDEN BEARS HISTORY: Washington and California are the only two teams that have played in what is now the Pac-12 Conference in every season since the league was founded in 1916. As that would indicate, they've played one another quite often. The Huskies hold a 53-39-4 record in the all-time series, which began in 1904. Last year in Seattle, Cal built a 27-7 lead over the UW and then held the Huskies off for a 30-24 win, a late interception on the Huskies' final drive sealing the victory. In 2014 in Berkeley, a 100-yard fumble return from Shaq Thompson and an 86-yard pass to John Ross were the key plays in a 31-7 Husky win. In 2013 in Seattle, UW earned a 41-17 victory behind 241 rushing yards from Bishop Sankey and 376 passing from Keith Price. Both accounted for two TDs. In 2012, the UW earned a 21-13 win thanks largely to second-half TDs from Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Sankey. In 2011 in Seattle, the Huskies held on a late goalline stand to preserve a 31-23 victory as Price threw for three TDs in the Pac-12 opener. In 2010 in Berkeley, the Huskies beat the Bears, 16-13, on the final play of the game, a one-yard run from Chris Polk. In 2009, the Huskies closed out their season with a 42-10 win over the Bears in Seattle. Jake Locker passed for 248 yards and three TDs and rushed for 77 and two more scores. In 2008, Cal won in Berkeley, in another season finale as Jahvid Best ran for 311 yards and four TDs on only 19 carries in a 48-7 Bears win. In 2007, the 37-23 Husky victory broke a streak of five straight Cal wins in the series. Prior to that five-game losing streak, the Huskies had won 19 consecutive games in the series, a streak that began with a 50-31 win in 1977. Before 2002, the last Cal win had come in 1976. Cal and UW first met in 1904, battling to a 6-6 tie in a game played in Seattle. In both 1915 and 1916, they played one another twice each year, with unbeaten Gil Dobie's Washington team sweeping the four games. In 1917, Cal broke the UW's 63-game unbeaten streak (still an NCAA record) with a 27-0 win in Berkeley. Other big games in the series include the 1937 game, when the unranked Huskies held No. 1 Cal to a 0-0 tie in Seattle. In 1991, the Bears probably came as close as anyone to beating Washington that national championship season, as Mike Pawlawski's last-gasp pass into the endzone was batted down in a 24-17 UW win. Washington has also posted four of its nine biggest comebacks in history against California. The biggest ever was in 1988, when the Dawgs trailed 27-3 before rallying to win, 28-27. In 1981, Washington was down 21-0 in the third quarter before coming back for a 27-26 victory. A 20-point comeback in 1993 (24-23) and a 14-point rally in 1999 (31-27) also rank on the list. In 2001, the Huskies trailed 21-7 in the first quarter, but came back to earn a 31-28 victory in Berkeley.
HUSKIES vs. BAY AREA SCHOOLS: Washington has a combined, all-time record of 107-81-8 vs. opponents from the San Francisco Bay Area. Washington is 53-39-4 against Cal, 42-41-4 vs. Stanford, 10-0 vs. San Jose State, 1-1 vs. St. Mary's and 1-0 vs. Santa Clara. The Huskies haven't played Santa Clara since 1935 and St. Mary's since 1947. Since 1977, UW is 57-16-0 vs. Bay Area teams: 26-5 vs. Cal, 23-11 vs. Stanford and 8-0 vs. San Jose State.
THE DEFENSE: Washington's defense was the strongest it has been in years in 2015, leaving a standard for this season that will be a challenge to match. Last year, the Husky defense finished first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense, allowing just 247 points, or 18.8 per game, the best average by the UW since 1996 (18.4 per game). The Huskies gave up 103 fewer points in 2015 than in 2014 (though, the UW played one more game in 2014). The Dawgs also led the conference in total defense (351.8 yards per game), opponent first downs (19.1 per game) and red-zone defense (79.5 percent). In the red zone, UW opponents managed just 17 touchdowns in 39 attempts (43.6 percent), best in the conference.
THE OFFENSE: Washington's offense finished last season on a high. Over the three-game win streak that wrapped up the 2015 campaign, the Huskies posted 52, 45 and 44 points, an average of 47.0 per game. Over the last four games of the season, the Huskies amassed 2,052 yards of total offense, or an average of 513.0 yards per game. Over the final three (Oregon State, Washington State, Southern Miss), the Huskies racked up 807 rushing yards (269.0 per game) and completed 55-of-75 passes (.733) for 698 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception.
RECORD COLLECTION: The Huskies have broken or tied a few school records over this season. The UW scored 40 points or more in six straight games (dating back to the 2015 Oregon State game). Never before had they scored 40 in more than four straight (1944). Against Rutgers, John Ross' fourth career kickoff return for a touchdown broke Jim Krieg's old mark of three while Dante Pettis tied Beno Bryant's career punt return TD record of four. Last Saturday at Utah, Pettis posted his fifth career punt return TD to take over the school record by himself. He's now just one shy of former Cal star DeSean Jackson's Pac-12 record of six. Against Idaho, the Huskies tied the school record for passing touchdowns (6; tied record set vs. UCLA in 1970) and Jake Browning tied the Husky record for individual passing TDs in a game, with five (shared with Keith Price, 2012 vs. Colorado; Jake Locker, 2010 vs. Oregon State; and Chris Rowland, 1973 vs. California). Browning broke that record with six TD passes at Oregon, taking sole possession of the mark. He also rushed for two TDs, giving him eight total, also a school record. Browning is on pace to break several other school records (pass efficiency, yards per attempt, among others). Additionally in that 70-21 Oregon win, the UW set modern (post-1945) records for points, touchdowns (10) and PATs (10) while linebacker Keishawn Bierria tied the Husky record for single-season fumble recoveries with his fifth.
THE PAC-12: Prior to the 2011 season, the Pac-10 Conference added Utah and Colorado to expand to the Pac-12. Washington, which along with California is one of two schools who have been in the conference since its founding in 1915, plays in the Pac-12 North, along with the other three Northwest schools (Oregon, OSU, WSU) and Stanford and California. Under current plans, each school will play all five division rivals, plus four of six teams in the other division each season. The first two seasons, the Huskies did not face UCLA or Arizona State. In 2013 and 14, the Huskies didn't face Utah or USC. Last year and in 2016, neither UCLA nor Colorado are on the UW schedule.
THE 100-YARD FACTOR: Since the 1947 season, Washington is 204-65-3 (.756) when a Husky player rushes for 100 yards in a game. The Huskies were 5-4 in such games in 2015 and are 5-0 this year.
HISTORY LESSON: Successfully rushing the football and winning go hand-in-hand for the Huskies. Since 1990, UW has rushed for 200 yards in a game 105 times. The Huskies' record stands at 88-16-1 (.842) in those contests. Since 1995, UW is 63-13-1 (.825) when rushing for 200 yards.
QUICK SLANTS: The Huskies' current 11-game winning streak is the second-longest in the nation ... UW leads the nation in fumbles recoveries (12), turnover margin (+1.63 per game) and pass efficiency (196.69) and are fourth in fewest turnovers (6) and takeaways (19); and fifth in fewest interceptions (3) ... UW is also fourth in scoring offense and seventh in scoring defense (one of four teams in the nation in the top 10 in both, along with Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State) ... Dante Pettis broke the UW record vs. Utah with his 5th career punt return for a TD ... he's one of just five players in the FBS with two punt return TDs this season ... the Dawgs have allowed just seven points after a turnover this season while they've turned 19 takeaways into 69 points ... of the six times the Huskies have turned it over, they've gotten a takeaway on the ensuing drive four times ... Jake Browning, who ranks No. 2 the FBS in pass efficiency (195.6) entering this week, broke the school record with 6 TD passes at Oregon ... with 28 TD passes in 2016, he's already easily surpassed his 2015 total of 16 and has thrown the second-most in UW history ... Browning ranks No. 3 in the nation in touchdowns and No. 4 in yards per attempt ... linebacker Keishawn Bierria leads the FBS with five fumble recoveries this season, tying the UW record ... the Huskies had a kick return for a TD (John Ross, 92 yds.) and a punt return for a TD (Pettis, 68 yds.) in the win over Rutgers ... only twice before in recorded history have the Huskies done that: 1940 vs. WSU (Ernie Steele had an 87-yd. KOR and an 83-yd. PR) and 2001 vs. Idaho (Roc Alexander, 95-yd. KOR; Charles Frederick, 87-yd. PR) ... Ross now has five scoring plays of 90 or more yards in his UW career – four kickoff returns and a 91-yard TD reception ... five true freshmen have played for the UW this season: DB Myles Bryant, WR Aaron Fuller, OL Nick Harris, DB Taylor Rapp and LB Brandon Wellington.
TELEVISION: The UW-Cal game will air live to a national audience on ESPN with Mark Jones (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (color) and Quint Kessenich (sidelines) providing the commentary.
RADIO: The Washington IMG College Network, with its flagship station KOMO AM-1000 and FM-97.7, will carry the live broadcast of every football game on 17 Northwest radio stations. Longtime play-by-play man Bob Rondeau and color analyst Damon Huard are joined by sideline reporter Elise Woodward. The home broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius (137) and XM (197) satellite radio.
THE YOUNG AND THE OLD: Washington was one of the country's youngest teams in 2015, as the UW roster included 52 freshman (both true and redshirt freshmen) and 24 sophomores, as compared to just 13 seniors. Not surprisingly, the Huskies returned a great deal of experience in 2016. In fact, not counting specialists (kickers, punters, long snappers, returners), a total of 33 different Huskies have started at least one game in a Washington uniform, 18 on offense and 15 on defense. However, the 2016 roster still includes just 13 seniors to go along with 41 freshmen and redshirt freshmen, as well as 28 sophomores.
HUSKIES vs. GOLDEN BEARS HISTORY: Washington and California are the only two teams that have played in what is now the Pac-12 Conference in every season since the league was founded in 1916. As that would indicate, they've played one another quite often. The Huskies hold a 53-39-4 record in the all-time series, which began in 1904. Last year in Seattle, Cal built a 27-7 lead over the UW and then held the Huskies off for a 30-24 win, a late interception on the Huskies' final drive sealing the victory. In 2014 in Berkeley, a 100-yard fumble return from Shaq Thompson and an 86-yard pass to John Ross were the key plays in a 31-7 Husky win. In 2013 in Seattle, UW earned a 41-17 victory behind 241 rushing yards from Bishop Sankey and 376 passing from Keith Price. Both accounted for two TDs. In 2012, the UW earned a 21-13 win thanks largely to second-half TDs from Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Sankey. In 2011 in Seattle, the Huskies held on a late goalline stand to preserve a 31-23 victory as Price threw for three TDs in the Pac-12 opener. In 2010 in Berkeley, the Huskies beat the Bears, 16-13, on the final play of the game, a one-yard run from Chris Polk. In 2009, the Huskies closed out their season with a 42-10 win over the Bears in Seattle. Jake Locker passed for 248 yards and three TDs and rushed for 77 and two more scores. In 2008, Cal won in Berkeley, in another season finale as Jahvid Best ran for 311 yards and four TDs on only 19 carries in a 48-7 Bears win. In 2007, the 37-23 Husky victory broke a streak of five straight Cal wins in the series. Prior to that five-game losing streak, the Huskies had won 19 consecutive games in the series, a streak that began with a 50-31 win in 1977. Before 2002, the last Cal win had come in 1976. Cal and UW first met in 1904, battling to a 6-6 tie in a game played in Seattle. In both 1915 and 1916, they played one another twice each year, with unbeaten Gil Dobie's Washington team sweeping the four games. In 1917, Cal broke the UW's 63-game unbeaten streak (still an NCAA record) with a 27-0 win in Berkeley. Other big games in the series include the 1937 game, when the unranked Huskies held No. 1 Cal to a 0-0 tie in Seattle. In 1991, the Bears probably came as close as anyone to beating Washington that national championship season, as Mike Pawlawski's last-gasp pass into the endzone was batted down in a 24-17 UW win. Washington has also posted four of its nine biggest comebacks in history against California. The biggest ever was in 1988, when the Dawgs trailed 27-3 before rallying to win, 28-27. In 1981, Washington was down 21-0 in the third quarter before coming back for a 27-26 victory. A 20-point comeback in 1993 (24-23) and a 14-point rally in 1999 (31-27) also rank on the list. In 2001, the Huskies trailed 21-7 in the first quarter, but came back to earn a 31-28 victory in Berkeley.
HUSKIES vs. BAY AREA SCHOOLS: Washington has a combined, all-time record of 107-81-8 vs. opponents from the San Francisco Bay Area. Washington is 53-39-4 against Cal, 42-41-4 vs. Stanford, 10-0 vs. San Jose State, 1-1 vs. St. Mary's and 1-0 vs. Santa Clara. The Huskies haven't played Santa Clara since 1935 and St. Mary's since 1947. Since 1977, UW is 57-16-0 vs. Bay Area teams: 26-5 vs. Cal, 23-11 vs. Stanford and 8-0 vs. San Jose State.
THE DEFENSE: Washington's defense was the strongest it has been in years in 2015, leaving a standard for this season that will be a challenge to match. Last year, the Husky defense finished first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense, allowing just 247 points, or 18.8 per game, the best average by the UW since 1996 (18.4 per game). The Huskies gave up 103 fewer points in 2015 than in 2014 (though, the UW played one more game in 2014). The Dawgs also led the conference in total defense (351.8 yards per game), opponent first downs (19.1 per game) and red-zone defense (79.5 percent). In the red zone, UW opponents managed just 17 touchdowns in 39 attempts (43.6 percent), best in the conference.
THE OFFENSE: Washington's offense finished last season on a high. Over the three-game win streak that wrapped up the 2015 campaign, the Huskies posted 52, 45 and 44 points, an average of 47.0 per game. Over the last four games of the season, the Huskies amassed 2,052 yards of total offense, or an average of 513.0 yards per game. Over the final three (Oregon State, Washington State, Southern Miss), the Huskies racked up 807 rushing yards (269.0 per game) and completed 55-of-75 passes (.733) for 698 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception.
RECORD COLLECTION: The Huskies have broken or tied a few school records over this season. The UW scored 40 points or more in six straight games (dating back to the 2015 Oregon State game). Never before had they scored 40 in more than four straight (1944). Against Rutgers, John Ross' fourth career kickoff return for a touchdown broke Jim Krieg's old mark of three while Dante Pettis tied Beno Bryant's career punt return TD record of four. Last Saturday at Utah, Pettis posted his fifth career punt return TD to take over the school record by himself. He's now just one shy of former Cal star DeSean Jackson's Pac-12 record of six. Against Idaho, the Huskies tied the school record for passing touchdowns (6; tied record set vs. UCLA in 1970) and Jake Browning tied the Husky record for individual passing TDs in a game, with five (shared with Keith Price, 2012 vs. Colorado; Jake Locker, 2010 vs. Oregon State; and Chris Rowland, 1973 vs. California). Browning broke that record with six TD passes at Oregon, taking sole possession of the mark. He also rushed for two TDs, giving him eight total, also a school record. Browning is on pace to break several other school records (pass efficiency, yards per attempt, among others). Additionally in that 70-21 Oregon win, the UW set modern (post-1945) records for points, touchdowns (10) and PATs (10) while linebacker Keishawn Bierria tied the Husky record for single-season fumble recoveries with his fifth.
THE PAC-12: Prior to the 2011 season, the Pac-10 Conference added Utah and Colorado to expand to the Pac-12. Washington, which along with California is one of two schools who have been in the conference since its founding in 1915, plays in the Pac-12 North, along with the other three Northwest schools (Oregon, OSU, WSU) and Stanford and California. Under current plans, each school will play all five division rivals, plus four of six teams in the other division each season. The first two seasons, the Huskies did not face UCLA or Arizona State. In 2013 and 14, the Huskies didn't face Utah or USC. Last year and in 2016, neither UCLA nor Colorado are on the UW schedule.
THE 100-YARD FACTOR: Since the 1947 season, Washington is 204-65-3 (.756) when a Husky player rushes for 100 yards in a game. The Huskies were 5-4 in such games in 2015 and are 5-0 this year.
HISTORY LESSON: Successfully rushing the football and winning go hand-in-hand for the Huskies. Since 1990, UW has rushed for 200 yards in a game 105 times. The Huskies' record stands at 88-16-1 (.842) in those contests. Since 1995, UW is 63-13-1 (.825) when rushing for 200 yards.
Players Mentioned
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