Saturday, September 7
Seattle, WA
7:30 PM
University of Washington
vs
California
Pac-12 Opener Comes Early As Huskies Host Cal
September 02, 2019 | Football
THE GAME: The start of Pac-12 Conference play comes early this year as the Washington football team (1-0) plays host to California (1-0) this Saturday night, Sept. 7, at Husky Stadium. The game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. PT, will air on FOX Sports 1. Since the second rankings of the season don't come out until Tuesday morning, UW is still rated No. 13 in the AP Top 25 and No. 12 in the USA Today coaches' poll. Cal, which beat UC Davis in its opener, is not ranked. The Huskies beat FCS preseason No. 3 Eastern Washington, 47-14, last Saturday at Husky Stadium. Following the Cal game, the Huskies remain at home to face Hawai'i on Sept. 14 (4:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
QUICK HITTERS:The UW has won 15 consecutive home games, the fourth-longest such active streak in FBS ... UW's defense has led the Pac-12 in both scoring defense and total defense each of the last four years ... of the 106 players on the current UW football roster, a little over half (55) are freshmen or redshirt freshmen ... Washington played 10 true freshmen vs. Eastern Washington: DL Jacob Bandes, PK Tim Horn, OLB Laiatu Latu, CB Trent McDuffie, WR Puka Nacua, DL Noa Ngalu, DL Faatui Tuitele, LB Alphonzo Tuputala, DB Asa Turner and DB Cameron Williams ... additionally, 17 redshirt freshmen played in the opener ... Jacob Eason made his UW debut as starting quarterback vs. EWU and threw for 349 yards and four TDs ... his 349 yards were the most ever by a Husky QB in his first start ... his 4 TD passes tied for seventh-most in UW history ... the Huskies scored six TDs against the Eagles, and those six touchdowns were scored by five different players ... UW head coach Chris Petersen entered the 2019 season with the highest winning percentage among active NCAA-FBS coaches with five or more years experience ... Petersen has a career record of 140-33, good for a winning percentage of .809 ... Washington won 32 games over the three previous years (32-9), the highest three-year wins total in UW history and the only time that the Huskies have posted double-digit wins in three straight seasons ... the Huskies have been to a bowl game nine years in a row, and during that stretch have gone to nine different bowls, with no repeats ... including the 2002 Sun Bowl, the UW's last 10 bowl berths have been to 10 different bowl games.
TELEVISION:The UW-Cal game will air on FOX Sports 1 with Brian Custer (play by play) and Robert Smith (analyst) on the call. The game can also be viewed on the FOX Sports Go app.
RADIO: The Washington Sports Network, with its flagship station KOMO AM-1000 and FM-97.7, will carry the live broadcast of every football game on 18 Northwest radio stations. Play-by-play man Tony Castricone and color analyst Damon Huard are joined by sideline reporter Elise Woodward. The UW broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius (105) and XM (201) satellite radio, and is also available via TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app.
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 54-40-4 record in the 98-game, all-time series, which began in 1904. Washington has won nine of the last 12 after Cal had won five in a row (2002-2006).
Last season, the Huskies fell in 12-10, in a defensive struggle in Berkeley. The game featured just 27 first downs and 492 yards of total offense between the two teams, combined. Cal's only TD came on an interception return. Two years ago in Seattle, UW held Cal to 93 yards of total offense in a 33-7 win. In 2016 in Berkeley, Jake Browning threw for six TDs and 378 yards on 19-for-28 passing to lead UW to a 66-27 win. John Ross totaled 208 receiving yards and Dante Pettis added 104 more, while each scored three TDs. In 2015 in Seattle, Cal built a 27-7 lead over the UW and then held the Huskies off for a 30-24 win. In 2014 in Berkeley, a 100-yard fumble return from Shaq Thompson and an 86-yard pass to 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. 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 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 110-83-8 vs. opponents from the San Francisco Bay Area. Washington is 55-40-4 against Cal, 43-42-4 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 60-18-0 vs. Bay Area teams: 28-6 vs. Cal, 24-12 vs. Stanford and 8-0 vs. San Jose State.
EARLY CONFERENCE PLAY:Washington hasn't played its conference opener in the first two weeks of the season, as they do Saturday vs. California, since 2008. Over the last 41 seasons, dating back to 1978, the Huskies have played their conference opener in week one or two on 12 occasions. In those 12 games, the Huskies have gone 7-5. Of those 12 games, nine were season-openers (week one), while just three were in second week of the season.
OPPONENTS 35-AND-UNDER: Washington hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than 35 points in a game since a 44-30 loss at UCLA in 2014 – one of only three games in Chris Petersen's UW tenure that an opponent has scored more than 35 points. That's a streak of 57 games in a row that the Huskies' opponent has failed to score more than 35. In that 57-game stretch, Husky foes have scored 30 or more just nine times (of those nine, five were exactly 30 points) and have been held to 14 or fewer points 27 times. In that same span of 57 games, the UW has scored more than 35 points on 25 occasions.
RETURNING STARTERS:While the official number of "returning starters" this year for Washington includes just two defensive and seven offensive players, a deeper look at the numbers reveals a lot more experience. In fact, not counting specialists (UW returns its starting placekicker, punter, holder and long snapper), Washington has 20 current players who had started at least one game on offense, and nine who have started on defense prior to the 2019 season – though obviously most of those were not the primary starter at any one position last season.
WINNING AT HOME:Washington's 15-game home winning streak is the fourth-longest current streak. Only Alabama (26), Clemson (16) and UCF (16) enter the week with longer home win streaks in tact. The UW is 21-1 over its last 22 games at Husky Stadium, a stretch that dates back to November of 2015. The Huskies have won 19 straight non-conference home games, dating back to a loss vs. Nebraska on Sept. 18, 2010.
DEFENSE vs. BIG PLAYS:The UW allowed just ONE scrimmage play of 40 or more yards all last season. No other FBS team allowed fewer than four and 102 teams allowed 10 or more. Washington also allowed just 11 scrimmage plays of 30 or more yards (only Appalachian State, with 10, allowed fewer). The Husky defense also ranked No. 5 in fewest 20-yard plays allowed (34). In 2017, the UW also led the nation with fewest 40-yard scrimmage plays allowed (3) and were second in fewest 30-yard plays (14). They were tied for 5th and 2nd, respectively, in 2016. The Huskies did give up one long play, a 64-yard pass, in the 2019 opener vs. Eastern Washington.
YOUTH:Washington's roster remains on the young side. Of the 106 current players, more than half – 55 – are freshmen or redshirt freshmen, due in large part to the fact that every freshman on last year's team preserved their redshirt season. Washington's roster includes 18 seniors, 20 juniors, 13 sophomores, 25 redshirt freshmen and 30 true freshmen.
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 Cal. Under the current system, each school plays 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 play Utah or USC. In 2015 in 2016, neither UCLA nor Colorado were on the UW schedule, while the Huskies didn't face USC and Arizona in 2017 or 2018. The 2019 season marks the start of a new cycle, moving the rotation back to where it started. Therefore, the Huskies will not play UCLA and Arizona State this season and again in 2020.
THE 100-YARD FACTOR: Since the 1947 season, Washington is 217-67-3 (.761) when a Husky player rushes for 100 yards in a game. The Huskies were 8-0 in such games in 2016, 5-1 in 2017, and 5-1 last season.
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 118 times. The Huskies' record stands at 101-16-1 (.860) in those contests.
HUSKY STADIUM RENOVATION: Husky Stadium underwent a major renovation over from Nov., 2011, through Aug., 2013, as the entire lower bowl and south upper deck were demolished and replaced. The new facility features a new, state-of-the-art football operations center (weight room, training room, locker room, meeting rooms, coaches' offices) in the west end, much more premium seating options and a new playing surface. Husky Stadium had featured a track up until 2011, so seats that were once far from the field, particularly in the west end, are much closer to the action. UW is 35-8 at home since the re-opening of Husky Stadium, and have won 15 consecutive home games (through the EWU win).
ALASKA AIRLINES FIELD AT HUSKY STADIUM: The Oregon game on Nov. 5, 2011, marked the final game in Husky Stadium prior to major renovations that were completed in summer, 2013. The Huskies re-opened their home field with a 38-6 win over then-No. 19 Boise State on Aug. 31, 2013. The 2018 season marks the 99th season of play in Husky Stadium. Original construction on the facility was completed in 1920 when Washington played one game in the new campus facility. UW's all-time record in Husky Stadium stands at 391-177-21 (.682).
QUICK HITTERS:The UW has won 15 consecutive home games, the fourth-longest such active streak in FBS ... UW's defense has led the Pac-12 in both scoring defense and total defense each of the last four years ... of the 106 players on the current UW football roster, a little over half (55) are freshmen or redshirt freshmen ... Washington played 10 true freshmen vs. Eastern Washington: DL Jacob Bandes, PK Tim Horn, OLB Laiatu Latu, CB Trent McDuffie, WR Puka Nacua, DL Noa Ngalu, DL Faatui Tuitele, LB Alphonzo Tuputala, DB Asa Turner and DB Cameron Williams ... additionally, 17 redshirt freshmen played in the opener ... Jacob Eason made his UW debut as starting quarterback vs. EWU and threw for 349 yards and four TDs ... his 349 yards were the most ever by a Husky QB in his first start ... his 4 TD passes tied for seventh-most in UW history ... the Huskies scored six TDs against the Eagles, and those six touchdowns were scored by five different players ... UW head coach Chris Petersen entered the 2019 season with the highest winning percentage among active NCAA-FBS coaches with five or more years experience ... Petersen has a career record of 140-33, good for a winning percentage of .809 ... Washington won 32 games over the three previous years (32-9), the highest three-year wins total in UW history and the only time that the Huskies have posted double-digit wins in three straight seasons ... the Huskies have been to a bowl game nine years in a row, and during that stretch have gone to nine different bowls, with no repeats ... including the 2002 Sun Bowl, the UW's last 10 bowl berths have been to 10 different bowl games.
TELEVISION:The UW-Cal game will air on FOX Sports 1 with Brian Custer (play by play) and Robert Smith (analyst) on the call. The game can also be viewed on the FOX Sports Go app.
RADIO: The Washington Sports Network, with its flagship station KOMO AM-1000 and FM-97.7, will carry the live broadcast of every football game on 18 Northwest radio stations. Play-by-play man Tony Castricone and color analyst Damon Huard are joined by sideline reporter Elise Woodward. The UW broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius (105) and XM (201) satellite radio, and is also available via TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app.
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 54-40-4 record in the 98-game, all-time series, which began in 1904. Washington has won nine of the last 12 after Cal had won five in a row (2002-2006).
Last season, the Huskies fell in 12-10, in a defensive struggle in Berkeley. The game featured just 27 first downs and 492 yards of total offense between the two teams, combined. Cal's only TD came on an interception return. Two years ago in Seattle, UW held Cal to 93 yards of total offense in a 33-7 win. In 2016 in Berkeley, Jake Browning threw for six TDs and 378 yards on 19-for-28 passing to lead UW to a 66-27 win. John Ross totaled 208 receiving yards and Dante Pettis added 104 more, while each scored three TDs. In 2015 in Seattle, Cal built a 27-7 lead over the UW and then held the Huskies off for a 30-24 win. In 2014 in Berkeley, a 100-yard fumble return from Shaq Thompson and an 86-yard pass to 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. 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 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 110-83-8 vs. opponents from the San Francisco Bay Area. Washington is 55-40-4 against Cal, 43-42-4 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 60-18-0 vs. Bay Area teams: 28-6 vs. Cal, 24-12 vs. Stanford and 8-0 vs. San Jose State.
EARLY CONFERENCE PLAY:Washington hasn't played its conference opener in the first two weeks of the season, as they do Saturday vs. California, since 2008. Over the last 41 seasons, dating back to 1978, the Huskies have played their conference opener in week one or two on 12 occasions. In those 12 games, the Huskies have gone 7-5. Of those 12 games, nine were season-openers (week one), while just three were in second week of the season.
OPPONENTS 35-AND-UNDER: Washington hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than 35 points in a game since a 44-30 loss at UCLA in 2014 – one of only three games in Chris Petersen's UW tenure that an opponent has scored more than 35 points. That's a streak of 57 games in a row that the Huskies' opponent has failed to score more than 35. In that 57-game stretch, Husky foes have scored 30 or more just nine times (of those nine, five were exactly 30 points) and have been held to 14 or fewer points 27 times. In that same span of 57 games, the UW has scored more than 35 points on 25 occasions.
RETURNING STARTERS:While the official number of "returning starters" this year for Washington includes just two defensive and seven offensive players, a deeper look at the numbers reveals a lot more experience. In fact, not counting specialists (UW returns its starting placekicker, punter, holder and long snapper), Washington has 20 current players who had started at least one game on offense, and nine who have started on defense prior to the 2019 season – though obviously most of those were not the primary starter at any one position last season.
WINNING AT HOME:Washington's 15-game home winning streak is the fourth-longest current streak. Only Alabama (26), Clemson (16) and UCF (16) enter the week with longer home win streaks in tact. The UW is 21-1 over its last 22 games at Husky Stadium, a stretch that dates back to November of 2015. The Huskies have won 19 straight non-conference home games, dating back to a loss vs. Nebraska on Sept. 18, 2010.
DEFENSE vs. BIG PLAYS:The UW allowed just ONE scrimmage play of 40 or more yards all last season. No other FBS team allowed fewer than four and 102 teams allowed 10 or more. Washington also allowed just 11 scrimmage plays of 30 or more yards (only Appalachian State, with 10, allowed fewer). The Husky defense also ranked No. 5 in fewest 20-yard plays allowed (34). In 2017, the UW also led the nation with fewest 40-yard scrimmage plays allowed (3) and were second in fewest 30-yard plays (14). They were tied for 5th and 2nd, respectively, in 2016. The Huskies did give up one long play, a 64-yard pass, in the 2019 opener vs. Eastern Washington.
YOUTH:Washington's roster remains on the young side. Of the 106 current players, more than half – 55 – are freshmen or redshirt freshmen, due in large part to the fact that every freshman on last year's team preserved their redshirt season. Washington's roster includes 18 seniors, 20 juniors, 13 sophomores, 25 redshirt freshmen and 30 true freshmen.
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 Cal. Under the current system, each school plays 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 play Utah or USC. In 2015 in 2016, neither UCLA nor Colorado were on the UW schedule, while the Huskies didn't face USC and Arizona in 2017 or 2018. The 2019 season marks the start of a new cycle, moving the rotation back to where it started. Therefore, the Huskies will not play UCLA and Arizona State this season and again in 2020.
THE 100-YARD FACTOR: Since the 1947 season, Washington is 217-67-3 (.761) when a Husky player rushes for 100 yards in a game. The Huskies were 8-0 in such games in 2016, 5-1 in 2017, and 5-1 last season.
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 118 times. The Huskies' record stands at 101-16-1 (.860) in those contests.
HUSKY STADIUM RENOVATION: Husky Stadium underwent a major renovation over from Nov., 2011, through Aug., 2013, as the entire lower bowl and south upper deck were demolished and replaced. The new facility features a new, state-of-the-art football operations center (weight room, training room, locker room, meeting rooms, coaches' offices) in the west end, much more premium seating options and a new playing surface. Husky Stadium had featured a track up until 2011, so seats that were once far from the field, particularly in the west end, are much closer to the action. UW is 35-8 at home since the re-opening of Husky Stadium, and have won 15 consecutive home games (through the EWU win).
ALASKA AIRLINES FIELD AT HUSKY STADIUM: The Oregon game on Nov. 5, 2011, marked the final game in Husky Stadium prior to major renovations that were completed in summer, 2013. The Huskies re-opened their home field with a 38-6 win over then-No. 19 Boise State on Aug. 31, 2013. The 2018 season marks the 99th season of play in Husky Stadium. Original construction on the facility was completed in 1920 when Washington played one game in the new campus facility. UW's all-time record in Husky Stadium stands at 391-177-21 (.682).
Players Mentioned
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