UW's Oldest College Rival – Stanford – Next For No. 5 Dawgs

Saturday, October 28

Stanford, CA

4:00 PM

University of Washington

Stanford

Photo by: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures

UW's Oldest College Rival – Stanford – Next For No. 5 Dawgs

October 23, 2023 | Football

Full UW Game Notes (PDF)

THE GAME: The Washington football team (7-0, 4-0 Pac-12) heads to the Bay Area to face its oldest collegiate rival, Stanford (2-5 1-4) in the two teams' final meeting as conference foes. Kickoff at Stanford is 4:00 p.m. PT and the game will air on FS1. The game is the Huskies' only road contest of the month of October, and their first away game since Sept. 30 at Arizona. Following the Stanford game, the Huskies will return to the road the following week to face USC Nov. 4 at the Coliseum.

QUICK HITTERS: Washington is 18-2 overall, and 12-0 at home under head coach Kalen DeBoer ... UW leads the nation in passing offense, is No. 4 in total offense and No. 7 in scoring offense ... UW's defense has 9 interceptions, surpassing 2022's full-season total (7) ... over just 20 games as a Husky, Michael Penix Jr. has notched five of the top-10 single-game passing yards marks in UW history, including his first three games this season (473 vs. Michigan State – 3rd; 450 vs. Boise State – 6th; 409 vs. Tulsa – 10th) ... Penix is up to sixth in UW history in career TD passes, with 51 ... he has thrown multiple TDs in 15 of his 20 games at UW ... his 7,217 career yards rank him 5th at UW ... through 7 games, Penix is No. 1 in FBS passing yards and pass yards per game, No. 2 in total offense, No. 4 in pass TDs and No. 5 in pass efficiency ... four different UW receivers – Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk and Germie Bernard (2) – have scored a rushing TD so far this season ... prior to this season, UW had had just eight games in its history in which two players had 100 receiving yards (including two last year) ... this season, that has happened in 5 of 7 games ... through 7 games, UW has had 50 scrimmage plays of 20 yards or more, 2nd-most in FBS on a per-game average ... UW's defense has allowed just 22 ... the defense has not allowed a single rush of 20 or more yards this year ... Penix is currently No. 1 in the nation in pass plays of 10-plus (101 plays) ... UW enters the week with the nation's second-longest active winning streak among FBS teams, with 14 victories in a row – third-longest in UW history ... only Georgia, with a 24-game run, has a longer active streak ... the win streak is the third-longest in UW history, after 40 (1908-16) and 22 (1990-92) ... Washington scored 40-plus points in the first 4 games, the first time that UW has scored 40-plus in four straight in the same season since 1944, when the Huskies did it with two lopsided wins each over Willamette and Whitman ... not counting the 4-game 2020 season, the Huskies have won 10 or more games in 4 of the last 6 seasons.

TELEVISION: The Washington-Stanford game will air on FS1, with Tim Brandon and Spencer Tillman calling the action. Fans will with the proper subscription can also stream at fox.com/live.

RADIO: All Washington football games will air on the Washington Sports Network from Learfield, with Tony Castricone (play by play), former Husky tight end Cameron Cleeland (analyst) and former UW basketball player Elise Woodward (sidelines) on the call. Radio coverage begins four hours before kickoff on the network's flagship station – Seattle's SportsRadio KJR 93.3 FM – with "Husky Gameday" live from The Zone for Husky home games. Statewide coverage on the 17-station Washington Sports Network begins two hours before kickoff. The entire broadcast is available worldwide on the Huskies Gameday mobile app and the Varsity app. The UW broadcast of this game will also air on Sirius/XM channel 111 or 197.

STAFF CONTINUITY: Washington's entire full-time coaching staff remained in tact following the 2022 season, which was coach Kalen DeBoer's first at the UW. He, along with all 10 full-time assistants, are back in 2023. That's actually rare in UW history as the coaching staffs have gone unchanged over two or more seasons only three times before (UW records for coaching staffs go back to the mid-1950s): 1989-90, 2009-11, and 2014-15.

STANFORD – UW'S OLDEST RIVAL: In the fifth and final game of the 1893 season, Dec. 29, 1893, Washington took on Stanford, marking the Huskies' first-ever game against another college. Prior to that, all of the UW's eight all-time games (since 1889) had come vs. club or alumni teams (notably, the UW did play a team called "Washington College (Tacoma)" in 1890, but that short-lived boarding school, despite its name, was not what would be called a "college" in modern terms, as it enrolled students as young as 10 years old.). The UW-Stanford game was played in West Seattle in front of a reported 900 fans, most of whom arrived by ferry boat from Seattle proper, and the Cardinal easily handled the home team, 40-0. Stanford's team wasn't much more experienced, having started play in 1891, but it had been coached the season before (and again in 1894 and 1895) by Walter Camp, one of the pioneers of the game. Stanford fullback Martin Kennedy led his team with four touchdowns. While the Huskies have played several other modern-day opponents more times, no rivalry dates back earlier than the one vs. Stanford. Aside from games vs. Whitman (a Division III school that dropped football in 1977) and Vashon College (which closed entirely in 1912), the UW didn't face another college foe until 1900, when Washington played Idaho, Washington State and Oregon for the first time each.

HUSKIES vs. CARDINAL HISTORY: Over 93 all-time meetings, Washington and Stanford have arrived at a nearly dead-even record, with 45 wins for Washington, 44 for Stanford, as well as four ties (45-44-4). After winning eight straight vs. Stanford from 1959 to 1966, the Huskies lost 10 in a row from 1967 to 1976. Since that 1976 loss, Washington has gone 26-13 against the Cardinal. One of those 13 losses was a big upset in 1982 when the No. 2 Huskies fell to the Cardinal, 43-31, in Palo Alto. The second UW loss during that stretch came at Stanford in 1994, when the Cardinal upset 12th-ranked Washington, 46-28.

More recently, the Cardinal beat the Huskies, 27-13, at Palo Alto in 2004. After no game in 2005, Stanford won its second straight over the UW in a 20-3 victory in 2006 at Husky Stadium. The Cardinal also won 13 seasons ago in Seattle, 35-28, and in 2009 in Palo Alto (34-14). In 2010, Stanford blanked the UW, 41-0, at Husky Stadium; and in 2011, the Cardinal won, 65-21, at Stanford. Prior to that, the most recent UW victory had come in 2007, when the Huskies rushed for a total of 388 yards in a 27-9 win over the Cardinal. Louis Rankin led the way with 255 yards on 36 carries.

Last year, in the conference opener, UW earned a 40-22 win, paced by Michael Penix Jr. (309 pass yards, 2 TDs), Rome Odunze (161 rec. yards, 1 TD) and Wayne Taulapapa (120 rushing yards, 1 TD). In 2021 in Palo Alto, the Huskies scored their best win of the season. Down 13-12, Dylan Morris connected with Jalen McMillan on a 20-yard TD with just 21 seconds to go as the Huskies won, 20-13. In the shortened 2020 season, the Cardinal dealt UW its only loss, 31-26, in what proved to be the Huskies' fourth and final game of the season. In 2019 at Stanford, the Husky offense struggled in a 23-13 loss to the Cardinal. In 2018, the UW built a 21-0 lead and held on to win, 27-23. Five seasons ago in Palo Alto, Stanford won, 30-22, despite three rushing TDs from Myles Gaskin.

In 2016 in Seattle, on a highly-charged Friday night at Husky Stadium, the 10th-ranked Dawgs beat the No. 7 Cardinal, 44-8. In 2015, the Cardinal earned a 31-14 victory in Palo Alto, while in 2014, the Cardinal won a defensive battle in Seattle, 20-13, as Kevin Hogan's five-yard run with 4:29 broke a 13-13 tie. In 2013, the Cardinal edged the Dawgs in a close game in Palo Alto, 31-28, with Washington's attempt to drive or a tie or the lead stalled at midifeld with 1:16 left on the clock.

In 2012 on a Thursday night in Seattle, the Huskies edged the No. 8 Cardinal, 17-13, thanks to a 61-yard run from Bishop Sankey and a 35-yard TD catch from Kasen Williams.

Washington and Stanford first played one another in 1893 in a game that marked the first major college opponent for UW. That game, played in West Seattle, resulted in a 40-0 Stanford victory. There wouldn't be another matchup between the two schools until 1920, when the Cardinal nipped Washington, 3-0, in the last UW home game prior to the opening of Husky Stadium. After a 0-0 tie in 1921, the Huskies' first victory in the series came in 1922, 12-8 at Palo Alto.

HUSKIES vs. BAY AREA SCHOOLS: Washington has a combined, all-time record of 114-86-8 vs. opponents from the San Francisco Bay Area. Washington is 56-41-4 against Cal, 45-44-4 vs. Stanford, 10-0 vs. San Jose State, 1-1 vs. St. Mary's and 1-0 vs. Santa Clara. The Huskies last played Santa Clara in 1935 and St. Mary's in 1947. Since 1977, UW is 64-21-0 vs. Bay Area teams: 29-7 vs. Cal, 27-14 vs. Stanford and 8-0 vs. San Jose State.

EXPERIENCE AND YOUTH: Washington's current roster includes a total of 34 players – 17 each on offense and defense – who have started at least one game for the Huskies prior to 2023. Entering the year, the 17 offensive players had totaled 145 starts in the Purple & Gold, while the 17 defensive players (which includes former offensive line starter Ulumoo Ale) had 156 starts between them. Tight end Devin Culp entered the 2023 season with the highest total of starts under is belt among offensive players, with 18, while safety zx0Asa Turner, with 23 career starts entering 2023, led the defensive side. The list of Dawgs with starting experience doesn't take into account the 10 current Huskies who transferred to UW after having started at another four-year college, nor does it account for starting "specialists." Washington 119-man roster entering the year included just 15 players in their final year of eligibility, along with 29 true freshmen, 15 redshirt freshmen, 35 sophomores and 25 juniors. Potentially, 104 current Huskies could return for 2024, while 79 enter the 2023 season with three or more years of eligibility remaining.

GRADUATED DAWGS: The 2023 Washington football roster includes 23 players who have earned their bachelor's degree. Here are those 23, alphabetically: Ulomoo Ale, Jacob Bandes, Julius Buelow, Devin Culp, Troy Fautanu, Drew Fowler, Ralen Goforth, Dominique Hampton, Antonio Hill, Giles Jackson, Tuli Letuligasenoa, Matteo Mele, Quentin Moore, Dylan Morris, Jabbar Muhammad, Richard Newton, Michael Penix Jr., Faatui Tuitele, Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Alphonzo Tuputala, Asa Turner, Edefuan Ulofoshio, and Jack Westover.

LONG PLAYS: Washington has notched 50 scrimmage plays of 20 or more yards over its first six games, the second-highest per-game average in the nation. UW is also No. 2 in the nation (on per-game average) with 26 plays of 30 yards or more. Those totals include 42 passes of 20 or more yards, and 21 of 30 or more, from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Both of those averages are also tops in the nation. Penix also leads FBS with 101 completions of 10 yards or more, despite having played just seven games. Additionally, Rome Odunze is tied for first in the nation with 37 receptions of 10-plus and is third with 15 of 20-plus yards, while Ja'Lynn Polk has 12 20-plus yard receptions. Meanwhile, UW's defense has allowed just 22 plays of 20 or more yards this season, 28 fewer than the Husky offense has had. UW has allowed no rushing plays of 20-plus yards.

Last year, Washington finished the season with 62 passing plays for 20 or more yards, tied for eighth-most in the nation (five teams that ranked higher played more games than UW's 13). Washington led the nation last year with 193 pass plays for 10 or more yards.

TWO 100-YARD RECEIVERS IN A GAME: Prior to the start of this season, Washington had had just eight games in its history with two players finishing with 100 or more receiving yards (including two such games last year). So far this season, Washington has had two players with 100 receiving yards in five of seven games:
                  vs. Boise State: Rome Oduzne (132) & Ja'Lynn Polk (101)
                  vs. Tulsa: Jalen McMillan (120) & Odunze (107)
                  at Michigan State: Odunze (180) & Polk (118)
                  vs. California: Polk (127) & Odunze (125)
                  vs. Oregon: Odunze (128) & Polk (118)

Additionally, last year, Odunze was the first Husky ever to record four straight 100-yard games. In the first four games of 2023, he matched that streak.

CONFERENCE MOVES: Along with USC, UCLA and Oregon, the Huskies will move to the Big Ten Conference after this coming academic year (2023-24) and will play a Big Ten schedule in 2024. Four other current Pac-12 programs – Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah – will join the Big 12 Conference in 2024-25; while Stanford and California will join the ACC. Washington has been a member of what is now the Pac-12 since the inception of the league, in 1915. Only the UW and California have/had been members in every year since. The UW football team has won a league title in every decade since the 1910s, other than the 2020s – the Dawgs will have one last chance to extend that streak this year.