Dawgs Open Final Pac-12 Slate Vs. Golden Bears

Saturday, September 16

East Lansing, MI

2:00 PM

University of Washington

Michigan State

September 18, 2023 | Football

Full UW Game Notes

THE GAME: The Washington football team (3-0) gets its final Pac-12 Conference season underway against California (2-1), Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. PT at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. The game is the 101st meeting between the two old rivals – the only two programs that have been a part of what is now the Pac-12 every season since its inception in December, 1915. Washington held on to the No. 8 spot in both the AP Top 25 and the coaches' poll after a convincing, 41-7 win last Saturday at Michigan State, while Cal stormed back from an early, 17-0 deficit to beat Idaho, 31-17. Following the Cal game, UW travels to Tucson to face Arizona on Sept. 30. Then, UW has an off week before hosting Oregon on Oct. 14.

QUICK HITTERS: UW leads the nation in passing offense, is No. 2 in total offense and No. 8 in scoring offense ... UW's defense is No. 16 in scoring defense ... over just 16 games as a Husky, Michael Penix Jr. has notched six 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 43 ... he has thrown multiple TDs in 13 of his 16 games at UW ... through 3 games, Penix is No. 1 in FBS in total offense, passing yards, and passing yards per game; No. 2 in passing TDs; and No. 4 in pass efficiency ... four different UW receivers – Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk and Germie Bernard – 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 all three games ... through three games, UW has had 31 scrimmage plays of 20 yards or more, most in FBS ... UW's defense has allowed just 7 ... Penix is currently No. 1 in the nation in pass plays of 10-plus (51 plays), 20-plus (25 plays) and 30-plus (15 plays) yards ... Washington enters the week with the nation's second-longest active winning streak among Power 5 teams, with 10 victories in a row, which is tied for the sixth-longest in UW history ... only Georgia, with an 20-game run, has a longer active streak among P5 programs ... Washington has scored 40-plus points in the first three games, the first such three-game streak for UW since 2016, when the Huskies had three such three-game streaks ... not counting the four-game 2020 season, the Huskies have won 10 or more games in four of the last six seasons.

TELEVISION: The Washington-California game will air on ESPN, with Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler and Kayla Burton calling the action. Fans will with the proper subscription can also stream at espn.com/watch.

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 83. Additionally, the Husky Football Coaches Show airs each Wednesday during the season at 6:00 p.m. PT.

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.

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 Dec., 1915. As that would indicate, they've played one another quite often. The Huskies hold a 56-41-4 record in the 101-game, all-time series, which began in 1904. Washington has won 11 of the last 15 after Cal had won five in a row (2002-2006).

Last season in Berkeley, the Huskies won a week-nine matchup, 28-21, behind 374 passing yards and two TDs from Michael Penix Jr. Cal had won two straight vs. UW before the Huskies won, 31-24 in overtime, in the 2021 Pac-12 opener. Cal forced the overtime on a Chase Garbers run to tie it at 24-24 with 2:51 to go. In OT, UW's Sean McGrew scored on a two-yard run before Cal fumbled on the 1-yard line, ending the game. The two teams didn't play in 2020.

In 2019, in a game that featured a two-hour, 39-minute lightning delay and ended at 1:23 a.m., Cal won, 20-19. UW's Peyton Henry hit a 49-yard field goal with 2:05 to go, but the Bears countered with a 17-yarder with just eight seconds left for the win. The year before, 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. In 2017 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 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.

BIG WIN IN EAST LANSING: Typically, UW has played non-conference road games every other year, at most, so road wins over a Power-5 programs are rare by definition. But last Saturday's 41-7 victory at Michigan State produced a number of high-level accomplishments for the Huskies. Washington gained 713 yards of total offense, second-most in school history, and most ever on the road, or vs. what is now a Power-5 program. The 713 yards were also the most ever allowed by Michigan State, beating the previous total by 47 yards. Washington's 536 passing yards were a new team record and Michael Penix Jr. passed for 400 yards for the third game in a row, the first Husky ever to do that. Washington also had two players notch 100-plus receiving yards for the third game in a row (and only the 11th time ever). The Huskies' 9.9 yards per play and 13.7 yards per pass attempt were both third-best ever in school history. Other, more obscure notables: UW was 0-for-2 on third-down attempts at halftime, but led 35-0; UW didn't allow a sack for the second week in a row; for the third game in a row, a UW receiver scored on a running play; Michigan State had no runs of longer than nine yards; and MSU only moved the ball beyond the Husky 34-yardline on the game's final possession.

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 Asa 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 31 scrimmage plays of 20 or more yards over its first three games, the highest such total in the nation. UW also leads the nation with 19 plays of 30 yards or more, four more than any other program. Those totals include 25 passes of 20 or more yards, and 15 of 30 or more, from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Both of those totals are also tops in the nation. Penix also leads FBS with 51 completions of 10 yards or more. Meanwhile, UW's defense has allowed just seven plays of 20 or more yards this season, 24 fewer than the Husky offense has had.

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.

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 – are also departing, as those four will join the Big 12 Conference in 2024-25. 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.

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 2023 season marks the 103rd 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 408-185-21 (.682). Washington is 52-16 in home games since the stadium re-opened in 2013.