It's been a few years since we've seen the Stanford Cardinal. One of my favorite cheers is when the Cardinal visits and I get to yell "Go HUSKY!" The two-year hiatus is off and it's time to play the smart boys again.

Personally I've been anxiously awaiting Stanford's demise. There is no question they have a powerful offense, but they have no defense to speak of. Actually you could say that of just about any Pac-10 team. I'm surprised they've gone this far undefeated in the Pac-10. Now here they come into Husky Stadium on the high-road to the Rose Bowl.

Here's my thoughts about the red tree.

Offense - The WACification of the Pac-10 continues. 3 guys with 1000 yards is pretty good. It means the offensive line is good, the QB is good, and the receivers are good, and most importantly they work well together. They've scored up into the 50 point range against poor defenses and into the 30's against "good" ones. "Good" is relative, we're talking Pac-10 here.

However, they are stoppable. Oregon State held them to 21 points, holding them to 36 yards rushing and getting 5 sacks, but giving up 312 in the air. USC went up 21 points, but let Stanford back into the game. They have some heart and a lot of returning players who know how to play together.

The Husky defense is not real good, no secret here. If the run defense can play big and force Husak into making poor passes the weak Husky secondary might have a chance. OSU shut down Stanford's running game completely, hopefully the Dawg coaches will watch that film. Some key injuries could come into play. Missing Mac and Edwards is real bad.

The Stanford defense is pretty typical of the Pac-10 - not very good. They give up an average of 33 points per game over the season, but they seem to be improving. Minus the Texas whomping, they give up an average of about 27. Our only common opponent is Oregon State, to whom Stanford gave up 128 rushing yards (3.12 per carry), and 405 passing. We gave up 333 passing against the Beavs and 101 on the ground. That game was somewhat of a statistical anomaly since our 2nd team was playing for part of the game.

I tend to think the Huskies will favor a ground attack, trying to keep Stanford's offense away from the ball. Stanford's real weakness is pass defense, but that also happens to be Washington's weakest offensive link, especially with Jeurgens out of the game. We hope this will force the rest of the receiving corps to step up. Elstrom sure did last week.

The Huskies should be able to hang at least 33 on the Cardinal. If the Dawgs play mistake-free, which is stretching it, then certainly 33 points is possible. In games where the Huskies played clock control they managed to keep from turning the ball over. Cal would have had only 14 points without the turnovers last week. Quite a difference huh? In the San Jose St. loss, SJS did not turn the ball over. Stanford staged an impressive comeback, scoring 24 points in the final two periods, and with only one turnover could have won that game.

Key points:
1. Turnovers. The Huskies are the masters of losing the ball. This must stop. The passing game must be smart and mistake free.
2. Stanford discipline. They're never out of the game, scoring frequently in the 4th quarter. Who can cover Troy Walters? Stanford does not turn the ball over much at all (less than 1 per game average.)
3. Stanford running game - stop it. Force some bad passes, give the secondary a break.
4. Home-field advantage. Please let's not lose at home any more. I hate it.

My prediction:  Huskies will lose the ball only once as coaches beat players about head and neck during practices. However, the Huskies will make more mistakes than the seasoned Stanford squad. Final score: UW 27, Stanford 31. If there are no Husky turnovers, reverse that score. The Cardinal must be exposed - we're just the team to do it.

- Comments -

Well, the improbably happened. Stanford was beaten, mostly by the effort of Marques Tuiososopo. What a gutsy performance. Not only did he set an NCAA record (300 yrds passing, 200 rushing), he put himself into the Heisman race for next year. Can a Husky actually win the Heisman? Guess we'll see.

For the game, some things stick out.

1. The Husky defense really stepped up. Stanford was mostly stopped. If not for the turnovers then Stanford would've never been in this game.
2. ...Turnovers. Four turnovers is better than six, but still...
3. Offense was outstanding. If they weren't passing they ball they were running it. I think this speaks more to Stanford sucking that the Huskies being really good.
4. Even with some key players injured the Huskies stepped up with some great individual efforts. John Anderson (kicker) made two long FG's. Anthony Vontoure had to spectacular interceptions. 9 tackles for losses from the defense. The Crowd really was a factor too.