The first one kicks off at 4 pm PT on ESPN2 when the Temple Owls visit the Cincinnati Bearcats. This game features two bad teams in an AAC matchup that probably just isn’t worth watching. After all, neither team is above .500 at this point in the season, even though a win by Temple would move them to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the AAC.

Once that game is done, ESPN2 will feature a game between the BYU Cougars and the UNLV Rebels. This one is another one worth skipping. In part, that’s because BYU is just 2-8 so far this year. On the other hand, UNLV continues to make progress under Tony Sanchez. The Rebels are 4-5 so far this year and 3-3 in the Mountain West. That’s 1-1/2 games behind Fresno State in the Mountain West’s Western Division.

But, compared to the third game tonight, this one doesn’t compare.

The third game kicks off on Fox Sports 1 at 7:30 pm PT and it features a pair of Pac-12 North foes in the #9 Washington Huskies and the Stanford Cardinal. And, this game could go along way towards deciding what team wins the Pac-12 North, especially if Washington wins. On the other hand, if Stanford wins, it will create a three-way tie in the North between Stanford, Washington, and the Washington State Cougars.

So, while you’re waiting for tonight’s UCLA Basketball game to start in Shanghai, it would definitely be worth checking this game out.

Go Bruins!

What's the mood around the Washington fan base right now as UW faces three tough games to end the season?

Players and coaches have to take the “one game at a time” approach or else they get ahead of themselves and can lose focus on the only thing that matters: the next game. As fans, we can do whatever the hell we want, and folks are looking at these last three games plus a potential Pac-12 Championship game as a chance to prove that the team is worthy of a playoff selection. You always have those fans who want to lecture everyone that we should only be concerned with our upcoming opponent, and we have to remind those people that they are not in fact part of the actual team.

Since losing to ASU, all UW has done is beat down on a pair of pretty bad teams. Both Oregon and UCLA possess some talented players, but they are not complete football teams. There has been some fear all year long that the Husky offense is not good enough to beat really good teams, and that concern still lingers.

How does this UW team compare to last year's excellent squad?

The offense is clearly not as good without explosive WR John Ross. Add to that season-ending injuries to three of Jake Browning’s favorite receiving targets, and the weapons in the passing game are far less dangerous than in 2016. The offensive line has been good but not great, which was the case a year ago as well.

The defense should have suffered a dropoff after three members of the secondary moved on to the NFL, then both starting corners were injured (one out for the year, one has been out since the beginning of Pac-12 play and is not back yet). But the defense is actually better than a season ago, at least from a statistical standpoint.

Overall I’d say this team is not quite as good as the one from last year, but these next few games should give us a clearer indication.

On offense, everybody knows Jake Browning's name, but who else should Stanford fans pay attention to Friday?

Washington has three excellent tailbacks in Myles Gaskin, Lavon Coleman, and true freshman speedster Salvon Ahmed. Gaskin is the slippery jump-cut back, Coleman the one-cut downhill guy, and Ahmed is —well— fast, and is getting more and more focus in the offensive scheme as Washington searches for someone other than Dante Pettis to make explosive plays.

Pettis is the clear #1 target for Browning. That was the case entering the season, and is even more so now with the injuries to UW’s receiving corps. Look for blocking TEs Will Dissly and Drew Sample to step up in the receiving game, based on nothing other than the fact that they have helmets and uniforms and are not injured.

What are the strengths of the defense and how do they match up against Bryce Love in particular?

Washington’s defensive strength starts with their two defensive tackles, Vita Vea and Greg Gaines. These guys are really hard to block, even with two guys. The inside linebacking corps was a clear strength entering the season, but something strange has happened there. Pre-season All-American Azeem Victor fell so far on the depth chart that they have actually moved him to a defensive end/OLB position. The emergence of Ben Burr-Kirven, Brandon Wellington & DJ Beavers has not only added depth to the position, but has actually strengthened it. I’m not trying to say that all of these guys are playing ABOVE All-American level, but they are playing very, very well. I can’t help but think that Victor is not 100% right; be it health or something else.

Washington didn’t sell out against the run versus an Oregon team that clearly was not a threat to pass the football. I would expect the same philosophy against Stanford. Bryce Love doesn’t need much of a crease, so I don’t think any defense can completely shut him down. Great players make great plays.

What happened against Arizona State? Do you think the Sun Devils' formula for an upset one that Stanford can repeat, or was it fluky?

Bear with me because I have been asked this question every week since that game, and I’m trying to not just recycle the same answer.

Ever have one of those days when you stub your toe going into the bathroom first thing in the morning? Then you go to make coffee and realize it’s gone and all you have left is some freeze-dried Folgers under the sink. After that you check your phone to find out your primary email address has 20 new spam messages. Finally, you are running late for work and when you get to your car the windshield is covered in ice…

That’s the kind of night UW had in Tempe.

I absolutely do not want to take anything away from Arizona State because they played a solid game that night. Their offense put together a really nice opening drive, then managed to avoid any major mistakes the rest of the night. Defensively, an ASU defense under Todd Graham that lives and dies by the blitz decided to show lots of blitz but bring virtually none.

Scheme can only do so much, however, and it was the way that the Sun Devils’ front seven got the better the UW offensive line that was the key. They were dropping seven into coverage and rushing just four guys, but those four were getting to Jake Browning. Browning was clearly confused by the lack of blitzes, and when he saw everyone covered, ended up holding the ball until the defense either sacked him or flushed him from the pocket.

UW still had plenty of chances to win that game, but it almost felt like it was not meant to be:

· Zero explosive plays from the offense

· A punt blocked deep in UW territory

· Two missed field goals (both under 30 yards).

Stanford is a better team than ASU from what I have seen, so an upset is certainly there for the taking.

Finally, what's your prediction for the game?

This one is not going to be easy.

The revenge factor from last year only goes so far; it certainly didn’t prove to be enough for Oregon. Stanford has always been a disciplined football team under David Shaw, and lack of discipline is something that Chris Petersen teams absolutely feast on. UW cannot count of the Cardinal to make a ton of mistakes, and with a back like Bryce Love, six points is always just a missed tackle away.

UW has allowed teams to score on their opening drive consistently this season, and if that continues it might be enough to give KJ Costello some confidence. I don’t expect Costello to make a ton of plays, but if he is able to make a few and avoid huge mistakes, this will be a grind.

Overall, I feel UW has the advantage on both interior lines, and that is where football is generally won or lost.

UW 23, Stanford 13

Quarterback Davis Webb is keeping Cal’s Bear Raid buzzing.

Cal did its best Oregon impression this off season, and swept up a graduate transfer QB in Davis Webb, from Texas Tech. He was originally committed to Colorado before changing his pledge to the Bears, who were eager to replace the production of #1 overall pick Jared Goff, and keep the Bear Raid offense humming along. Webb has certainly fit the bill of “plug-and-play” this season, and has seamlessly kept the offensive wheels turning.

As spectacular as Webb has been this season (more on that below), the rushing attack has given him a lot of help. Cal’s entire motivation on offense is to throw the ball, and they’re identity is a passing team. However, they rush for a solid 170 yards per game and 4.9 yards per rush. Straight up, those numbers are nothing too impressive, except when you consider than Cal runs the ball more than only 3 teams in the entire country, and two of them are Texas Tech and Washington State. Cal rushes less than 40% of their plays, but manages to get production when they do.

Let’s examine the offense closer and see how it performs through the air and on the ground (taking a different approach this week to offense previews...)

The Basics

Cal’s offensive coordinator is Jake Spavital, who was previously at Texas A&M. In short, he knows how to run a potent offense. In his brief coaching career, he’s worked under Gus Malzahn, Kevin Sumlin, Dana Holgorsen, and Kliff Kingsbury - some of the brightest offensive minds in college football, and each running their variation of a pass first spread, or “air raid” offense. Here is a great breakdown and guide to the offense that head coach Sonny Dykes brought over from Louisiana Tech.

These types of offenses usually require a high volume of either throwing or passing. As in, to achieve the scoring and yardage outputs, you need a lot of inputs, or plays. This is easily achieved with an uptempo offense that wastes no time getting a play off. Cal does this exceptionally well, running an average of 88.8 plays per game. In their last 3 games, that figure jumps to an astonishing 97 plays per game. At home, where they’ve generally played their best, they slow things down a bit, “only” running 84 plays a game. In all this, they are still quite efficient, ranking 31st in overall offensive efficiency at Football Outsiders.

Through the Air

QB Davis Webb: 2,914 yards, 29 TDs, 8 INTs, 62% completion, 7.02 yards/attempt.

WR Chad Hansen: 59 receptions, 770 yards, 8 TDs.

WR Demetris Robertson: 35 receptions, 469 yards, 6 TDs.

WR Melquise Stovall: 39 receptions, 396, 3 TDs.

WR Vic Wharton III: 24 receptions, 267 yards, 1 TD.

In short, Davis Webb has been one of the best QBs in the conference, if not the entire nation. He’s putting up the gaudy statistics a talented, experienced QB in an air raid system should put up, and is playing his way into being another highly drafted Cal QB. He’s directing an offense that throws for 365 yards a game, and also ranks in the top 50 in passing efficiency. In his last 4 games, he’s been very impressive, throwing for 11 TDs and only 3 INTs, while completing over 60% of his passes. He absolutely tore Oregon apart to the tune of 5 TDs and 325 yards, while not having a throw be complete for more than 17 yards. That’s called “dink and dunk” my friends, and Cal is very good at it. Webb is exceptional at dropping back, and picking apart defenses with the quick passing game.

When he drops back, he’s also been protected quite well, only getting sacked 14 times all season. That 1.75 sack per game average is exactly level with UW. This speaks to good offensive line play, made even more impressive since Cal passes so much, there’s more opportunity than usual for the defense to pin its ears back and get into the backfield.

Cal is a dangerous Red Zone team, as well. They score on nearly 90% of possessions inside the 20 yard line, and on 36 attempts have scored 21 touchdowns. More than half of those have been passing. Deep into opponent’s territory, they also love to use misdirection play action passing, like they did so well against Oregon.

The wide receivers are playmakers, as well. Chad Hansen is the headliner, as he leads the team in yards, TDs, and receptions. He was one of the hottest receivers in the country before injuring his hand a few weeks ago and has been out. He is expected back this Saturday against the Huskies. Even if you look at his stats through 6 games as if they were for 9 games, it’s still really impressive what he’s done with a brand new QB. Most of the rest of their WR production is coming from freshmen duo Melquise Stovall and Demetris Robertson, who have been super in their first years in the Pac-12. Robertson is the bigger body and deep threat, while Stovall is more a shifty slot guy.

It’s an explosive and deep group overall: Hansen has a 49 yard TD, Robertson a 59 yard TD, and Jordan Veasy and Bug Rivera have one each for 33 yards.

On the Ground

Khalfani Muhammad: 93 rushes, 613 yards, 2 TDs.

Tre Watson: 90 rushes, 484 yards, 2 TDs.

As you probably know by now, Cal likes to make their name with the air attack. However, their run game is nothing to scoff at. As I noted previously, they don’t rush the ball much, but have two solid running backs that compliment the pass game. Muhammad has only 2 TDs on the year, but averages over 6 yards a rush, while Watson is the receiving threat out of the backfield. Watson also has only 2 scores on the ground, but has 3 receiving TDs, including a 74 yard TD grab. The OL shines here too, as it does in pass protection, not letting free runners into the backfield very often. Cal ranks top-40 in tackles for loss allowed, with less than 6 per game.

They can score on the ground in the red zone, too. While they have 12 red zone passing TDs, they also have 9 rushing TDs, displaying good balance on short fields.

Vic Enwere was the other big time runner in this group (who had a great game against the Huskies last year) but was lost for the season due to injury.

Final Thoughts

There isn’t a lot that’s unimpressive about this offense, but if there’s one area of potential weakness, it’s wasted drives. When examining the percentage of drives that result in a touchdown or at least one first down, the Bears rank 54th nationally. For an offense that runs this many plays, that’s understandable. But facing a Washington defense that makes you earn every single yard (fancy way of saying the Husky D has exceptional yards per play numbers), they could struggle here without getting a few big plays.

It’s also worth noting, they have struggled against top defenses. Consider against Arizona State, Oregon State, and Oregon, they have put up 46 points per game. On the other hand, against Utah and USC, they’ve only mustered 26 points per game. Washington certainly is in the Utah/USC caliber of defense, so might be able to find success, though the health of Joe Mathis as a pass rusher is a key concern. Him being back and healthy will really make the defense much more effective.

Chad Hansen potentially being back is scary. Stovall and Robertson are fantastic players, but I’ll take the Washington secondary against 2 freshmen. Throw the 6’2” Hansen into the mix, and it makes things much trickier. I think Cal will have some success on offense, but ultimately Washington’s defense will have the upper hand.

1-loss Texas A&M is 4th ahead of the undefeated Huskies

The first College Football Playoff Committee rankings of 2016 have been released and two SEC teams found their way into the top 4. Number one of course was Alabama, Clemson was second and Michigan comes in at 3rd. Most thought the undefeated Washington Huskies would round out the inaugural top 4 but to the surprise of many Texas A&M jumped to the 4 slot. It would seem that the Committee is either very high on the SEC west, very low on the Pac-12 generally or some combination of the two.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. The Playoff committee has in the past shown a preference for teams that win their conference. As it stands now Texas A&M will need Alabama to lose two conference games in the next month for the Aggies to even have the opportunity to advance to the SEC conference championship game. Undefeated Washington of course controls their own destiny in the Pac-12 championship race. While there is only about month left of the college football regular season there is a ton of football left to be played.

Colorado is 21st in the AP poll, and 20th in the Coaches poll, the playoff committee, however, has them at 15th, quite the jump. Perhaps the Buffaloes strong showing in the Big House against number 3 Michigan helped them out. Right behind the Buffs at number 16 is Utah. The Utes are also 16th in the AP and Coaches Polls. Rounding out the top 25 is Washington State. Much like Utah, the Cougars are ranked the same in all 3 of the polls.

3-loss USC is starting to receive attention from the voters effectively being ranked 27th in the Associated Press poll and 30th in the Coaches Poll. The Trojans did not crack the committee’s first top 25 with 3 losses though despite all three of them coming in the early part of the season, 2 of them against top 16 teams, all of them on the road, and 2 of them with a different quarterback. The only team with 3 losses to make the CFP rankings is Florida State at number 22. If USC continues their winning streak they will almost certainly enter the top 25.

You can see the full rankings below:

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How the hell did they do that?

The Huskies played their game of the season last Friday night, and while they may not have such a near-perfect effort again, they dominated Stanford by simply playing sound, physical football. Before we begin clearing a space in the trophy case for the BCS crown, we should consider that Stanford may not have a terrific offense. Their QB came into the game 13th in passing yards in the Pac-12, and concerns about the Cardinal offensive line were voiced before the game.

Still, teams have not done what Washington did to Stanford in the David Shaw era. Today we’ll shed some light on why the Dawgs were so dominant on the defensive side of the ball.

2nd and 11:

This first play is an I-formation power lead. It’s similar in design to the power runs Lavon Coleman used against Arizona for so much success, in that there’s a pulling guard from the left side leading a back through the hole on the right. This particular version of it would have been something the Green Bay Packers used in winning back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1960’s.

This play, from this formation, is the height of Stanford’s offensive arrogance. I don’t mean that in a bad way, to be clear. Typically, the I-formation has two receivers (one to each side), with a tight end, and two backs behind the QB. In this case, Stanford has removed the receiver (the flanker) from the offense’s right side and replaced him with an additional tight end. What makes this play “arrogant” is that the second tight end is on the line of scrimmage, which makes the tight end inside of him an ineligible receiver (only the furthest-out man from the ball on the line of scrimmage is allowed to move beyond the line of scrimmage on a pass play). This play is a bludgeoning tool. Stanford is perfectly content to telegraph the run by formation and alignment, and then run this play over, and over, and over again until the defense stops it; and then run it a few more times to make sure that first stop wasn’t just a fluke. Somewhere in the middle there they’ll run the pass compliment out of it, which is a bootleg or half-roll to the right side, with the tight end, fullback and halfback running a multi-layered flood route to the right side, and the receiver on the left either running a post or deep drag back to the right. This is a play that is both mentally and physically draining on a defense (when it works); you know what’s coming, but there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

Two things make this play. The first is Sidney Jones’ willingness and ability to neutralize the lead block of the fullback, well behind the line of scrimmage. One of two things happened here with Jones; either Stanford ran this play in to a well-timed run blitz by the Huskies, or the defensive key on this play was for Jones to attack the backfield due to the formation, with the knowledge that the safety (Budda Baker) and the linebackers would be available and able to neutralize the threat of the pass. Either way, he takes out the lead blocker.

The second key is that Psalm Wooching is able to defeat the block of the tight end (#96) over the top of him, and then to suck up the block of the pulling guard as well, keeping him from getting to the second level linebackers and leaving them free to get the glory of making the tackle. Stanford’s right tackle initially gets a good block on Elijah Qualls, but Qualls keeps his feet and is able to assist on the tackle. Had the timing of the play been better from the standpoint of the offense, Qualls would’ve been a non-factor. Greg Gaines more than does his job by taking on the down-blocking right guard and pushing him backward into the hole, creating traffic for the running back to negotiate.

This was man-on-man football, and the Huskies won pretty handily.

Here you can really see the aggressiveness of the UW secondary in run support, and how stout Wooching was at the point of attack. Azeem Victor reads the flow of the play and takes away the outside run from McCaffrey. Great hustle by Qualls as well.

3rd and 11:

This play is an “end-tackle twist” on the left side of the Huskies’ defense, on an obvious passing down. Instead of rushing straight up the field on the snap, Elijah Qualls works to the outside and attacks Stanford’s right tackle. The right guard also steps out with Qualls, failing to notice Psalm Wooching patiently waiting on a looping upfield rush. As soon as the guard fully commits to double-teaming Qualls, he creates a lane for Wooching to cut inside and straight to the quarterback. Wooching is far enough upfield before coming back inside to the QB that he’s outside the fullback’s (#82) field of vision. The fullback notices him far too late to actually do anything to affect Wooching’s rush.

Wooching gets the stats on this play, but the key here is actually the rush ability of Elijah Qualls, and the respect Stanford shows his ability to rush the passer. Had Stanford’s right guard known that the tackle could handle Qualls, he would’ve held his position in the pocket, and been in position to pick up Wooching’s late rush.

Watch Stanford’s right tackle’s (#77) head; the outside rush of Wooching plus the outside release of Qualls puts him in stress. The right guard fails to engage Qualls in any meaningful way at the snap, and then chooses to follow Qualls up the field instead of looking for a rusher coming through his zone. You can see him realize that mistake, just a moment too late.

2nd and 6:

Stanford tries to get fancy, and it blows up in their collective faces.

The Tree really try to sell the run to their left, pulling both guards as lead blockers. But this play is dead from jump street, as Conner O’Brien gives a clinic in “How to Play Outside Containment While Not Getting Blown up by a Quarterback’s Block” that he may autograph and send to Arizona’s unfortunate defensive end

O’Brien is smart and patient; he diagnoses the play and instead of simply attempting to defeat the block of Ryan Burns, he strings out the play laterally by keeping himself parallel to the line of scrimmage and waits for the cavalry. This is the smart play, because attacking Burns could’ve potentially created a cutback angle.

By quickly and correctly diagnosing the play, and then maintaining the outside containment instead of attacking the ball carrier up the field, O’Brien makes this play. It’s just a matter of who’s going to get the glory for actually making the tackle and for how many lost yards. Keishawn Bierria whiffs at the first attempt, and then in a bit of poetic justice, O’Brien finishes the ball carrier off.

Look at how quickly Bierria reads this play, and then closes on the ball carrier. That’s great speed. Vita Vea also reads the play, and is one of the four Huskies working in tandem to hem in this play.

1st and 10:

This is an inside power run to the offense’s left, and Stanford is pulling both its center and right guard. But then Elijah Qualls happens.

Stanford’s right guard absolutely whiffs on his down block attempt on Qualls, who is lightning-quick off the snap. His penetration negates any opportunity of the play succeeding to the left.

But the running back is Christian McCaffrey, and he frequently makes big plays in this situation, and as we’ve previously documented in this film study, the cutback to the opposite side of the field is frequently available for a big gain out of this play (although typically more fluid than on this play).

Credit is due to Stanford’s QB Ryan Burns on this play. He sees the cutback by McCaffrey, and then works up the field as a blocker. And he actually gets a decent block on Jojo Mathis.

What turns this potential broken-play big-gainer into a mundane gain of two is the recognition and patience of Sidney Jones. Jones doesn’t bite on the receiver’s attempt to run Jones out of the play, and has the awareness to see McCaffrey cutting back against the grain. Instead of attacking the ball carrier and potentially creating a cutback lane, Jones squares himself to the line and simply waits for McCaffrey to come to him. Jones, McCaffrey and Keishawn Bierria all arrive at the same point in time and space, and it’s an easy tackle.

There’s nothing highlight-worthy on this play outside of Qualls incredibly quick reaction off the ball. But it’s the perfect example of the Washington defense playing smart, patient, assignment-sound defense in bottling up what has been an electric offensive player.

Nice job by Mr. Burns (EX-cellent). But when you watch McCaffrey, he just doesn’t have anyplace to go. Mr. Jones and me, we tell each other fairytales.....

All-American Sidney Jones, doing All-American things. Enjoy him while he’s here, because the countdown is on for this man to be a millionaire.

3rd and 10:

This play ended up as a personal foul penalty (and phantom holding by Jones) against the Huskies and a Stanford first down, but it’s worth looking at for a couple of reasons.

First things first. If I was an offensive lineman, I’d probably pee my pants at the thought of having to block Elijah Qualls lined up in a four-point stance two feet away from me. But Elijah Qualls with a perfectly-timed five yard run at me? No thanks. I quit.

This is an end-tackle twist, with Qualls lined up as a blitzing linebacker. He runs through Stanford’s right guard, and straight at the right tackle. Conner O’Brien is the twisting end on this play (instead of Wooching from the first example), and you’ll notice he doesn’t get as far up the field as Wooching. The right guard recovers from Qualls’ bull rush, and is able to slow O’Brien’s free rush down. O’Brien ends up hitting the quarterback in the face for a penalty. It’s an effort play on his part, so it’s tough to be too upset with him. But the real beauty of this play is the different ways the defensive coaches found to deploy Qualls in this game, and the willingness of Qualls to give himself up as a decoy so his teammates could enjoy the glory.

The second part of this play worth watching again-and-again-and-again is the simple joy of appreciating Sidney Jones in man coverage. Jones was called for holding on this play, but you can see the penalty was actually on Taylor Rapp in coverage of the tight slot man coming across the field. The receiver gets an inside release on Jones, but Jones knows he has Jojo McIntosh in deep help (this is a Cover 1 defense, with man underneath and a single free safety “helping” from a very deep position). Really though, Jones baits this throw. He knows he has the speed to essentially recover from his trailing position at will. Ryan Burns throws a good-but-not-great pass, and Jones easily cuts in front for a huge interception.

It was all for naught, but still an example of great defensive design and execution.

2nd and 7:

The Huskies are in their 2-4-5 nickel, and this play is “bullets” rush from the two ends. The goal is to meet at the quarterback. And that’s what happens.

Psalm Wooching makes a great move on this play. His initial rush is thwarted by Stanford’s left tackle. Instead of just continuing to bull the tackle, or to run around him, Wooching gives what’s known as a “push-pull” move to get the tackle slightly off balance. Wooching attacks the left shoulder of the tackle and gets him leaning in that direction. He then quickly pulls the tackle back to his right (Wooching’s left) to get him off balance. Wooching is then quick enough to use that slight gap to get around the tackle and to the quarterback. And the secondary is able to cover long enough to make the rush pay off.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Elijah Qualls is aligned as a four-technique end (over the inside shoulder of the offensive tackle). Jojo Mathis has aligned himself as a nine-technique end (outside of the tight end). Mathis is in a speed rushing position. He’s easily quick enough to duck underneath the attempted block of the right tackle, and strong enough to blow through Christian McCaffrey’s half-hearted attempt to assist.

Hopefully this angle gives you a better visual of Wooching’s move; as he’s working upfield, he pulls the tackle off balance and back to the inside.

This is just great effort by Mathis, even though he doesn’t make the play.

3rd and 13:

Most 3-4 teams struggle to find one true fire plug to clog the middle of the line and demand a double team on each play. The Huskies have three guys that can legitimately get that job done, in Qualls, Greg Gaines, and Vita Vea.

On this play, the Huskies have two of them in the game. Qualls is lined up as a three-technique tackle on the defense’s right, between the guard and tackle. Gaines is lined up as a two-technique tackle, over the right guard. Stanford’s center ends up helping the left guard block Qualls, leaving the right guard one-on-one with Gaines. But at the snap, you’ll notice in the gif below that the center isn’t really doing anything of any real value, until Qualls spins to the inside. Gaines is slanting to his right, and is quicker off the ball than the guard - who actually should have the advantage here. Credit the crowd noise for making a voice cadence almost impossible Friday night.

You can really see that Stanford’s center offered no real value to the offense on this play. He doesn’t recognize Gaines’ inside slant.

Welcome to Ryan Burns’ world. Seeing that much humanity coming at him right off the snap has to be frustrating. Great effort by Gaines.

4th and 2:

The first amazing thing about this play is the concession Stanford is making here. It’s 4th and 2, and Stanford is going to throw the ball.

Psalm Wooching is showing coverage on this play head up on a receiver in a tight slot. He’s on a delayed rush, which allows him again to pick his rush lane. In this instance, Elijah Qualls and Greg Gaines are in the same alignment they frequently show in this nickel defense (it’s essentially an “under” front, with Qualls on the offense’s weak side in the 3-tech, and Gaines is in the 2-tech). Gaines is slanting to the inside, and Qualls is working up the field in the same twist we’ve already seen. Wooching pauses, and then takes the route unencumbered to the quarterback. Had he not been there to make the tackle, Qualls almost undoubtedly would have. Wooching’s initial alignment in coverage means that the offensive line doesn’t account for him in its pocket protection.

Credit again to Qualls; he’s off the ball at the exact moment the offense is. He’s working upfield to create the lane for Wooching, but gets pushed inside toward the QB. So, he decides he might as well go ahead and make a play....

Ryan Burns just didn’t have much fun out there on Friday. He does an admirable job of keeping his eyes down the field, but you can tell that he’s feeling the rush long before it actually gets home. Let’s also credit Bierria on this play; the guy leads the nation in fumble recoveries (4) and there is a reason. How often do you see defensive players attempt to pick up the ball or just dive on it. Bierria uses perfect technique of sliding to the ground and gathering it into his body (in this case, swiping it out from under the 300 lb ass of RT Casey Tucker). It was 4th down so the recovery was academic, but he has done this throughout his Husky career.

This was an incredible defensive effort for the night, both for the fact that it was mostly simple in design (which makes it imminently repeatable), and that it was such a total team effort. To a man, the Huskies simply did their jobs play in and play out. Psalm Wooching ended up with the individual rewards in the game and in the media afterward, but the plays that he made were in large part due to efforts of his teammates.

The Huskies dominated Stanford by being more physical along the line of scrimmage. Oregon presents a much different type of challenge; they aren’t a physically dominant offense, but instead are built to create and attack space, with speed. It’s a good thing the Huskies physically dominating defense also happens to be exceptionally fast....

If the Huskies are to be serious contenders, they must run the ball consistently in 2016

Attention Husky football fans: this is the most important camp preview you will read. As far as DawgPound articles go, it won’t be the most well written (I’m not Chris Landon), it won’t be the quirkiest and most fun to read (I’m no Gabey Lucas) and it won’t take you on a high school joy ride with moments rivaling ‘Talladega Nights’ (I was never a rockstar teen like Ryan Priest). Still, this is a must-read because the running game is the single most important element of football. Yes, the game has become pass-happy. Yes, turnovers can decide outcomes. But if a team can line up, show run, give the ball to their running back and successfully move the chains, the offense will stay on the field. A good running attack makes things easier on the passing game and allows rest for your own defense. In short: Run the ball + stop the opponent from running the ball = win.

Defense versus the run is equally as important, but not nearly as important for the 2016 Huskies as the offense’s ability to establish a running game. Last season, UW was 9th in the Pac-12 conference in rushing offense with 163 yards per game and a 4.5 YPC average. Those numbers aren’t awful, but the 95 YPG and measly 3.02 yards per carry in the five games against defenses ranked in the S&P top 50 is pure crap and must improve if this team is to contend.

Every year around this time my dad will ask me "So, how do we look?" He’s a UW alum and season ticket holder since 1953; a huge fan obviously. That being said, he is 84 years old and has a hard time remembering that my name is John without thinking about it for a second, therefore he needs yearly (ok, daily) refreshers on the Huskies’ outlook. I will tell him about the QB situation, UW’s outstanding RB du jour, and the accenting defensive prowess. He’ll digest that info, nod as he processes it, then after a pause will inquire: "How is the offensive line?"

"Well, they return a lot of guys." I offer up.

"Okay," another pause. "Are they any good?"

The longest pause of all belongs to me; "No, Dad. They are not. They could be good."

Therein lies the #1 point of concern for the Huskies in 2016. Prognosticators who have them winning the North or being a Top-10 team look at the roster and think that, since they are returning almost everyone from the two-deep on the offensive line, they must be good. No, not necessarily. They could be good. The running back is good. The defense is good. But the offensive line —looking at it with my purple shades in my pocket and the grape Kool-aid still in the fridge—is nothing better than mediocre. They were really young last season, and it was encouraging that they were able to have great success against lesser defenses (205 yards per game, 5.07 YPC against FBS teams outside the S&P top 50), so yeah, I’m ready to put on the shades and pour myself a tall glass of Kool-aid. But as opposed to a defense that returns experienced players from a statistically excellent group, the offensive line simply returns experienced players; some of the most promising ones with less than a full year of that. We can’t call them good until we see them play well against top defenses. If the Dawgs do put together a great offensive line, watch out.

The O-line is not singularly responsible for providing the blocking in the running game. Wide receivers and tight ends must interfere with the edge-setters at the line of scrimmage and provide the downfield blocks that turn 7-yard gains into huge, electrifying runs. Wide receiver blocking was not great for the Huskies last season. When a team uses three tight ends, as often as UW did —usually with at least one split as a WR— it says something about the physicality of the receivers. UW just hasn’t had a big-bodied blocking WR since Kasen Williams and Kevin Smith. Josh Perkins is the right size and was the player Chris Petersen tried to use in that capacity, but he couldn’t block corners. Darrell Daniels is a better blocker than Perkins, but too big to get a piece of DBs. Connor Griffin has shown himself to be an excellent blocker, has lightened himself 10 pounds, and hopefully for the Dawgs will be the answer here.

There is every reason to believe that Daniels, Drew Sample, Will Dissly, and even Jeff Lindquist can be a really strong crew of blocking tight ends. Whoever takes Perkins’s snaps will likely be an upgrade in the blocking dept. I’m hoping Michael Neal is a good, athletic blocker, but that’s a big unknown. Still, lots of good run blockers in this unit. Overall, the TEs should be good. That’s ½ point higher than could be good if you are following along with my arbitrary ranking system.

Now we get to the is: Myles Gaskin is good. He’s really good. But when we talk about the rest of the running back unit, we’re back to that damn could.

Firstly, let’s talk Gaskin. The little dude kinda has it all; his combination of vision and patience means that no yards are left on the field. If there is a play to be made, Gaskin will find the room to make it. His speed is not world class, but he ran away from a lot of corners and safeties last year. He is not Royce Freeman when it comes to power, but how many tackles did he break? I think I lost count during the USC game. He sets up his blocks, takes the play where it is designed to go until he just can’t anymore, and at that point he will look for somewhere else to run, and set up the blocks necessary for his new route to find yardage. Sometimes I think his brain is like a GPS, "recalculating route" and…let’s see..."avoid tacklers."

Gaskin’s supporting cast does not suck. Lavon Coleman, like the Husky offensive line, could be really good. Whether or not he supplies firepower as a change-of-pace runner making tough runs between the tackles will be absolutely critical to the success of the UW rushing attack. During his freshman season I thought I saw a little Bishop Sankey wiggle in him when he would emerge through the line breaking arm tackles. Last season he couldn’t get much going at all against good run defenses, but he is the kind of downhill runner that relies on the offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage to find success. If the Huskies fare well at the point of attack, Coleman will move the sticks.

With the possible exception of John Ross, true freshman running back Sean McGrew is the ‘new’ player I am most intrigued to see incorporated into the offense. People may be sleeping on him just a bit, thinking that he is too similar to Gaskin and that UW just doesn’t really have room for a pair of smallish backs to see regular time. Hell, the Huskies have also have Jomon Dotson and Chico McClatcher. Where does McGrew find his snaps? That really is a good argument; it makes perfect sense. But Petersen a) has no problem playing true freshmen and b) will play the best guys. If McGrew is the second best running back, he will get the second most carries. The same goes for Kamari Pleasant, the Huskies' other true freshman running back who possesses the size and power to provide a change of pace. Surely a couple of these guys will get lost in the shuffle, but a productive rushing attack must have several good runners. Case in point: Last season UW had the conference's 4th leading ball carrier, but was near the bottom of the Pac-12 in team rushing.

Now, let’s discuss the L-Cat. Hmmm, no let’s not discuss the L-Cat. Let’s never ever discuss the L-Cat again as long as each of us remains on this earth.

Let’s talk about the only thing from the L-Cat that worked in 2016: The fly sweep. Man, I love that play. I loved that play back when Oregon State used it with James Rodgers. I always thought it was virtually impossible to defend, especially with an over-pursuing defense. Come to think of it, the predictability of the L-Cat was what made the fly sweep work. Shit, I’m talking about the L-cat. Let’s never speak of it again starting…….NOW.

McClatcher, Ross, and possibly McGrew are the players I expect to see going in motion before the snap and taking the handoff on the fly sweep. If new receivers coach Bush Hamdan has his guys doing their job better this season in the blocking department, this play will be one of the most effective in the Husky arsenal.

Which best describes your thoughts on the Husky rushing attack?

The Huskies were in three one-possession games last season, and won precisely zero of them. A strong cast of returning special teams stars could change that in 2016.

Last season, three of Washington’s games — at Boise State, versus Cal and at Oregon — were decided by a single possession. Unsurprisingly for a team starting three true freshmen at key positions on the offense, the Huskies went 0-3 in those games. If the Huskies are to live up to their massively mounting preseason expectations, they will need to show marked improvement in their ability to pull out close wins. While Jake Browning, Budda Baker and the rest of Washington’s offensive and defensive players will of course be vital to that effort, close games are when special teams players get their opportunity to shine. Today, we examine who the Huskies have on their roster for the 2016 season in those key positions.

The Players

Chris Petersen’s primary task on special teams will be replacing two-year starting punter Korey Durkee, whose career average of 41.8 yards per punt ranks third all-time at UW. To that end, the coaches recruited Van Soderberg as a potential replacement to play as as true freshman, but the scuttlebutt out of spring practices is that Soderberg’s adjustment to the college game has been somewhat less than ideal. In particular, Dawgman.com’s Chris Fetters has reported that Soderberg is having trouble adjusting to a one-step delivery on his kicks. If he is not ready to go as the team’s starting punter by Sept. 3 when the Huskies take the field against Rutgers, expect to see him sit out 2016 and come back next season as a redshirt freshman. In that scenario, Tristan Vizcaino will likely become the team’s go-to punter, as he is the only specialist on the roster who has game experience at that position.

Speaking of Vizcaino, he will presumably continue to handle duties as the team’s first-string kickoff specialist after being responsible for 76 of Washington 79 kickoffs in 2015. Vizcaino averaged 61.8 yards per kickoff and recorded touchbacks on 35.5 percent of his kicks, en route to earning all-conference honorable mention recognition.

Regarding place kicking responsibilities, Cameron Van Winkle made 15 of his 19 field goal attempts in 2015, including a 49-yard boot against Utah. That being said, Van Winkle missed the one field goal attempt he made last year in a high-pressure situation when he pushed his 46-yard try that would have sent the Huskies into overtime against Boise State just a few feet to the right, and he’ll no doubt be hungry to avenge that miss. And scholarship long snapper A.J. Carty is the favorite to replace Ryan Masel, who graduated last year after handling virtually all of Washington’s long snapping duties since 2012.

In the return game, the Huskies will feature arguably the most dangerous kickoff returner in the Pac-12, and possibly the country, in John Ross III. Ross is the owner of two 100-yard scores (there exist only five in Washington’s entire history) on kick returns, and clocked a 4.25-second 40-yard-dash (hand-timed) at last spring’s Husky Combine event. When the Dawgs run two-returner sets, Ross will be joined by fellow speedy receiver Chico McClatcher, who scored four touchdowns last season on just 27 total touches as a true freshman. Finally, Dante Pettis will be the team’s primary punt returner for the third consecutive year; over the course of his first two seasons, he averaged 12.7 yards per return and has accounted for three touchdowns on punt returns.

Plenty of talented players from the 2015 recruiting class were good enough to play, but improving team depth allowed 22 freshmen to redshirt.

It used to be said that in college football you win games with your juniors and seniors. That is still true to an extent, but the rise of the redshirt freshman has grown exponentially in the past 10-15 years. While many true freshmen find the field for a variety of reasons, an 18-year old kid often is not physically ready to take on the challenges presented at the next level. If these young talents are able to spend a year adapting to college life, academics and getting their bodies ready, they can have a greater impact during their second year in the program.

Skill players are sometimes more ready for game action, compared to the big boys who often need time to get bigger, stronger and let their bodies mature before they are stuck in the trenches when it counts. One needs look no further back than last season to see what the 2015 crop of redshirt frosh were able to contribute to the Husky team.

Greg Gaines, Vita Vea and Jaylen Johnson were all heavily involved in the defensive line rotation, with Gaines earning All Pac-12 honorable mention.  Matt James and Jesse Sosebee played in 9 games apiece and had multiple starts along the offensive line, while Kaleb McGary came on very strongly at the end of the season and asserted himself as the UW right tackle of the future. Safety Jojo McIntosh and tight end Drew Sample were also key cogs, playing plenty of meaningful snaps during their redshirt freshman seasons.

The depth on both sides of the ball last year allowed the Huskies to redshirt some very talented players, while injuries to other promising true-freshmen early in the season earned the Dawgs a couple more medical redshirts. With WR Jamon Jones leaving the program (and the school) back in June, the Huskies' Redshirt-Freshman class includes 21 players (by my count.. fact checkers always welcome).

When we talk about impact, talent is not the only factor that comes into play; opportunity can be just as important. The perceived weaknesses of the Washington football team are one area where redshirts will find opportunity, as are the positions vacated by last year's most productive seniors.

The receiving corps falls into both of the above categories. Gone are Jaydon Mickens and Josh Perkins, the Huskies top two receivers from a year ago. Among the redshirt freshmen, who is ready to have an impact and fill the void left by these two?

WR Quinten Pounds (5'11", 178), WR Andre Baccellia (5'10", 166), TE Michael Neal (6'4", 237)

Pounds and Baccellia are small-ish receivers capable of playing in the slot or outside. Baccellia is more the shifty speedster while Pounds is an excellent possession receiver with the ability to make grabs in tight coverage, and is stronger than his size would suggest. Both guys are natural route runners who simply find themselves space in the defense ala the similarly built Gabe Marks from WSU. These two should be able to turn opportunity into impact.

Darrell Daniels is generally expected to step into the Perkins role, but Daniels had a significant role in the 2015 offense. Three tight ends were used heavily in the regular rotation with Perkins, Daniels and Sample all ‘starting' several games. Neal has great hands and a huge catch radius.  He may very well be the other downfield receiving TE option for the Husky offense, slipping behind linebackers and making some of the big plays Perkins was known for.

Opportunity has also been created with the graduation of last season's top outside pass rushers. Linebackers Cory Littleton and Travis Feeney are the two players on defense that Husky fans are still concerned about replacing. The two accounted for 14 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss in 2015. While it won't only be redshirt freshmen being asked to fill the void of their departure, there are three exciting prospects at the linebacker position in this season's Red-Frosh class.

LB Jusstice Warren (6'2", 250), LB DJ Beavers (6'0", 224), LB Bryce Sterk (6'4", 242)

These are three of the new players I am most excited to see on the field in 2016. Their high school reels are really impressive, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if all three make their presence felt on defense (and special teams without question).

Beavers and Warren played nearly identical roles on their high school teams, usually lining up wide similar to Feeney. They both use speed and bull rush techniques, and make a habit of chasing down ball-carriers sideline to sideline. While Warren is a little more explosive and violent in his tackling, Beavers showed great technique even at the high school level, hitting at the waist and under the shoulder pads rather than going high. He grabs fabric and holds on, not just relying on the force of the hit to bring the runner down. So far these two have primarily gotten looks at the inside spots behind Keishawn Bierria, Azeem Victor and Ben Burr Kirven, but both guys are swift enough to play outside with Warren being the faster of the two. Littleton only ran a 4.7-4.8 and was very effective outside, so if the coaches decide these guys need to be on the field, their lack of 4.5 speed won't keep them buried in depth behind UWs outstanding inside linebackers.

Sterk is a different player, tall like Feeney and more of a pure outside SAM/Buck type. I don't think I've ever seen a marquee player on tape who emerges unblocked in the backfield as often as Sterk. He packs a whollop when he hits, so maybe Whatcom County players were just tired of getting up dizzy after attempting to block him. Sterk moves well in all directions, particularly laterally, and when he puts it into high-gear can really move. I couldn't find a definitive 40-time for him, but as a high school track star he took sixth at the state tournament in the 300-meter hurdles. At 6'4" and playing at around 230 lbs at Lynden HS, he's what you would call "freakishly fast" for a man his size.

With Trey Adams playing as a true freshman, the Huskies were still able to redshirt three offensive linemen last season. Devin Burleson (6'8", 301) is a former basketball player who is as lean as one can be at 300 lbs. He projects as a guard after playing his only year of high school football as a tackle. Jared Hilbers (6'7", 282) is a 3-star recruit widely considered the top offensive lineman in the state of Oregon. These two provide even more depth to a young offensive line that returns almost everyone from a season ago. The jewel of the offensive line redshirts is Bellevue's Henry Roberts (6'6", 290). The Army All-America game participant was rated the nation's 23^rd best offensive tackle by Scout and the third best prospect overall in the state of Washington.  So far, Roberts has gotten more of a look as a guard than a tackle, failing to crack the two-deep in the spring. He will compete for a starting position this fall, but may still be a year away from making that happen.

Two of this year's redshirt class played early-on in 2015, only to have injuries end their season. Both were granted a medical redshirt season. One is Pounds, the other is cornerback Austin Joyner (5'10", 190) of Marysville-Pilchuck. Joyner, The Seattle Times' Defensive Player of the Year and the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, was rated as a four-star recruit by Scout and 247sports.com. Joyner is an elite athlete with terrific closing speed, sound tackling skills and is a fierce hitter. Plus you gotta love a guy who committed to Sark, then teased Wazzu with a verbal, only to have Chris Petersen steal him back.

Perhaps the best of all the redshirt freshman is defensive lineman Benning Potoa'e (6'3", 271). Potoa'e was the most surprising member of last year's class not to play, and the state's top 2015 prospect comes in highly decorated. His raw athletic numbers are mind blowing for a 270 pound man. He runs a 4.6 40-yard dash and has a 37" vertical leap. Rather than give my analysis of his game, I will borrow from recruiting guru Jamie Uyeyama's breakdown. Uyeyama praises what he calls Potoa'e's "hand violence," referring to the way he swats away blockers' attempt to engage him with their hands. He also touts his combination of raw athleticism and lateral movement, calling Potoa'e one of the best pass rushers from the entire 2015 recruiting class. It will be fun to watch him mesh with the rest of UW's talented defensive linemen and linebackers to see if he can help take the Husky D to yet another level.

Below are the 10 remaining members of the 2015 recruiting class who redshirted. Fitting into a category all his own is LB Myles Rice (6'4", 246), a 3-star from Houston, TX who delayed his enrollment until January of last year which technically makes him a true freshman this season.

Dustin Bush, DB, 5'9", 176

Logan Hurst, RB, 5'10", 186

Josh Rasmussen, WR, 5'11", 188

Kyler Manu, LB, 6'1", 237

A.J. Carty, LS, 6'2", 245

Jared Pulu, DL, 6'4", 260

John Clark, DL, 6'4", 271

Sebastian Valerio, PK, 5'9" 180

Ricky McCoy, DL, 6'2", 302

Jason Scrempos, DL, 6'6", 279

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For a look at the incoming freshman class of 2016 as well as some wonderfully colorful language, be sure to check out Gabey Lucas' True Freshmen Camp Preview.

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Husky football recruits are competing against the best players in the country at The Opening in Oregon.

Scott Woodward has been singled out by the UW board of regents for a "bad- faith effort" regarding the fiscal situation at UW.

If you want to keep up-to-date with news concerning the football program all in one easy-to-digest format, feel free to follow Ryan on Twitter and to subscribe to his lists of UW's beat reporters, Washington athletes, Washington coaches, and Washington athletics prospects. To the Dots!

Football Dots

• A member of the UW board of regents slammed former Athletic Director Scott Woodward for not alerting anyone to the growing budget deficit. Other board members agree, saying this should have been dealt with a year ago.

• Former UW receiver Kasen Williams was once a touted NFL prospect. Almost three years removed from his lisfranc injury, he is mentioned in this article as impressing at Seahawk OTAs.

• Seniors Darrell Daniels and Kevin king will be Washington's representatives at the Pac-12 media day July 14 & 15.

• Elete 11QB prospect Tate Martell is down to five schools, not including UW. With his history of changing his mind, the Dawgs probably still have a great chance.

• ESPN roundtable listed the best setting in each of the power five conferences. Could the Pac-12 choice really be anywhere besides the shores of Montlake?

• This sucks. UW great Hau'oli Kikaha has torn his ACL for the third time. It will cost him the entire 2016 season.

• Mason Kelley with a nice profile of Psalm Wooching who will be the first person in his family to earn a college degree.

Basketball Dots

• The Utah Jazz posted video of Dejounte Murray's pre-draft workout interview.

Looks good for Romar and company:

ESPN's @PaulBiancardi believes the Michael Porter and Trae Young package is "not going to happen." Porter a lock to Washington.

— Chip Miller (@BLUEChip_Miller) June 9, 2016

Misc Dots

• Husky baseball commit Christian Jones of Federal Way was named the Tacoma News Tribune's All-Area player of the year.

• No surprise here as Women's Golf coach Mary Lou Mulflur was named Pac-12 coach of the year.

• Christian Caple profiles UW distance runner Izaic Yorks, one of the top 1500 meter runners in the nation. Yorks was selected a first team All-American.

Other UW  track honors:

Jax Thoirs earned his best #NCAATF Outdoor finish to take fifth in the pole vault.

Recap: https://t.co/39LBkaEE2B pic.twitter.com/nbyu2nPY8H

— Washington Huskies (@UWAthletics) June 9, 2016

Also was officially an 11th-place tie today for Liz, getting Second Team All-America honors. pic.twitter.com/tbK88OpRNu

— UW Track (@UWTrack) June 10, 2016

Another first-time All-American today, soph Anna Maxwell secured Second Team honors in the 1,500m! pic.twitter.com/1ah3YJA6Yh

— UW Track (@UWTrack) June 10, 2016

At least one betting outlet thinks that Chris Petersen will lead the Huskies to their second nine-win season since 2000.