Stanford, Utah closer to winning respective Pac-12 divisions

In what seems like forever, the Huskies are finally playing at a reasonable time.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Stanford has outscored Colorado 96-7 the past two meetings and has won four straight in the series…. Two weeks ago, the Utes were routed by USC for their only loss. The Huskies have also forced 11 fumbles, and recovered four. And the ultimate outcome of those errors was a frustrating loss before a rain-soaked crowd of far fewer than the 61,420 who allegedly occupied Husky Stadium on Saturday night.

“The past year and a half we’ve been pretty good on the road except this one little hiccup with USC”, Utah linebacker Jared Norris said. Will we see another game without an offensive turnover?

“Going in we knew we were going to be facing a good defense”.

We reached out to our colleague Kirk DeGrasse at UW Dawg Pound, the SB Nation site for the University of Washington Huskies to learn about Utah’s upcoming opponent, the 4-4 (2-3 Pac-12) Washington Huskies.

In their last game against Arizona, the Huskies stifled the Wildcats’ rushing attempts, allowing just 2.9 yards per carry.

Several Huskies had a hand in this defeat. It was certainly not Dwayne Washington’s finest day. If Utah can limit the Husky run game that should go a long way toward keeping Washington’s offense in check and let the Utes pin their ears back in the pass rush against a young Husky OL.

The weather made it tough for the kicking game. Washington defeated Arizona in the first matchup this season in four sets. But on the next play, he caught a 3-yard pass from Browning, fumbled the ball, and Utah linebacker Gionni Paul scooped it and returned it 54 yards for a Utes touchdown to give his team a 21-6 lead.

Paul had already intercepted a bad Browning pass earlier in the quarter.

RUN BOOKER RUN: Utah running back Devontae Booker needs just 34 yards to top 1,000 for the second time in his college career. The Utes have five return touchdowns – two on punts and one each on a kickoff, interception and fumble.3. Up next: Home against No. 13 Utah. Browning and fellow freshman Myles Gaskin (655 rushing yards, six touchdowns) represent the future for a team that is now more fearsome on the defensive side.

Utah, now 8-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play, will take the field next on Saturday, November 14, when they take on Arizona in Tucson. The first thing this team has to learn is to play tighter the whole way, and figure out how to get over the hump at the end. Then, Browning fumbled the snap on Washington’s next drive.

“There’s so much ebb and flow with this team, ” Petersen said with a sigh. “That was huge. Having two touchdowns called back and then giving them a touchdown on offense, those are really hard to overcome, especially when you’re playing someone that’s really, really good”. The impressive part of Petersen’s work in Year Two is the fact they have been competitive in nearly every game.

In a conference known for scoring, Washington and Utah are trying to prove there is a place for defense.

The slick conditions probably didn’t help the passing game, which finished with 155 yards on only 12 Wilson completions.

UW Dawg Pound: I think there’s generally a great deal of respect for Utah and Coach Whittingham. The Huskies delivered more positives in this one, but a deluge of sloppiness was simply too much to overcome.

“We are close”, Petersen said. “Because I think everyone in the country that is in the playoff picture is going to be tuned into that and find out where they’re slotted”.