GAME: Colorado (3-5 overall, 0-5 Pac-12) at Washington (5-3 overall, 2-3 Pac-12). WHEN: Saturday, 5 p.m., Husky Stadium. MEETING: 14th (UW leads 7-5-1). COACHES: Mike MacIntyre, Colorado; Steve Sarkisian, Washington. RANKINGS: Neither school ranked. LINE: UW by 28. TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR-950 AM.
After a 1-3 October, in which Washington narrowly lost at Stanford, was bruised by Oregon and Arizona State and rebounded to beat California, the Huskies have remaining four games coach Steve Sarkisian knows will define Washington’s season. Sarkisian said this week that his Huskies, who draw Colorado Saturday, are up for the stretch, which also includes UCLA and Oregon State on the road and Washington State at home.
“They know what’s in front of them,” Sarkisian said. “They understand there will be unique challenges here. Each one of those games will be different, but we’re capable of doing it. I see no reason why we won’t. I think we’re going to play great football.”
Colorado (3-5, 0-5) is winless in the Pac-12, but gave UCLA a game last week in Los Angeles before losing 45-23. Sarkisian has been stressing to his players the importance of not looking past the Buffaloes.
“They are a team that’s playing hard, and they’re trying to find that one game to get over the hump in conference play,” said Sarkisian. “We just gotta make sure we’re not the one.”
The Huskies are 5-0 in games following a bye week during Sarkisian’s tenure.
“We have four games that are winnable if we do it the right way and prepare the right way,” Sarkisian told reporters this week.
Washington will play the final stretch without receiver Kasen Williams, who is out for the season with leg and foot injuries suffered in the Cal game. True freshman Damore’ea Stringfellow probably will be Williams’ replacement.
SERIES: Dates to Nov. 25, 1915, when Washington scored a 46-0 victory over the Buffaloes at Denny Field in Seattle. UW has taken the last four meetings between the schools, including a 38-3 triumph in Boulder in 2012. In that game, Keith Price threw five touchdown passes and Bishop Sankey ran for 139 yards. Colorado has not defeated Washington since 1996. UW and Colorado have twice squared off in bowl games, Washington winning the 1985 Freedom Bowl 20-17 and Colorado taking the 1996 Holiday Bowl 33-21.
UW HEAD COACH: Steve Sarkisian (30-28-0) is in his fifth season. After a 5-7 record in 2009, Sarkisian guided the Huskies to a 7-6 record in 2010 that included a 19-7 victory over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. That marked Washington’s first postseason game since the 2002 Sun Bowl. Sarkisian coached the Huskies to subsequent 7-6 marks in 2011 and 2012, earning invitations to the Alamo (Baylor) and MAACO bowls (Boise State). Prior to joining the Huskies, Sarkisian served as a USC assistant under Pete Carroll (2001-03, 2005-08). He also worked as an Oakland Raiders assistant in 2004. Sarkisian played quarterback at Brigham Young University and later played in the Canadian Football League.
UW STATS / NOTES
- SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 5-3. Home: 4-1. Road: 1-2. Neutral: 1-0. Vs. Pac-12: 2-3. Vs. Pac-12 North: 1-2. Vs. Pac-12 South: 1-1. Vs. Non-Conference: 3-0. Points For: 276 (34.5). Rushing Yards Per Game: 218.1. Passing Yards Per Game: 283.8. Total Offense Per Game: 501.9. Points Against: 189 (23.6). Opp. Rushing Yards Per Game: 177.1. Opp. Passing Yards Per Game: 215.1. Total Defense Per Game: 392.2.
- Bishop Sankey is the nation’s No. 3 rusher at 145.3 yards per game. Sankey, one of four Huskies to surpass more than 1,000 yards in at least two seasons, has rushed for 100 or more in 10 of his last 13. His 2,788 career rush yards rank sixth in UW history.
- Sankey’s 29 rushing TDs are tied for third in UW history with Rashaan Sheehee (1994-97) and Jake Locker (2007-10). Napoleon Kaufman (34) and Joe Steele (32) rank 1-2.
- Quarterback Keith Price has 8,122 career passing yards and owns the No. 2 spot in UW history. Cody Pickett had 10,220.
- Price completed 64.3 percent of his passes. The UW single-season record is 66.9, by Price in 2011.
- UW ran more than 80 plays in the first five games (85, 85, 81, 86, 88) before slowing down to 74 against Oregon, 65 against Arizona State and 78 against California.
- UW has committed nine turnovers this season, but has allowed opponents to convert them into just one score.
HUSKIES 2012 OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Rushing
| Player | G | Att. | Yards | TDs | Long | Y/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Sankey | 8 | 199 | 1162 | 12 | 60 | 145.2 |
| Jessie Callier | 8 | 28 | 170 | 3 | 39 | 21.2 |
| D. Washington | 8 | 32 | 134 | 1 | 11 | 16.8 |
| Cyler Miles | 4 | 8 | 103 | 0 | 61 | 25.8 |
| Total | 8 | 369 | 1745 | 19 | 61 | 218.1 |
| Opponents | 8 | 326 | 1417 | 14 | 73 | 177.1 |
Passing
| Player | G | Att. | Cmp. | Yards | TDs/INT | Effic. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Price | 8 | 263 | 169 | 2169 | 16/4 | 150.6 |
| Total | 8 | 273 | 175 | 2270 | 17/4 | 151.6 |
| Opponents | 8 | 301 | 168 | 1721 | 8/8 | 107.3 |
Receiving
| Player | G | Rec. | Yards | TD | Long | Y/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaydon Mickens | 8 | 45 | 542 | 4 | 68 | 67.8 |
| Kevin Smith | 8 | 30 | 504 | 3 | 70 | 63.0 |
| Kasen Williams | 8 | 29 | 421 | 1 | 43 | 52.6 |
| A.S.-Jenkins | 7 | 20 | 244 | 4 | 34 | 34.9 |
| Totals | 8 | 175 | 2270 | 17 | 70 | 283.8 |
| Opponents | 8 | 168 | 1721 | 8 | 72 | 215.1 |
HUSKIES 2012 DEFENSIVE LEADERS
| Category | Skinny |
|---|---|
| Tackles | Fuimaono 59, Thompson 53, Timu 45 |
| Sacks | Kikaha 6.0, Shirley 3.0, Littleton 3.0 |
| Interceptions | Parker 3, Peters 3, Ducre 1, Wallace 1 |
| Passes Defensed | Peters 7, Ducre 6, Parker 5 |
| Forced Fumbles | Kikaha, Fuimaono, Watson, Ducre 1 |
| Fumbles Recovered | Feeney, Watson 1 |
Pac-12 Standings / North
| Schools | Overall | Conf. | Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford | 8-1 | 6-1 | Nov. 16 at USC |
| Oregon | 8-1 | 5-1 | Nov. 16 vs. Utah |
| Oregon St. | 6-3 | 4-2 | Nov. 16 at ASU |
| Washington | 5-3 | 2-3 | Sat, vs. Colorado |
| Washington St. | 4-5 | 2-4 | Nov. 16 at Arizona |
| Cal | 1-8 | 0-6 | Sat, vs. USC |
Pac-12 Standings / South
| Schools | Overall | Conf. | Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona St. | 6-2 | 4-1 | Sat, at Utah |
| Arizona | 6-2 | 3-2 | Sat, vs. UCLA |
| UCLA | 6-2 | 3-2 | Sat, at Arizona |
| USC | 6-3 | 3-2 | Sat, at California |
| Utah | 4-4 | 1-4 | Sat, vs. Arizona St. |
| Colorado | 3-5 | 0-5 | Sat, at Washington |
COLORADO NOTES: The Buffaloes defeated Colorado State (41-27), Central Arkansas (38-24) and Charleston Southern (43-10), and lost to Oregon State (44-17), Oregon (57-16), Arizona State (54-13), Arizona (44-20) and UCLA (45-23) . . . The Colorado roster includes only one player with ties to the state of Washington: QB Sefo Liufau, Tacoma (Bellarmine Prep) . . . Mike MacIntyre is in his first season as head coach. MacIntyre came to Colorado from San Jose State. Last year, he led the Spartans to a 10-2 record and a No. 24 ranking in the final BCS poll. San Jose State ended the 2012 season with a 29-20 win over Bowling Green in the Military Bowl. MacIntyre is a graduate of Georgia Tech.
University of Washington 2013 Schedule/Results
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/31/13 | vs. Boise St. | — | 19 | W | 38-6 | 1-0 |
| 9/14/13 | at Illinois | 19 | — | W | 34-14 | 2-0 |
| 9/21/13 | vs. Ida. State | 17 | — | W | 56-0 | 3-0 |
| 9/28/13 | vs. Arizona | 16 | — | W | 31-13 | 4-0 |
| 10/5/13 | at Stanford | 15 | 5 | L | 31-28 | 4-1 |
| 10/12/13 | vs. Oregon | 16 | 2 | L | 45-24 | 4-2 |
| 10/19/13 | at ASU | 20 | — | L | 53-24 | 4-3 |
| 10/26/13 | vs. Cal | — | — | W | 41-17 | 5-3 |
| 11/9/13 | vs. Colorado | — | — | — | —— | — |
| 11/15/13 | at UCLA | — | 16 | — | —— | — |
| 11/23/15 | at OSU | — | — | — | —— | — |
| 11/29/13 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | —— | — |
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2167965 https://sportspressnw.wpengine.com/?p=2167965">2 Comments
Sorry,
but we started our “defining stretch” 4 games ago. Now, we’re shooting
for the “broken potato chip” bowl… so the definition part is over.
Totally agree with the sentiment expressed below. We did define our season, by losing to Stanford, Oregon and Arizona. The definition: UW still not good enough to beat good teams. It’s a middling college football program at best. They can’t stand with the best in their own conference, much less the nation.