No. 10 Huskies To Face No. 17 Utes For Pac-12 Title

Friday, November 30

Santa Clara, CA

5:00 PM

University of Washington

Utah

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

November 25, 2018 | Football

UW Game Notes w/ Depth Chart Gameday Central Tickets

THE GAME: For the second time in three years, Washington (9-3 overall, 7-2 Pac-12) will play for the Pac-12 Conference Championship, as the Huskies take on Utah (9-3, 6-3) Friday night at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The game will kick off at 5:00 p.m. and air on FOX television. The Huskies won their sixth straight Apple Cup to earn their spot in the title game while the Utes had clinched their spot prior to this past weekend. Washington enters the game ranked 10th in the AP Top 25 and No. 11 in the coaches' poll, while Utah is 17th in both. The winner will earn a spot in the Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 in Pasadena.

QUICK HITTERS: Jake Browning won his 38th game as a starting QB in the Apple Cup, the highest win total by any QB in Pac-12 history ... Browning broke the UW career passing yards record in the BYU game, passing Cody Pickett ... Browning's 11,796 career yards are 6th-most in Pac-12 history ... with 94 career touchdown passes, he's also 6th in Pac-12 history ... Browning is just the sixth player in Pac-12 history to account for 100 touchdowns (110 total: 94 pass, 16 rush) ... Sept. 1 vs. Auburn, Myles Gaskin became the UW's all-time leading rusher, moving past Napoleon Kaufman, who had held the record since 1994 ... Gaskin enters the Utah game with 5,131 yards, 3rd-most in Pac-12 history ... Gaskin scored his 60th career touchdown against WSU, extending his school record ... his 55 career rushing TDs (he has five receiving TDs) rank 3rd in Pac-12 history ... against ASU, Ben Burr-Kirven notched 20 tackles, most by a Husky since 1996 ... Burr-Kirven's 155 total tackles (tied for most in the nation) are 71 more than his 13-game total of last year, which led the team ... no Husky has totaled more than 155 tackles for a season since 2010 (and only one – Mason Foster, 163 in 2010 – has since 1989) ... Burr-Kirven has 33 more total tackles than the next two Huskies on the list, combined ... for the first time since 1995, UW did not have a true freshman play in its season opener ... since then, seven freshmen have played: DLs, Sam Taimani and Tuli Letuligasenoa, ILBs Jackson Sirmon and LB MJ Tafisi, OLB Zion Tupuola-Fetui and DBs Kyler Gordon, Julius Irvin and Dominique Hamption ... none have played in more than three games ... UW is 34-8 over its last 42 games ... Washington hasn't allowed a team to score 40 points in its last 56 games and, during that same span, has allowed over 30 only four times ... over those 56 games, UW has outscored opponents, 1,906-992 ... UW's defense has allowed just nine scrimmage plays of 30 or more yards (tied for fewest in the nation) and just one of 40 or more, fewest in the FBS ... UW leads the nation with 18 forced fumbles, while the Huskies are also 16th in the nation in fumbles lost (5).

TELEVISION: The Pac-12 title game will air live to a national audience on FOX television with Joe Davis (play-by-play), Brady Quinn (analyst), Bruce Feldman (sideline) and Petros Papadakis (sidelines) on the call.

RADIO: The Washington IMG College Network, with its flagship station KOMO AM-1000 and FM-97.7, will carry the live broadcast of every football game on 17 Northwest radio stations. First-year play-by-play man Tony Castricone and color analyst Damon Huard are joined by sideline reporter Elise Woodward. The UW broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius (84) and XM (84) satellite radio, and is also available via TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app.

THE DEFENSE: Over the last three years, Washington's defense has been, statistically, the best in the Pac-12 and one of the top units in the nation. Including 2018, the Huskies have led the Pac-12 in total defense for four years in a row, climbing the national rankings each year, capped by a No. 8 national finish last season (UW currently ranks No. 14, entering the Pac-12 Championship Game). The UW has also paced the Pac-12 in scoring defense the last four seasons (including 2018), finishing fifth in the FBS last season (UW is 10th right now). Last year, the Huskies were also fourth in the nation in rushing defense and fifth in the country in turnover margin.

ONE-TWO PUNCH ON OFFENSE: In seniors Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin, the Huskies boast the most prolific, active quarterback-running back tandem in the nation, in terms of career statistics, both yardage and scoring. Gaskin ranks No. 3 in Pac-12 history in both rushing yards (5,131) and rushing TDs (55), while Browning is sixth in Pac-12 history in passing yards (11,796) and touchdown passes (94). Both of them are true seniors who have spent the last four seasons in the same backfield during one of the most successful runs in UW football history, as the Huskies have gone 38-14 over those four years. Browning, with 38 wins as a starting quarterback (he's 38-13, having sat out a loss at Stanford as a freshman in 2015), has won more games than any starting quarterback in the history of the Pac-12. Meanwhile, Gaskin's stats are so prolific that several of his records seem unlikely to be approached for a very long time. He's the first Pac-12 player in history (and 10th in FBS history) to rush for 1,000 yards in four straight seasons. His 5,131 career rushing yards are more than 1,000 more than former UW record-holder Napoleon Kaufman, who sat atop the Husky rushing chart for 24 years. Gaskin's 60 career touchdowns (he has five receiving TDs to go with his 55 rushing scores) are 22 more than the next-closest Husky (Bishop Sankey, with 38). And of course, Browning and Gaskin both have two games to play before closing out their college careers.

HUSKIES vs. UTES HISTORY: Owing to the fact that Utah was new to the Pac-12 Conference in 2011, the Huskies and Utes have a limited history against one another. In fact, Washington has played Utah only 12 times (11-1), winning the first eight before taking a loss in 2015, with each meeting prior to the 2011 conference matchup in Salt Lake City coming in Seattle. Earlier this year in Salt Lake City, the Huskies beat the Utes, 21-7, in the Huskies' Pac-12 opener. Myles Gaskin rushed for 143 yards and one touchdown while Jake Browning was 14-for-24 for 155 yards and a TD. The Husky defense held the Utes to 261 yards of total offense. The 2016 UW-Utah game was only the second ever in Salt Lake City. In that one, a year after having their eight-game win streak in the series broken, the No. 4 Huskies won a thriller, 31-24, over the 17th-ranked Utes. With the score tied 24-24 with about 3:30 left in the fourth quarter, Dante Pettis returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. The Utes managed to get to the UW 35 on the ensuing drive before failing to convert a 4th-and-15 attempt. The first game ever between the two came Sept. 26, 1931, as Washington edged the visitors, 7-6, in the opening game of the year. The Utes returned for another season opener in 1949, when the UW outgained Utah, 388-114, in a 14-7 victory. Washington scored another seven-point win in 1953 with a 21-14 decision and then posted another 7-6 victory the following year in yet another opener. In 1959, a Husky team that ended the year 10-1 with a Rose Bowl win, beat the Utes, 51-6. More recently, on Sept. 15, 1979, 14th-ranked Washington beat Utah, 41-7, on the way to a 10-2 season that was capped by a Sun Bowl win over Texas. The UW had an interception return for a TD from Bruce Harrell, and Kyle Stevens returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score in that game. In 2011 in Salt Lake City in the Utes' first-ever home Pac-12 game, the Huskies picked up a 31-14 win. The Huskies got a quick start when Jamaal Kearse recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and returned it for a touchdown. Keith Price then threw three touchdowns and Chris Polk rushed for 189 yards as the Dawgs led nearly throughout. In 2012, at CenturyLink Field, Washington maintained its perfect record against Utah with a 34-15 win. Down 8-0 thanks to a John White 46-yard run, the Huskies scored two touchdowns in the second quarter (a Price pass to Kasen Williams and a Price run) and then to open the third (Price to DiAndre Campbell) to pull in front for good. Sankey rushed for 156 yards while the UW defense held the Utes to just 188 yards of total offense (despite 142 rushing yards from White). Utah earned its first victory in the series in 2015 in Seattle as a 24-point outburst in the second quarter led to a 34-23 victory. In 2017 in Seattle, Washington tied the game with 1:05 to go and then kicked a field goal on the final play to win, 33-30. Jake Browing went 26-for-35 for 354 yards and two TDs.

TWICE IN ONE SEASON: While in the pre-World War II era of college football, playing two games against an opponent in the same season was relatively common, it's obviously something that only happens in the modern era when teams play in a conference championship or bowl game. The Pac-12 Conference Championship Game is in just its eighth season and Washington has made it to the title game just once before, in 2016. That year, the Huskies beat Colorado for the Pac-12 crown, but the Huskies and Buffaloes had not met during the 2016 regular season. However, it wasn't that long ago that the UW played a team twice in the same season. In 2010, Nebraska handled the Huskies 56-21 in an early-season game in Seattle, but the Huskies got the better of the Cornhuskers in the Holiday Bowl at the end of that season, winning 19-7. However, prior to that, the last time that the UW played a team twice in the same year was 1945. That year, the Huskies played Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State twice each. Coincidentally, Washington did face Boise State (coached by current UW head man Chris Petersen) in consecutive games, but in two different seasons. The Broncos beat the Huskies in the 2012 Las Vegas Bowl and then came to Husky Stadium to start the 2013 season (a 38-6 Husky win).

THE PAC-12: Prior to the 2011 season, the Pac-10 Conference added Utah and Colorado to expand to the Pac-12. Washington, which along with California is one of two schools who have been in the conference since its founding in 1915, plays in the Pac-12 North, along with the other three Northwest schools (Oregon, OSU, WSU) and Stanford and Cal. Under current plans, each school will play all five division rivals, plus four of six teams in the other division each season. The first two seasons, the Huskies did not face UCLA or Arizona State. In 2013 and 14, the Huskies didn't face Utah or USC. In 2015 in 2016, neither UCLA nor Colorado were on the UW schedule, while the Huskies don't face USC and Arizona in 2017 or 2018.

THE 100-YARD FACTOR: Since the 1947 season, Washington is 217-66-3 (.7643) when a Husky player rushes for 100 yards in a game. The Huskies were 8-0 in such games in 2016, were 5-1 in 2017 and are 5-0 this year.

HISTORY LESSON: Successfully rushing the football and winning go hand-in-hand for the Huskies. Since 1990, UW has rushed for 200 yards in a game 117 times. The Huskies' record stands at 100-16-1 (.859) in those contests. Since 1995, UW is 75-13-1 (.848) when rushing for 200 yards.

HUSKY STADIUM RENOVATION: Husky Stadium underwent a major renovation over from Nov., 2011, through Aug., 2013, as the entire lower bowl and south upper deck were demolished and replaced. The new facility features a new, state-of-the-art football operations center (weight room, training room, locker room, meeting rooms, coaches' offices) in the west end, much more premium seating options and a new playing surface. Husky Stadium had featured a track up until 2011, so seats that were once far from the field, particularly in the west end, are much closer to the action. UW is 34-8 at home since the re-opening of Husky Stadium, and have won 14 consecutive home games (through end of 2018 season).

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 2018 season marks the 99th 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 390-177-21 (.681).