Numbers Game: Stanford Preview

One: Stanford is thought to be massive in the trenches on both sides of the ball. However, their offensive line starters average only 294 lbs. In all of the perceived beef there is only one 300+ pound lineman on either side of the ball for The Trees: Washington-native, 6'-7", 308 pound right tackle, Foster Sarell.

Two: True Freshman, Cam Williams, is beginning to look like a grizzled veteran in UW's defensive backfield. He picked off USC's Matt Fink 2 times giving him 3 interception total on the season. That is good enough for being tied for number 1 in the country.

Three: In the first 5 games Washington's opponents have had 16 trips into the Red Zone Death Row has given up a total of 12 scores (9 TD's and 3 FG's). The 75% conversion rate is tied for 28th in the country and second in the conference. Stanford's is only marginally worse at 78%.

Despite converting just 3 of 12 third downs against USC the Huskies are 4th in the conference in 3rd down conversion percentage at just over 44%. Against the Trojans they were 3 for 6 on third and short and 0-5 on third and long. Stanford is tied for 62nd in the country at 44%.

Five: An important guy to keep an eye on kickoff return is Washington-native, (and former UW commit) number 5, Connor Weddington. Washington's kickoff specialist, Tim Horn, will try to neutralize Weddington by putting the kickoffs into or beyond the end zone.

He is the latest all-purpose dynamo in Palo Alto and his 360 return yards is 4th best in the country.

Six: Through five games, Red Shirt Freshman running back, Richard Newton, has 6 TD's. That is good enough for best in the conference and 11th in the country. His hot start is an element to the offense that has been missing the two previous seasons. In 2017 and 2018 Dawg fans weren't amused at the slow starts of the Washington offense.

In a flip of the script the Huskies have the best first quarter point differential in the country...as they did in 2016. The third quarter has been a different story as the defense has given up 41 of the 87 total points (47%) that they have surrendered.

Seven: Elijah Molden took to social media to acknowledge that, while he's had his new Adidas gloves on several balls the past two Saturdays, he will turn those into interceptions. Despite Molden's noted drops the DB's are putting the conference on notice: We're going to score or get the ball back to Jacob Eason.

Between Myles Bryant, Cameron Williams, Elijah Molden, and Asa Turner they have defended 11 passes, forced a fumble, and have picked off 7 passes.

Eight: In order to generate more of a pass rush the decision was made, during the off-season, to shuffle around the interior of the Washington defensive front. The coaching staff felt that with the graduation of run stopper, Greg Gaines, and other interior linemen, Shane Bowman and Jalen Johnson, that it was a prime opportunity to remake the pass rush...and it's paying off.

Between #8, Benning Potoa'e, #55 Ryan Bowman, and #30 Kyler Manu, UW has 3 of the top 15 pass rushers in terms of yardage lost.

Nine: Washington's young defensive backfield is beginning to grow up before Dawg fans eyes. In fact, against USC they had two interceptions inside the 5 yard line and have only allowed 2 Red Zone passing TD's. Stanford's offensive production has slipped in dramatic fashion to 113th scoring offense in the country at 20.2 points a game … just ahead of Texas State.

A big issue for the Cardinal is maximizing a drives potential points as they've settled for 8 field goals. Washington is experiencing a similar self-inflicted, shoot-itself-in-foot inside the opponent's 20 yard line in kicking 9 field goals.

Ten: Washington's record sits at 4 and 1 on the season. But they have left Dawg fans wanting more as they've yet to come close to playing a complete game. Special Teams have been a HUGE upgrade compared to last season. They finished 10th in the country in 2018 on ESPN's overall efficiency rating they check in at 11th in the country this season.

Here’s a look at the efficiency ratings so far for 2019:

Offense 77% (15th in the country, 3rd in the conference) (2018...18th)

Special Teams: 76.3% (9th, 1st) (2018... 105th)

Defense: 75.8% (23rd, 3rd) (2018...15th)

Overall: 85% (11th, 1st)(2018...10th)