How do you catch the California at Washington football game?

The Washington Football team hopes to add a sixth win to the record at the expense of the California Golden Bears. Head Coach Petersen believes California is the best team the Huskies have faced. He’s right.

As the Washington Football team continues the climb to the NCAA playoffs, the team returns home to the support of the fans. It’s well timed, as the team has just emerged from a two-win road trip, and could stand the comfort of a friendly stadium.  And so, the Huskies prepare to host another dangerous Pac-12 opponent. As a matter of fact, this week that opponent is the California Golden Bears.

In fact, tonight’s game is the annual Purple Reign game.  Fans will find tonight’s game filled with games and activiities and giveaways featuring a purple theme.

The California Golden Bears have had quite the season of ups and down, which is typical for a program on the upside. On one hand, California is undefeated in non-conference play. On the other hand, that same team is winless in Pac-12 contests.  As a result, California continues to bump along on the cusp of positive. You know they would love to seize their golden opportunity to knock the Washington Huskies from the ranks of the undefeated today.

Dante Pettis still ties NCAA punt return record

Wide receiver Dante Pettis has been a major offensive force for the Huskies so far this year. And that is not just his pass catching abilities.  He scored on punt returns in each of the first three games this season. Now, tied for the NCAA record, he has stalled in his past two games. Is this a game he will break the record?

California has a good punting squad, having punted 23 times for an average of 40.3 net yards per punt. That’s good enough for fourth in the Pac-12.

But that could breed overconfidence from the punting unit to try kicking to Pettis.  This will be a great sub-plot to track throughout the game.

Can Jake Browning break his own TD passing record?

Washington quarterback Jake Browning doesn’t roll off the tongue as a household name just yet, but he tosses touchdowns nontheless. In fact, he continues to set a new school record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass. That record stands at 19 as of today.  Will he extend  that streak to 20 today?

Browning is not a volume passer. He doesn’t just sling the ball and hope for 50/50 odds of either a touchdown or an interception. He is the most efficient passer in the Pac-12 today.  That means when he throws the ball, good things happen.

And that is without former wide receiver John Ross. In all honesty, Browning just throws touchdowns. While that won’t grab national headlines, it certainly does place a smile upon Coach Petersen’s face.

Keys to the game for California

California quarterback Ross Bowers is very effective behind center. Each game, he is looking for his top receiver, Kanawai Noa.  California head coach Justin Wilcox once served as Washington head coach Chris Petersen’s defensive coordinator at Fresno State.  As such, he understands the philosophy of a Petersen coached team. And he will have his defense as ready as they will ever be to thwart Petersen in the game.

California has the edge over the previous Washington opponents of having that “inside knowledge” of Petersen’s coaching tendencies. Now they must deliver.

Don’t get me wrong. This team has talent.  They played USC to a dead heat for three quarters. But they fell apart in the fourth quarter. A similar story held against Oregon, where Cal had closed the gap to 24-17 before Oregon pulled away in the fourth quarter. Obviously one key is to win the fourth quarter.

Gunslinger mentality

But Ross Bowers has a similar “game mentality” as USC quarterback Sam Darnold. He loves to sling the ball, even deep in his own territory. So, he throws for touchdowns (nine) and interceptions (eight). The key to victory is to avoid the picks, and to toss some touchdowns.

Defensively, the Golden Bears cannot pretend to stop the Washington offense. But they can employ a bend but don’t break strategy which could work to their advantage. Frugally time blitzes, focus on stopping the running game, and make Browning win the game.  Then, on third and longs, throw a new and random blitz at Browning and hope for the best.

Keys to the game for Washington

Washington finally gets the benefit of playing for a friendly crowd. Right now, the Washington Football team could use a sea of purple outlining friendly faces. This team has delivered up to their potential.

Now the climb gets a little steeper.

Washington is a fundamentally sound football team. California continues to rely on taking risks. Big plays and big mistakes plague their games so far.  So what is the opposite? Slow and steady tortoise time for Washington.

With the team’s ground game looking like it’s at full power, this is a perfect game to run the ball down the opponent’s throat. Jake Browning is the most efficient quarterback in the Pac-12 for good reason. He picks his spots.  And he can extend his touchdown tossing ways against this defense.

Will the next skills player please step up?

So far, Dante Pettis and Myles Gaskin are asserting themselves as true offensive weapons. I think a key to this game is to feature one more skillset player. Lavon Coleman, Salvon Ahmed, Hunter Bryant, or even Will Dissly are players who could step up in this one.

Defensively, this game once more challenges the Huskies pass defense. Fortunately, I believe the Washington Huskies defense to be one of the best in the nation, thanks to coaches Jimmy Lake and Pete Kwiatkowski.

Predictions

I made predictions months before the season, and so far, the Washington Football team has followed the script down to the letter. For this game, I had predicted a score of Washington 49 California 7.

Surprisingly, that analysis still makes sense. I believe in this game, Wilcox will press his team hard for that “perfect game”. They may get it, but I fear that the Golden Bears, on the road, will wilt under pressure.

Washington defense is too fundamentally sound. California needs Washington mistakes to win this one. I don’t see that happening. Instead, I see a California team moving the ball via the passing game, and watching drives end with interceptions.

I will stick with the Washington 49 California 7 prediction.

California-Washington game time, details:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017
Time: 7:45 p.m. PT
Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle, Washington

What TV channel is California-Washington on?
The Washington versus Colorado game is televised via ESPN.

Watch NCAA Football for FREE on fuboTV: Watch over 67 live sports and entertainment channels with a 7-day FREE trial!

How can I watch California-Washington game online?
The California versus Washington game will stream on WatchESPN by cable or satellite subscription. You can catch the game on your mobile device at the WatchESPN app.

Will the California-Washington game be broadcast via the radio?
The California versus Washington game will make the radio on either 1000 KOMO-AM or 97.7 KOMO-FM in the Seattle area, or on the Sirius Satellite Radio channel 145, XM channel 197 and SiriusXM channel 959.  The game’s radio broadcast can also be streamed online via the Washington IMG Sports radio.