Washington Huskies begin conference play against Cal in Week 4

Washington football (2-0) will begin their final Pac-12 conference play against the California Golden Bears (2-1) on in Week 4.

In their final slate of Pac-12 games before moving to the Big Ten, the Huskies will welcome Cal to Husky Stadium for their Week 4 match-up.

While Cal is 2-1 on the season, they don’t seem to be much of a match for the Huskies. Their Week 1 win came against North Texas 58-21. In Week 2 they made too many mistakes and dropped a home game to Auburn 14-10. In Week 3 they found themselves down 17-0 at one point but pulled off the victory by scoring 31 unanswered points, however, Washington shouldn’t have much to worry about.

How much of a threat is Cal’s offense for Washington football?

Their passing game isn’t much of a threat as they only have 596 total yards and four touchdowns coming from the air. They only average 198.67 yards per game. In contrast, Husky quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has 1,332 yards (444 yards average) and 12 touchdowns in three games.

The Huskies secondary has struggled at times but have had several key pass breakups throughout the season. Unfortunately, they will be without cornerback Davon Banks for the rest of the season, who was looking to be a promising piece of this huskies secondary.

Cal’s run game is where Washington’s defense will need to look out. The Golden Bears are expected to have lead running back Jadyn Ott back this week from injury. He has 266 yards and three touchdowns in two games. Backup Isaiah Ifanse has also rushed for 206 yards and four touchdowns, three of which came in Week 1 against North Texas.

The Huskies managed to hold Michigan State to only 53 total rushing yards but they are now potentially facing a two-headed monster with Ott and Ifanse. They will have to prioritize dominating the trenches and overwhelming the backfield in Week 4.

To conclude on a random note, Cal’s defense has allowed opponents to score on all red zone attempts (7 out of 7). So I once again expect the Huskies ball out.