Huskies Travel To Corvallis For 106th Meeting Vs. OSU

THE GAME: Two of the four original members of what is now the Pac-12 Conference will square off for the 106th time this Saturrday as Washington (2-2 overall, 1-0 in conference) travel to Corvallis to face Oregon State (3-1, 1-0). Kickoff at Reser Stadium is 6:00 p.m., and the game will air on Pac-12 Network. Washington enters the game having won two in a row, most recently a 31-24, overtime victory over California last Saturday in Seattle. The Beavers have won three straight, including their first win at USC since 1960, which they pulled off last Saturday. Following the OSU game, the Huskies will have a week off before returning to action Oct. 16 vs. UCLA at Alaska Airlines at Husky Stadium.
 
QUICK HITTERS: Redshirt freshman QB Dylan Morris leads the Pac-12 in passing yards and passing yards per game ... eight players made their first career UW start in the Montana game, and one more did vs. Michigan, Arkansas State and Cal, which means that 40 members of the current roster have started at least one game for the Huskies ... 109 of the 126 players on the UW roster are freshmen or sophomores ... 78 are freshmen ... five true freshmen have played this season forr the Huskies: DLs Kuao Peihopa and Voi Tunuufi, QB Sam Huard, WR Jabez Tinae, and DB Davon Banks ... none of them have played in all four games ... UW has gone 79 games in a row without allowing an opponent to score more than 35 points, easily the longest such streak in the nation ... Race Porter currently leads the Pac-12 (8th in NCAA) with his 49.0-yard punt average, which is more than three yards ahead of pace for the single-season school record (45.6) ... Porter had two punts for 60 or more yards in the Cal game, making him just the fourth Husky ever to do that ... his 55.5-yard average vs. the Bears tied for third-best in UW single-game history ... freshman Jalen McMillan had 152 receiving yards in the first half of the Arkansas State game, the first time a Pac-12 player had 150-plus receiving yards in a first half since Husky John Ross had 164 vs. Cal in 2016.
 
TELEVISION: The Washington-Oregon State game will air on Pac-12 Network, with Roxy Bernstein (play by play) and former UW All-America lineman Lincoln Kennedy (analyst) calling the action. The TV broadcast can also be viewed at on various online/digital services. Visit Pac-12.com for more.
 
RADIO:  All Washington football games will air on the Washington Sports Network from Learfield, with Tony Castricone (play by play), former Husky tight end Cameron Cleeland (analyst) and former UW basketball player Elise Woodward (sidelines) on the call. Radio coverage begins four hours before kickoff on the network's flagship station: Seattle's SportsRadio 950 KJR with "Husky Gameday" live from The Zone for Husky home games. Statewide coverage on the 15-station Washington Sports Network begins two hours before kickoff. The entire broadcast is available worldwide on the Huskies Gameday mobile app and on GoHuskies.com. The UW broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius channel 146 and XM channel 198. Additionally, the Jimmy Lake Show airs each Wednesday during the season, at 6:00 p.m. PT.
 
HUSKIES vs. BEAVERS HISTORY: Washington holds a 67-34-4 record in the all-time series against Oregon State, having won nine in a row, 25 of the last 33 meetings and 35 of the last 44, dating back to 1975. The series against the Beavers is the second-longest (to Stanford) active series in Washington football history in terms of years and third-longest in terms of total meetings (to Oregon and WSU). 
 
The teams first met on Dec. 4, 1897, with Oregon State earning a 16-0 home win. That game was Washington's second-ever against a major college. The next OSU-UW game didn't come until 1902, a 16-6 UW win. 
 
Last year, one of UW's four games was a 27-21 win over Oregon State, in the  Huskies' season-opener, Nov. 14, 2020. Sean McGrew, Kamari Pleasant and Dylan Morris all rushed for TDs in the win. Two years ago, Washington won a low-scoring game, 16-7, behind two field goals from Petyon Henry and two touchdown runs from Salvon Ahmed. In 2018 in Seattle, the Huskies built a 28-3 halftime lead and won, 42-23. The year before in Corvallis, Dante Pettis caught three TD passes from Jake Browning in a 42-7 UW win. In 2016 in Seattle, Washington opened a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and won, 41-17. Myles Gaskin rushed for 128 yards and a TD while both John Ross and Pettis topped 100 yards receiving. Browning was 14-for-28 for 291 yards and four scores. In 2015 in Corvallis, the Huskies won 52-7 as Browning also threw four TD passes and Gaskin rushed for 127 yards.
 
In 2014, Cyler Miles led UW to a 37-13 win, completing 18-of-23 passes for 253 yards and two TDs. In 2013 in Corvallis, Washington rushed for 537 yards and seven TDs en route to a 69-27 win. Three Husky backs ran for more than 100 yards (Bishop Sankey, 179; Deontae Cooper, 166; Dwayne Washington, 141). In 2012 in Seattle, Washington handed a 6-0 OSU squad its first loss in a 20-17 victory at CenturyLink Field. The winning score came on a 30-yard field goal from Travis Coons with 1:20 remaining. In 2011 at OSU, the Beavers upset the UW with a 38-21 victory. In 2010 in Seattle, UW won 35-34 in two OTs, denying a two-point conversion for the win. Jake Locker tied a then-school record with five TD passes, four to Jermaine Kearse. 
 
In 2009 at OSU, the Beavers got 159 rushing yards from Jacquizz Rodgers to roll to a 48-21 win. In 2008 in Seattle, James Rodgers rushed for 110 yards on only three carries and Lyle Moevao was 18-for-22 for 191 yards to lead OSU past the UW, 34-13. The 2007 game in Corvallis was memorable for an injury to Locker, controversial calls from referees and five Alexis Serna field goals in a 29-23 Beavers win. In 2006 in Seattle, QB Isaiah Stanback's college career came to an end with a devastating foot injury and the Huskies lost, 27-17. In 2005, the Beavers got six field goals from Serna in an 18-10 win. In 2004 at Husky Stadium, OSU picked up its second win in four seasons against the UW with a 29-14 win, the Beavers first at Husky Stadium since 1985. Serna kicked a then-school-record five field goals to provide the winning margin. In 2003 in Corvallis, Charles Frederick piled up a school-record 371 all-purpose yards, scoring three touchdowns, as the Huskies cruised to a 38-17 win. 
 
The Beavers' next-most recent win (prior to 2004) in the series came in Corvallis on Nov. 10, 2001, when the Beavers broke a 13-game losing streak to the Huskies. That day, an unranked OSU team trounced No. 8 Washington, 49-24, the first Beaver win (home or away) since the 1985 Husky Stadium game. Several other recent meetings have come down to the wire. In 2000, Ryan Cesca missed a game-tying field goal in the closing seconds as the Huskies held on for a 33-30 win. In 1998, the Beavers went for a two-point conversion with no time left. The pass attempt was batted down by Husky safety Nigel Burton and the Huskies won, 35-34. 
 
DAWGS AND THE NORTHWEST:  Washington's most-played rivalries are against the other three other northwest Pac-12 schools. The Huskies have faced Washington State 112 times, Oregon in 112 games and Oregon State on 105 occasions. Washington owns the advantage in all three series. The Huskies lead the Ducks 60-47-5, Washington State 74-32-6 and Oregon State 67-34-4. Combined, Washington has a 201-113-15 (.636) record against its northwest rivals. Washington has played all three of the Northwest teams in a season on 91 prior occasions. Over those 91 seasons in which Oregon, OSU and WSU were all on the UW schedule, the Dawgs have swept all three 30 times. In the meantime, the Huskies have lost to all three in the same season on only seven occasions.
 
EXPERIENCE AND YOUTH: Thanks in part to the extended eligibility that resulted from the pandemic, Washington's 2021 roster is remarkable for both its youth and its experience, all at once. Washington returns 10 starters on offense and eight on defense, along with returning "starters" at kicker (both FG/PAT and kickoff), punter, holder and long snapper. Those numbers are all higher than average. What's more, the roster includes 17 individuals who have started at least one game on offense, and 13 on defense. All totaled, those 29 players (one of them, Alex Cook, has started on offense and defense) have started 212 games (129 on offense, 83 on defense). 
 
All that said, the UW roster includes just six players in their final year of available eligibility: P Race Porter, OLB Ryan Bowman, QB Patrick O'Brien, C Luke Wattenberg, and TBs Sean McGrew and Kamari Pleasant. Of the 126 players on the current roster, 78 are listed as freshmen (56) or redshirt freshmen (22), while 31 more are sophomores. That means that 109 of 126 players (86.5 percent) have three or more years of eligibility remaining, entering the 2021 season. The roster includes just 11 juniors, five seniors and one grad transfer.
 
OPPONENTS 35-AND-UNDER: Washington hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than 35 points in a game since a 44-30 loss at UCLA in 2014. That's a streak of 78 games in a row that the Huskies' opponent has failed to score more than 35. In that 78-game stretch, Husky foes have scored 30 or more just 13 times (of those 13, five were exactly 30 points) and have been held to 14 or fewer points 32 times. In that same span of 78 games, the UW has scored more than 35 points on 31 occasions. No other team in the FBS has a current streak longer than 37 games (San Diego State).
 
DEFENSE vs. BIG PLAYS: Last year (albeit in only four games), Washington's defense allowed just one play from scrimmage for more than 40 yards, tied for fewest in the nation. In 2019, the Huskies gave up just seven such plays of 40 or more yards, the eighth-lowest total (tied) in FBS. The median for 40-plus yard plays allowed in 2019 was 14. Also in 2019, the Huskies allowed just two plays over 50 yards, the third-lowest (tied) total (the median was seven). The year before, the Huskies gave up just ONE scrimmage play of 40 or more yards all season. No other FBS team allowed fewer than four and 102 teams allowed 10 or more that year. In 2017, the UW also led the nation with fewest 40-yard scrimmage plays allowed (3) and were second in fewest 30-yard plays (14). They were tied for 5th and 2nd, respectively, in 2016. Washington has allowed one player longer than 40 yards in three games during the 2021 season.
 
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 the current system, each school plays 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 play Utah or USC. In 2015 in 2016, neither UCLA nor Colorado were on the UW schedule, while the Huskies didn't face USC and Arizona in 2017 or 2018. The 2019 season marked the start of a new cycle, moving the rotation back to where it started. Therefore, the Huskies 2019 and 2020 scheduled did not include UCLA and Arizona State. In 2021 and 2002, Washington will not play USC and Utah.
 
THE 100-YARD FACTOR: Since the 1947 season, Washington is 221-69-3 (.759) when a Husky player rushes for 100 yards in a game. The Huskies are 22-3 in such games dating back to the 2016 season.
 
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 123 times. The Huskies' record stands at 106-16-1 (.801) in those contests.