Washington Huskies (2-1, 0-0) vs. California Golden Bears (3-0, 0-0)
The Pac-12 season is upon us with the Huskies taking on the California Golden Bears on Saturday. The Bears are coming off of a 63-12 romping over Presbyterian, while the Huskies are returning home after suffering a 51-38 defeat at the hands of the No. 9 Nebraska Cornhuskers.
When these two teams last met in 2010, Huskies running back Chris Polk scored on a 1-yard run as time expired to give the Huskies a 16-13 victory keeping Washington's bowl hopes alive while ending California's opportunity to make a bowl game. California Head Coach Jeff Tedford is looking for his first win over Steve Sarkisian's Huskies, the Bears are 0-2 against the Dawgs since Sarkisian took over as head coach.
Offensive Player to Watch:
Keenan Allen (So.), Wide Receiver
The preseason Biletnikoff Award and Paul Warfield Award candidate is off to an ideal start of the season with 20 catches and 300 receiving yards. Here are some highlights of what the struggling Husky secondary will have to stop on Saturday. Allen is no stranger to Cal's new starting quarterback, Zach Maynard, the two grew up together and consider each other half-brothers. The Huskies secondary might not be able to stop Allen completely, but slowing him down and preventing him from having a huge game will be a key factor in Washington's ability to win this game. With California averaging 277 passing yards a game and the Huskies surrendering an average of 320 passing yards a game, it's hard not to see Allen performing well this Saturday.
Defensive Player to Watch:
D.J. Holt (Sr.), Linebacker
While fellow starting senior linebacker Mychal Kendricks is one of the top defensive players in the Pac-12, D.J. Holt also has shined for the Bears so far this season. The team leader in tackles (23) has started 40 straight games for the Bears. Stopping Chris Polk is the number one priority for the Bears defense. The true talent and ability of both Holt and Kendricks to stop the run will be put to the test this Saturday.
Washington and Cal fans, head on over to UW Dawg Pound and California Golden Blogs for in-depth pre-game analysis leading up to Saturday.