Pac-12 picks: Huskies get national stage to prove they belong in top 10

From the Huskies’ perspective, several concerns going into Friday’s game against Stanford:

1. Big-game jitters: Let’s be real: The Huskies have largely been irrelevant in the national landscape since Bill Clinton was in the White House, and this is still a relatively young team — led by several second-year sophomores on offense. It’s fair to wonder how they’ll handle the emotions and the ESPN primetime spotlight on a Friday night in Husky Stadium’s first top-10 matchup in 19 years. It’s all new to them. Stanford, on the other hand, seems to play in big games all the time, and they’ve got three Pac-12 titles in four years to show for it. That experience matters.
2. Christian McCaffrey: ‘Nuff said.
3. Offensive line: UW’s line deserves credit for a really good performance (352 yards rushing) in the overtime victory at Arizona. Still, Arizona might have the lightest D-line in the Pac-12 — a much different animal(s) than what the Huskies’ O-line will see Friday night. Stanford’s Solomon Thomas (6-3, 273) might be the best D-end in the conference, and the Cardinal are second in the conference in sacks (3.7 per game). Protecting Jake Browning — in his first game against Stanford — is priority No. 1.

The issues from Stanford’s perspective:

1. Beat-up secondary: The Huskies’ dramatic improvement in the passing game (hello, John Ross) has been the biggest development for this team. The Huskies’ defense is sound, we know. The question coming into the season was whether the offense could hold up its end. Browning has had a strong start to his sophomore season, and the Huskies will no doubt try to take advantage of Stanford’s depleted secondary. Both of Stanford’s starting cornerbacks, Quenton Meeks and Alijah Holder, are out with injuries Friday night. With Ross, Dante Pettis and Chico McClatcher, watch for the Huskies to air it out early and often.
2. Ryan Burns: Stanford’s senior QB, in his first season as the starter, deserves credit for the game-winning drive to beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl last week. He made several big-time throws, including the fade that led to the Cardinal’s first TD of the game with 24 seconds left. And yet, one wonders what Stanford’s offense was doing the first 58 minutes, when it couldn’t get past the UCLA 19. The Huskies’ defense is built similarly to UCLA’s — stout D-line, stacked secondary — and surely UW picked up a few hints about how to defend the Cardinal. If this game comes down to Burns needing to make a few clutch throws, I don’t like his chances against Sidney Jones, Kevin King, et al.
3. Husky Stadium: Should be packed and crazy and loud and hostile — an appropriate throwback atmosphere to celebrate UW’s 1991 national-championship team.

The bottom line: Stanford has the experience, and it has the Heisman Trophy favorite. The Huskies have the emotional edge, and they have the offensive playmakers to show they belong in the top 10.

If you listened to the podcast this week, you would have heard me pick Stanford early in the week. As the week has progressed, I’ve leaned the other way. The Huskies’ defense is built for this sort of smash-mouth, hard-nosed, tough-as-nails (add your favorite old-school football cliche here) matchup, especially up front with Elijah Qualls, Vita Vea and Greg Gaines. It’s their job to eat up the Stanford O-line and free up Azeem Victor and Keishawn Bierria to make one-on-one plays on McCaffrey, while the secondary drops into man-to-man coverage.

Prediction: Huskies 26, Stanford 19.

Around the Pac-12 (all Saturday games):

Oregon State (1-2) at Colorado (3-1), 11:30 a.m. PT, Pac-12 Network: A historic win for the Buffs at Oregon last week, led by their backup QB. Are we looking at a legit contender in the Pac-12 South? The pick: Colorado 42, Oregon State 21.

No. 18 Utah (4-0) at California (2-2), 3 p.m., Pac-12 Network: Cal’s favored by 2 points, and you can understand why with the way the Bears put points on the board. I’ll ride the Ute Train awhile longer. The pick: Utah 38, Cal 35.

Arizona State (4-0) at USC (1-3), 5:30 p.m., FOX: Can only go up from here for the Trojans. The pick: USC 35, Arizona State 34.

Oregon (2-2) at Washington State (1-2), 6:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network: The Pac-12’s two most disappointing teams so far meet in Pullman, and Oregon’s free fall continues. The pick: Wazzu 46, Oregon 39.

Arizona (2-2) at UCLA (2-2), 7:30 p.m., ESPN: A lot to like about Arizona’s Brandon Dawkins, but UCLA has to be seething after that collapse at home last week. The pick: UCLA 38, Arizona 24.