DAWG SHOWS ’23

The battles home and away will showcase new Husky history

UW OPPONENT GAME PREVIEWS

BY BART POTTER • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINEQB Michael Penix Jr.

Broncos are a Mountain West powerhouse behind RB Holani

Boise State Broncos • 2022: 10-4, 8-1 Mountain West Conference

SEPT. 2 • 12:30 p.m. • Seattle • ABC

The Huskies open against a Boise State team that played in the Mountain West title game (a 28-16 loss to Fresno State) and earned a 35-32 victory against North Texas in the Frisco Bowl. The Broncos return proven offensive talent in senior running back George Holani (1,157 yards, 13 total touchdowns) and redshirt sophomore quarterback Taylen Green. At 6-6 and 223 pounds, Green took over as full-time starter in Week 5 and amassed 2,628 yards of total offense, passing for 14 touchdowns and running for 10. Ace safety J.L. Skinner was drafted by the NFL’s Denver Broncos, but the Boise defense retains its leading tackler in sixth-year linebacker D.J. Schram (107 total tackles).

LAST MEETING: 2019 – Washington 38-7 (Las Vegas Bowl). SERIES: Washington 3-2.

First-ever battle against the Golden Hurricane for Huskies

Tulsa Golden Hurricane • 2022: 5-7, 3-5 American Athletic Conference

SEPT. 9 • 2 p.m. • Seattle • Pac-12 Networks

Tulsa fired head coach Philip Montgomery after his eighth season in 2022. For its hoped-for reboot, the university hired Kevin Wilson, offensive coordinator at Ohio State for the past six seasons, to write the next chapter in the offense-heavy history of the school. The Golden Hurricane have a promising quarterback in redshirt sophomore Braylon Braxton, who showed enough in injury-replacement duty (92-for-163, 1,133 yards, 10 TDs) behind senior standout Davis Brin to receive notice as an honorable-mention freshman All-American. Redshirt junior Malachai Jones (37 catches, 470 yards) is the leading returning receiver.

LAST MEETING: Teams have never met.

UW looks to repeat 2022 victory over a rebuilt Spartan army

Michigan State Spartans • 2022: 5-7, 3-6 Big Ten Conference

SEPT. 16 • 2 p.m. • East Lansing, Mich. • Peacock

The 2022 Huskies turned heads in college football with a 39-28 win over Michigan State in week 3 at Husky Stadium. The Spartans, highly ranked to begin the season, went on to win only three games in the Big Ten under Head Coach Mel Tucker, but welcome a return match against UW in East Lansing. Hopes for improvement for MSU in 2023 took a potential blow when two-year starting quarterback Payton Thorne and leading receiver Keon Coleman entered the transfer portal. Redshirt junior Noah Kim (14-for-19 for 174 yards in four 2022 games) might have the inside track to start at QB, and the Spartans return their leading rusher in redshirt junior Jalen Berger (683 yards, 6 TDs).

LAST MEETING: 2022 – Washington 39-28. SERIES: Washington 3-1.

Cal’s new QB and former Husky linebacker Sirmon will draw attention

California Golden Bears • 2022: 4-8, 2-7 Pac-12

SEPT. 23 • Time TBA • Seattle • TV TBA

The biggest question for Coach Justin Wilcox in his seventh season in Berkeley: Who will play quarterback? North Carolina State transfer Ben Finley played three games and started two for the Wolfpack last season (65-for-123, 741 yards); Sam Jackson V, a transfer from TCU, has turned heads with his arm and footspeed despite completing only five passes in his Horned Frogs’ career. Whoever starts at QB, sophomore running back Jadyn Ott (897 yards, 11 total TDs) is a weapon for the Bears. On defense, a traditional strength under Wilcox, UW transfer Jackson Sirmon is Cal’s stopper at linebacker (104 total tackles) and DB Craig Woodson (75 tackles, two interceptions) is a candidate for conference honors.

LAST MEETING: 2022 – Washington 28-21. SERIES: Washington 57-41-4.

Dawgs and Cats: Arizona air attack expected behind gunslinging de Laura

Arizona Wildcats • 2022: 5-7, 3-6 Pac-12

Sept. 30 • Time TBA • Tucson, Ariz. • TV TBA

The Wildcats will be seeking to keep their momentum as a program on the rise after win-total improvements in each of head coach Jedd Fisch’s first two seasons in Tucson. Gunslinging junior quarterback Jayden de Laura, a transfer from Washington State, passed for 3,685 yards and 25 touchdowns in his first season in Tucson. He has stud receivers to throw to in senior Jacob Cowing (85 catches, 1,034 yards) and sophomore Tetairoa McMillan, who led all true freshman nationally with 702 yards on 39 receptions with eight touchdowns. Defense is a work in progress for Fisch after the Wildcats gave up 36.5 points a game in 2022, 11th in the Pac-12, ahead of only Colorado.

LAST MEETING: 2022 – Washington 49-39. SERIES: Washington 25-11-1.

Nix was a

TD machine in 2022 with 29 throwing, 14 running

Oregon Ducks • 2022: 10-3, 7-2 Pac-12

Oct. 14 • Time TBA • Seattle • TV TBA

UW earned a signature win in 2022 against UO, 37-34, in Eugene’s Autzen Stadium. This year, the Ducks visit Husky Stadium looking for revenge under second-year head coach Dan Lanning. In the quarterback-rich Pac-12, the Ducks have one of the best in senior Bo Nix, who completed 294 of 409 passes (UO-record 71.8 percent) for 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns and rushed for 510 yards and another 14 TDs. Senior RB Bucky Irving (1,058 yards, 8 total TDs) and junior WR Troy Franklin (61 catches, 891 yards, 9 TDs) are complementary pieces. The defense will be led by much-decorated senior DE Brandon Dorlus (9.5 tackles for loss) and DB Evan Franklin, a senior transfer from Fresno State, who was a second team All-Mountain West pick last year.

LAST MEETING: 2022 – Washington 37-34. SERIES: Washington 68-41-5

For Homecoming, Huskies seek revenge for their 2022 loss to Sun Devils

Arizona State Sun Devils • 2022: 3-9, 2-7 Pac-12

Oct. 21 • Time TBA • Seattle • TV TBA (Homecoming weekend)

UW hit an unexpected bump in the road last season in a loss to the Sun Devils in the desert. This year’s game in Husky Stadium offers UW a chance at payback against a program looking to improve under first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham. The 32-year-old Dillingham, who replaces Herm Edwards, has holes to fill, but rebuilding around quarterback Trenton Bourguet is a start. Last year against the Huskies, Bourguet came off the bench and completed 15 of 21 passes for 182 yards and three scores and directed a game-winning 10-play, 82-yard drive to pull off the 45-38 upset. Later in October, Bourguet threw for 435 yards and two scores in a 42-34 win at Colorado.

LAST MEETING: 2022 – ASU 45-38. SERIES: ASU 20-17.

Huskies lead coastal rivalry with Cardinal by one win at 45-44-4

Stanford Cardinal • 2022: 3-9, 1-8 Pac-12

Oct. 28 • Time TBA • Stanford, Calif. • TV TBA

With the end of the 12-year David Shaw Era in Palo Alto, Stanford hired Troy Taylor from Sacramento State to resurrect a team that won one conference game in 2022, the Cardinal’s third losing season in the past four. Myles Jackson, a young true freshman who gave up his senior year at Millikan High School in Long Beach, Calif., is given a solid chance to start right away at quarterback after throwing for 3,620 yards and 47 touchdowns in his junior season at Millikan. The yet-unnamed Stanford starting QB will have a talented target in tight end Benjamin Yurosek (career 92 catches for 1,103 yards), who might be the Cardinal’s best player.

LAST MEETING: 2022 – Washington 40-22. SERIES: Washington 45-44-4.

Final Pac-12 Trojan war: Heisman winner Williams v. Penix Jr.

USC Trojans • 2022: 11-3, 8-2 Pac-12

Nov. 4 • Time TBA • Los Angeles • TV TBA

The Huskies and Trojans did not play in 2022 but square off this year in Los Angeles in USC’s and UW’s final season in the Pac-12. In this conference of quarterbacks, where six returning Pac-12 starters passed for 3,000 yards or more in 2022, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner tops the list and stars for Southern Cal. Caleb Williams, a unanimous first-team All-American in 2022 after transferring from Oklahoma, set USC single-season records in nine categories, including passing yards (4,537), touchdown passes (42) and total offense (4,919 yards). Wideout Dorian Singer, a junior transfer from Arizona (66 catches, 1,105 yards for the Wildcats in 2022), and first-team All-American safety Calen Bullock (48 tackles, 5 interceptions) will help keep the starlight bright in Tinseltown.

LAST MEETING: 2021 – Washington 28-14. SERIES: USC 52-29-4.

Conference champions come to Montlake in late-season matchup

Utah Utes • 2022: 10-4, 8-2 Pac-12

Nov. 11 • Time TBA • Seattle • TV TBA

UW did not play two-time defending Pac-12 champion Utah in 2022 but will run into the Utes in Week 10 in Seattle. Kyle Whittingham (19th season) and the Utes defeated USC, 47-24, in the Pac-12 title game last December. Quarterback Cameron Rising (3,034 yards, 26 TDS; 465 rush yards, 6 TDs) is back to run the show behind an experienced O-line. Anchoring that line are junior hosses Sataoa Laumea and Keaton Bills; sophomore Ja’Quinden Jackson (531 yards, 6.8 yards a carry) and junior Micah Bernard (533 yards, 12 total TDs) offer intriguing possibilities in the run game. D-lineman Junior Tafuna, LB Karene Reid and DB Cole Bishop are honors-candidate returnees from a defense that was the second stingiest in points allowed (21.4 a game) in the Pac-12.

LAST MEETING: 2020 – Washington 24-21. SERIES: Washington 13-2.

Beaver Dam: OSU’s tough defense will be a formidable challenge

Oregon State Beavers • 2022: 10-3, 6-3 Pac-12

Nov. 18 • Time TBA • Corvallis, Ore. • TV TBA

Can Ben Gulbranson hold onto the quarterback job he manned for 10 games in 2022 (121-for-194, 1,455 yards, 9 TDs)? At the start of fall camp, it wasn’t clear for Coach Jonathan Smith (6th season), as Gulbranson was in open competition with Clemson transfer D.J. Uiagalelei and incoming freshman Aidan Chiles. One spot in the backfield is locked down – RB Damian Martinez (982 yards, 7 TDs), and he’ll be working behind an experienced O-line led by preseason Pac-12 honorees Taliese Fuaga, Joshua Gray and Jake Levengood. DB Kitan Oladapo (80 total tackles) is a key returnee from a dominant Beaver defense that ranked first in the Pac-12 in scoring, rushing and total defense.

LAST MEETING: 2022 – Washington 24-21. SERIES: Washington 67-35-4.

Annual Boeing Apple Cup never disappoints — the battle in Seattle

Washington State Cougars • 2022: 11-3, 8-2 Pac-12

Nov. 25 • Time TBA • Seattle • TV TBA • Boeing Apple Cup Series

Washington will be looking for a second straight Apple Cup victory when it takes on the cross-state rival Cougars on Thanksgiving weekend at Husky Stadium. Coach Jake Dickert (2nd year) and the Cougars, who endured transfer-portal turmoil and the departure of coaches just prior to their Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl appearance in December (a 29-6 loss to Fresno State), nonetheless appear set at several key positions heading into 2023. Quarterback Cameron Ward jumped in as starter after transferring from Incarnate Word and threw for 3,231 yards and 23 touchdowns. Defensive back Chau Smith-Wade and D-linemen Brennan Jackson and Ron Stone Jr. are standout returnees from a Cougar defense that finished third in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (22.9 points a game).

LAST MEETING: 2022 – Washington 51-33. SERIES: Washington 72-32-6.