The Pac-12 Championship and College Football Playoff Picture will become clearer on Friday night when Stanford faces Washington.
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The Oregon Ducks can still compete for the Pac-12 North and the first step happens on Friday night with Washington welcoming Stanford for the Pac-12 Game of the Year, Part I. If you are an Oregon fan, this season will see the Game of the Year in possibly three parts. With a Washington win, Part II would be next weekend at Autzen Stadium and an opportunity for Oregon to make up some ground. Part III comes in November with a Stanford visit to Autzen Satdium, but first things first.
Washington has a much stronger Defense then last season and is averaging over 440 yards per game on Offense, which are Oregon type numbers. Stanford has been more Defensive, averaging 342 yards per game. The numbers also narrow when looking at the Defense with the Huskies giving up just over 14 points per game on D, Stanford is a tad more stingy with 12. One special teams play could break things wide open on Friday night for either team.
In the Preseason both Royce Freeman and Christian McCaffrey were at the head of the class in the Pac-12. Now, McCaffrey stands alone as the Heisman Candidate for the Pac-12 Conference and is the difference maker for the Stanford Cardinal. Last weekend UCLA thought they had control, but in the end, the Cardinal prevailed.
The Washington Huskies are led by Quarterback Jake Browning who should cross the 1,000 yard passing mark for the season on Friday. He has thrown 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions in 2016. Running Back Miles Gaskin leads a rather light rushing attack for the Huskies. He has just under 400 yards on the season.
Stanford is dealing with injuries in the Secondary and could prove to be the difference maker for the Huskies to pull out the victory, but McCaffrey may have other ideas.
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Kickoff between Stanford and Washington is set for 6pm Pacific Time Friday night on ESPN.