Washington-Oklahoma: Huskies Will Have Hands Full Against Sooners

Third-ranked Oklahoma warmed up for Washington against Cincinnati on Saturday and was able to score at will the entire game.  The Oklahoma offense is a real juggernaut.

Ryan Broyles set an Oklahoma freshman record with 141 receiving yards, Jermaine Gresham caught two of Sam Bradford's five touchdown passes, and the Sooners extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 20 games with a 52-26 victory against Cincinnati on Saturday.

Bradford overcame only the second multiple-interception game of his career to throw for a career-best 395 yards and five touchdowns.

Washington is going to have its hands full with the Sooners next weekend.  This will be the third straight high-powered offense the Huskies have faced—and it might just be the best they will face all season.

I really don't see any weaknesses on offense for Oklahoma.  They have one of the top QBs in the country flanked by extremely talented skill players going up against one of the worst performing defenses in the Pac-10.  I can see the Sooners hanging 45-55 points on Washington.

Defensively, the Sooners are better than BYU but not as good as Oregon.  Expect Bob Stoops to do what everyone does: He will stack the line and try to take Jake Locker out of the game.  Washington needs to be able to throw deep in this one to loosen the Sooners up.  The perceived weakness of the Sooner defense is in the back seven.

The key for Washington in this one is for Locker to get the ball into the hands of his talented young receivers.  Goodwin, Polk, and Kearse are all capable of burning the Sooners deep.

Locker had his chances this week against BYU and failed to connect.  Next week he is going to have to make those plays to help keep the Huskies within striking distance.

Breaking Down the Sooners

The Sooners averaged 6.4 yards per play on offense in 2007, the most for the team since 1987.  QB Sam Bradford finished the regular season with the nation's No. 1 rated pass efficiency as just a freshman.  Bradford threw for 3,121 yards and 36 touchdowns with just eight interceptions.

The Oklahoma offensive line is led by future NFL players like Duke Robinson and Phil Loadholt.  In fact, all five senior starters are back this season to create an offensive line that is most likely the best in the country.

The Sooners also welcome back wide receivers Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson.  Iglesias led the team last season with 68 catches for 907 yards and five touchdowns.  RS Ryan Broyles has been lighting it up early in 2008.  Junior Jermaine Gresham steps into the starting spot at tight end.

The TB tandem of DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown combined for 1,375 yards and 22 touchdowns last season.  Murray is just a sophomore, but he possesses great speed and elusiveness.

The defense only returns six starters, but three of them are along the defensive line.  With defensive tackles like senior DeMarcus Granger and sophomore Gerald McCoy, it's going to be tough getting any kind of push against these guys.  Junior defensive end Austin English is a beast on the outside, and his 9.5 sacks were the best on the team a year ago.

The team only returns one linebacker in senior Ryan Reynolds, but it looks like he is ready for the spotlight.  Redshirt freshman Austin Box will start on the weak side with junior Keenan Clayton taking over the strong side.

The secondary is probably the weakest unit on this side of the ball, but they do have some pretty good talent coming back in senior strong safety Nic Harris and fellow senior Lendy Holmes at free safety.  It looks as though junior Brian Jackson and sophomore Dominique Franks will team up at the two corner spots to start the season.

Andrew Pulu Picks UW

The Huskies picked up a verbal Saturday from Federal Way HS DE/LB Andrew Pulu.  The 6'3", 230-pound Pulu was also recruited by WSU and had interest from Oregon, Oregon State, and UCLA.

Pulu runs a 4.7 forty, which gives him enough speed to play LB, DE, or FB.  He is described as being a powerful player and has been a three-year starter for his high school team.

Pac-10 Power Ratings, Week Two

1. Southern California

The Trojans had the week off but face Ohio State in one of those playoff type games that will eventually help determine the national championship.  I think USC is going to put an old fashioned whooping on the Buckeyes.

2. Oregon

The Ducks hit the road to take on Purdue in West Lafayette.  Joe Tiller's last Purdue squad isn't anything special, and the Ducks should have no problem with the Boilermakers.

3. Arizona State

The Devils get another easy go of it as UNLV invades Tempe.  Rudy Carpenter is the league's best QB, and he showed why against Stanford.

4. California

The Bears hit the road to take their high-powered offense to Maryland.  This will not be a great day to be a Terrapin.  California really impressed me last week.

5. UCLA

The Bruins hit the road to Provo and hope they don't celebrate excessively after their defense shuts down BYU.

6. Arizona

The Wildcats take on twice-beaten—about to be thrice-beaten—New Mexico.

7. Washington

Ty Willingham would rather be playing New Mexico.  The last time these two teams played in Norman, UW made a game out of it.

8. Stanford

The Tree came down to earth at ASU.  This week they go on the road to get beaten on by a good TCU team.

9. Oregon State

The Beavers try to get in the win column as Hawaii visits Corvallis.  Expect the Beavers to take out their frustrations on the Warriors.

10. Washington State

You would expect to circle Baylor as a win, but last week's beating makes this one a toss-up.