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Posted at 2:45 PM EST

10:30 PM EST. As the Pac 12 continues to eat itself, all hopes of the conference returning to the College Football Playoff rests on the shoulders of its defending champion, the Washington Huskies. Given the fact UW stomped out Stanford in the last meeting between the two in Seattle in 2016, a recency bias is in play here too. The game wasn’t close at all, as the Huskies rolled the Cardinal 44-6. Add in the fact that UW sits ranked at #9 in the College Football Playoff rankings and its market appeal is even greater. You will now pay a premium to get behind the Huskies here, which is something we will continue to warn you about.

While Washington owns the most recent win in this conference series and a more attractive record compared to Stanford, strength of schedule has to be taken into consideration. When looking at non-conference schedules between the two combatants, the tale of the tape is startling. Stanford’s owns the second toughest non-conference strength of schedule in the Pac 12 compared to the Huskies, who sit dead last. One of the Cardinal’s losses was at San Diego State, a team that was at one point favored to represent the Group of Five in a New Year’s Six Bowl Game. Washington opened its season against a Rutgers team that failed to win a B1G conference game in 2016 and followed that up with a tune-up match against an FCS opponent when they hosted Montana. In the week thereafter, UW would pick away at Fresno State, a team that lost outright, as a 22-point home favorite two weeks ago when UNLV was without its starting quarterback.

When “going south” this season, Washington was spared a trip to the Coliseum to face off with the Men of Troy. Stanford wasn’t so fortunate. The Cardinal had to venture to the City of Angels when the Trojans were undefeated and sitting in the top-six in the polls. Instead, the Huskies drew Arizona State and as a 17½-point favorite, UW ended up losing outright (13-7) in Tempe. Stanford was also tasked with taking on an ever-formidable Utah on the road; Washington was given an easier out at home against UCLA. This contest will serve as a litmus test in differentiating teams that play quality opponents as opposed to those that feast on cupcakes. Stanford is the more battle-tested of the two, which figures to play the biggest role in the outcome of this affair if the ball bounces equally. Give us the host outright.

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