No. 5 Stanford (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) vs. No. 15 Washington (4-0, 1-0)

Sam Fisher: Stanford 38, Washington 20: Just like the Arizona State game two weeks ago, this is the type of game that Stanford seems to always win, and win convincingly. Washington is a better team than Arizona State, however. Quarterback Keith Price leads a potent Huskies offense and Justin Wilcox has completely turned around the Washington defense. This team is good enough to beat Stanford, if the Cardinal slips up. I don’t see that happening. With the exception of a weird fourth quarter against ASU, Stanford has been almost perfect for the past two games. I think that continues, and Stanford rides that to a sizable lead. Once the Cardinal is ahead, it’ll be tough for anyone to come back due to the ferocious pass rush. Stanford pulls away steadily to win easily and send another message nationally, to those who are still awake to notice.

 George Chen: Stanford 31,Washington 21: It’s simple: Stanford will win this game if the team plays like it did against Washington State. Yes, quarterback Keith Price is playing the best football of his life right now, but the Cardinal defense has shown in the last two games that it can shut down — not just slow down — any offense as long as it applies enough pressure on the quarterback. Bishop Sankey is also a beast, but I truly believe that this year’s front seven is even better than last year’s unit, which, if you recall, found a way to contain three Doak Walker finalists. I expect Kevin Hogan and company to get off to a hot start with a good mix of tunnel screens to Ty Montgomery and the power running game. The score might be close at halftime, but Stanford will show its mettle in the fourth quarter and put the Huskies away. Sidenote: Ed Reynolds is due for a pick six.

Michael Peterson: Stanford 30, Washington 17: Is there a team in the nation more at the top of its game right now than Stanford? Back-to-back convincing wins have shown not only the continued dominance of the ground game but a real development in the passing game and especially in Kevin Hogan, who threw for a career high 286 yards last Saturday. And let’s not forget about a defense that scored 2 touchdowns and allowed only 3 points until the fourth quarter when the game was essentially over. However, Washington is the most balanced team Stanford has faced all season with one of the nation’s leading rushers, Bishop Sankey, an experienced and dynamic quarterback in Keith Price, and the nation’s No. 4 defense in terms of points allowed. Expect Stanford to be up by a touchdown early as its now-threatening passing game opens up avenues for the run. Washington will hang around until being put away late in the fourth quarter for another Stanford victory.