Huskies Crush Stanford in Seattle
By Ben Renner
The Washington Huskies crushed Stanford 44-6 in Husky Stadium last night to establish a new Pac-12 North hegemony.
The Washington Huskies are for real. For the first time since 2000, the Dawgs are the favorite to win the Pac-12/10–conference. We knew they would have to turn back the clocks multiple times this season to challenge the status quo of what has become the Pac-12 North Division.
After last night’s 44-6 flogging of the defending Pac-12 champions at Husky Stadium, the Huskies will likely head to the top five of the AP Top-25 rankings and a step further to redesigning the Pac-12 North in 2016.
Perhaps the scariest part of the Stanford game was the Huskies’ offensive line. Starting two sophomore tackles, they obliterated the supposedly strong Cardinal front. Huskies quarterback Jake Browning completed 15 of 21 passes for three touchdowns. He was able to escape pressure with smart footwork in the pocket at times, but for the most part, the Cardinal pass rush couldn’t sniff him, much less touch him.
Washington Huskies
The Palo Alto Trees* didn’t get a tackle for loss until 5:45 remained in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Washington’s defense, led by linebacker Psalm Wooching, raided the Stanford backfield with ease, finishing with eight sacks. Wooching had three.
Stanford running back and West Coast Heisman Hopeful Christian McCaffrey (who has to fight against the sun and his games appearing on TV late on the East Coast) gained 49 yards on 12 carries. His 223 all-purpose yards were mostly harmless.
Washington won as a top-ten team for the first time since 1992, but there are still more hills to climb to claim the Pac-12 crown. Next week, Washington travels to Eugene to face Oregon, a team they haven’t beaten since 2003, in the Keith Gilbertson era (shudder). If they want to continue their march to regional and national prominence, they’ll have to keep beating opponents that have owned them in recent years. They’ll have to exorcise some more demons in Auzten Stadium next week against the Ducks.
Next: All Zach Norvell Jr. Needs is a Shot at Gonzaga
*I got tired of writing “Cardinal”.