Washington Football: Huskies serve notice to Pac-12 in rout of Stanford
The Washington football program made everyone in the Pac-12 aware that they were more than just a sexy pick, and that they would have to be dealt with this year.
This was the game Washington football fans had been waiting for. A top 10 matchup against a Pac-12 foe at home. A game that could mark the emergence of the Huskies from the shadows of teams like Stanford.
The No. 10 Washington Huskies didn’t disappoint, and now the rest of the Pac-12 is going to have to look toward Seattle when they talk about who to worry about this season after seeing them dismantle the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal.
The Huskies were the college football version of Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh, standing tall on the mound wanting to announce their presence with authority…and announce it they did…with the authority of a 99 mph fastball under the chin.
From the opening plays of the game, the Washington Huskies did what most teams aren’t able to – they were more physical and dominating against Stanford on both sides of the line. Even Heisman favorite Christian McCaffrey found little daylight against the Huskies defense, and Cardinal quarterbacks were sacked a gaudy eight times (the Cardinal had only given up four sacks all season prior to this game).
When your defense holds the best running back in the nation to 49 rushing yards and 30 receiving yards, there some physical work going on at the line of scrimmage.
Washington Huskies
But the thing which stood out most in this signature win for Chris Petersen‘s team was the poise with which sophomore quarterback Jake Browning handled himself against what would normally be considered an imposing defense.
Browning finished the night 15 of 21 for 210 yards and 3 TD passes, while never looking rattled or panicked during the entire game. His passes were accurate, his decisions quick and his rainbow deep passes had the Stanford secondary in panic mode all night.
If you’ve watched much college football over the years, you’d know that Petersen’s stamp is on this team. This looked like vintage Boise State, mixing the run and pass with equal efficiency, keeping the defense on their heels with some unorthodox plays, and being as downright nasty in the trenches as you’ll see.
There’s a long way to go, and plenty of potential potholes to trip up the Huskies before anyone starts crowning them Pac-12 North champions. But everyone could clearly see tonight that Washington wasn’t just a fleeting thought or passing fad.
Washington served notice to the rest of the Pac-12, if you want to play in the conference title game, you’re going to have to beat the Huskies to get there.