Keith Price Named Davey O’Brien Semifinalist Along With Three Other Pac-12 Quarterbacks

Washington Huskies quarterback Keith Price has been named a semifinalist for the 2011 Davey O'Brien Award. The award is given to the best college quarterback each year, and the field consists of 16 signal-callers across the land right now.

Here's a list of all 16 semifinalists:

• Matt Barkley, USC
• Tajh Boyd, Clemson
• Kirk Cousins, Michigan State
• Seth Doege, Texas Tech
• Robert Griffin III, Baylor
• Landry Jones, Oklahoma
• Case Keenum, Houston
• Andrew Luck, Stanford
• Kellen Moore, Boise State
• Keith Price, Washington
• Denard Robinson, Michigan
• Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M
• Darron Thomas, Oregon
• Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
• Rusell Wilson, Wisconsin
• Tyler Wilson, Arkansas

Price is one of four Pac-12 quarterbacks in the mix along with USC's Matt Barkley, Stanford's Andrew Luck and Oregon's Darron Thomas. Price is one of only two sophomores on the list along with Clemson's Tajh Boyd.

If history holds this year, the winner of this year's Davey O'Brien Award could go on to become a starting quarterback at the next level. The past four winners (Tim Tebow in 2007, Sam Bradford in 2008, Colt McCoy in 2009 and Cam Newton in 2010) are all starting quarterbacks in the NFL right now.

Fans can vote for the nation's top quarterback here from now until Nov. 20^th at noon CT. Three players will advance to become finalists, and the winner will be determined on Feb. 20^th during the 35^th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner in Forth Worth, Texas.

Fire Nick Holt? Examining Washington's Struggles On Defense

Fans are getting into the habit of calling for the firing of Husky defensive coordinator Nick Holt after poor showings by Washington's defense. Is this criticism fair? Here's an analysis on the team's defensive struggles this season.

Stanford Runs Over Washington, Cruises To 65-21 Victory

Any talk of a Washington Huskies (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) upset over the Stanford Cardinal (7-0, 5-0) was quickly put to rest when senior safety Michael Thomas intercepted a Keith Price pass and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown. With less than a minute to go in the first half, Thomas' pick six put the Cardinal up 38-14 and gave his team a four-possession lead effectively insuring a victory for Stanford. Stanford didn't look back in the second half and cruised to a 65-21 victory at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. 

Stanford's rushing offense gained a total of 446 yards and scored 5 touchdowns. Stanford running backs Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney, Jeremy Stewart and Anthony Wlikerson all scored rushing touchdowns for the Cardinal. 

Washington's defense simply couldn't stop Andrew Luck and company. The Huskies failed to force any turnovers and surrendered 615 total yards.

After two touchdowns by Huskies Running back Chris Polk  it looked like the Huskies could keep up with the Cardinal early in the first half and possibly turn the game into a shootout. Polk broke out for touchdown runs of 46 and 61 yards en route to 144 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Stanford's offense responded to both of Polk's scores with touchdowns and their defense finished the half with Thomas' pick six.

The second half ended up being uglier for the Huskies with the Cardinal scoring five touchdowns, and holding Washington to one touchdown. 

Huskies quarterback Keith Price failed to throw three touchdown passes for the first time of the season. Washington's offensive line struggled to provide adequate pass protection for Price, while Husky receivers struggled to get open against a stout Stanford defense.

Price finished the game with 24-for-36 with 252 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. 

As a result of Stanford's success running the ball, Luck did not have to do much work offensively. The Heisman candidate was only 16-for-22 with 169 yards passing and two touchdowns. 

Stanford will take its unbeaten record to USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum while Washington returns home to Seattle to take on Arizona. 

Washington's First Half In Photo Form

Most Washington Huskies fans watching the game at home resigned to the fact that this game was headed towards a blowout once quarterback Keith Price threw an interception to Stanford's Michael Thomas that put the Cardinal up 38-14. This pick six gave the Cardinal a four possession lead and complete control of this critical Pac-12 game.

The ESPN cameras found one miserable Husky fan's reaction right after the pick six took place:

(via 30fps.mocksession.com)

This could be a very long day for Husky fans if their team is unable to put up a fight in the second half. Optimism around this team has been high after a 5-1 start to the season, so seeing an image like this has been uncommon. This game will serve as a wake-up call to fans. It looks like Washington still has a lot to work to do before they can declare themselves a contender in the Pac-12 conference. 

Washington Vs. Stanford Score Update: Cardinal Lead 38-14 At The Half

The Stanford Cardinal lead the Washington Huskies 38-14 after the first half. Washington's defense struggled the entire half in finding a way to stop the Cardinal's offense.

Andrew Luck has been flawless thus far, completing 11 of 13 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns. However, Stanford's run game and Washington's inability to stop it has been the story of the game. The Cardinal accumulated 247 total rushing yards in the first half with Stepfan Taylor racking up 130 yards on eight carries.

Washington's lone bright spot has been Chris Polk. The junior running back broke two big touchdown runs in the first half for the Huskies. In the first quarter Polk broke out for a 46-yard run for the Huskies first touchdown of the game. Later, in the second quarter, Polk put on the burners once again, this time going for a 61-yard touchdown run. This run kept the Huskies in the game, with the team only trailing 17-14 a little into the second quarter.

The Cardinal quickly put up 21 unanswered points to finish the second quarter including a pick six by Stanford's Michael Thomas giving Stanford a 38-14 into the half.

Washington Vs. Stanford Score Update: Huskies Down 24-14 Early On In The Second Quarter

Stanford started the second quarter capping off a eight play 80 yard drive with a pass from Andrew Luck to tight end Griff Whalen in the end zone, giving the Cardinal a 17-7 lead.

It did not take long for the Washington Huskies to answer. The first play of the drive was a 8-yard run by Chris Polk. The second play of the drive was a 61-yard touchdown run by Chris Polk. Polk already has racked up 116 yards and two touchdowns in the first half of the game.

Stanford's Stefan Taylor refused to be outdone, and bursted out for a 70 yard run, extending the Cardinal lead to 24-14.

The Cardinal already have 283 yards of offense only a couple of minutes into the second quarter. 

If the Huskies are going to win this game, they'll have to find a way to somehow stop the Cardinal offense.

Andrew Luck has passed for 85 yards and is 8/10.

Washington Vs. Stanford Score Update: Cardinal Lead 10-7 Halfway Through First Quarter

The Stanford Cardinal wasted no time to get their offensive machine going against the Washington Huskies defense. On their first play from scrimmage, senior wide receiver Chris Owusu took a reverse pitch for 45 yards into Washington territory. A pair of runs by junior Stefan Taylor and a pair of passes by senior quarterback Andrew Luck set up a two yard touchdown run by senior running back Jeremy Stewart.

After the Huskies weren't able to get their offense going in their first drive, Stanford drove the field again, this time finishing their drive off with a 39-yard field goal by Jordan Williamson. 

Washington got its offense moving after only gaining eight yards on its first drive. Sophomore quarterback Keith Price completed four of his five passes, including two important third down conversion passes to senior wide receiver Devin Aguilar. The drive was capped off by a 46-yard run by senior running back Chris Polk. It is a good sign for the Huskies if they can establish its run game against the No. 2 best run defense in the country.

Stanford leads 10-7 after one quarter of play. 

Washington vs. Stanford: Kickoff Time, TV Coverage, Online Stream And Radio

For the second week in a row, all eyes will be on a primetime Pac-12 showdown. Last week it was Oregon and Arizona State, this week it's the Washington Huskies and Stanford Cardinal.

The Huskies enter at 5-1 and a perfect 3-0 record in conference play, though they are heavy 21-point underdogs. For the Cardinal, they are 6-0 on the season and are yet to be challenged this season. They feature one of the most efficient offenses in the country and the defense has surpassed all expectations at this point in the season.

Fans should be in for a terrific game on Saturday evening. Here is all of the game day coverage you need to get ready for the showdown:

Kickoff Time: 8:00 EDT / 5:00 PDT

Weather Report: It will be absolutely beautiful in Palo Alto for the game. Expect sunny skies, a cool breeze and temperatures in the mid-70's at kickoff.

TV Coverage: ESPN and ABC will broadcast the game. Check local listings for which station will carry the game in your neck of the woods.

Online Stream: ESPN3.com will be streaming the game live.

Radio: The Washington ISP Sports Network, with its flagship station KJR 950-AM, will carry the live broadcast.

For more on the Huskies, check out UW Dawg Pound. For Stanford coverage, Rule of Tree is the place to go.

Washington vs. Stanford: Keith Price Must Be Prolific To Keep Up With Andrew Luck

It’s shaping up to be a good one at Stanford Stadium this Saturday as the Washington Huskies are out to prove they can keep up with the high powered offense of the Stanford Cardinal, while the Huskies D has to figure out how to keep Heisman hopefully Andrew Luck from taking over the game. Sark’s boys are ranked 22 in the AP Poll, their highest since 2003, and will have to play their tails off if they want to stay in the top 25.

SB Nation’s Bill Connelly broke down some offensive aspects of the game, pointing out UW’s balance on offense and charitable nature of QB Keith Price:

Washington generally strives for balance on standard downs. They run 62 percent of the time on such downs, right around the national average of 60 percent…the Cardinal rank 10th in Adj. Line Yards and first in Adj. Sack Rate and may possess the best defensive line in college football. The best way to keep a strong line off-balance is by mixing in quite a bit of quick passing

The run game is likely going to struggle, but since quick passes luckily are a large part of Keith Price’s game, that might be their best shot at getting points on the board against Stanford. Price loves to spread the wealth equally amongst Jermaine Kearse, James Johnson, Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Devin Aguilar, all of which have 15-20 targets apiece. Price is going to have to be hitting these guys a lot, especially in the end zone if the Huskies wan’t to keep up, because Luck shows no signs of slowing down.

Washington vs. Stanford: Huskies Planning Similar Offensive Attack Against Cardinal

When a team faces one of the best teams in the nation, changes are typically made to the game plan with hopes to exploit the opposition's weaknesses. For the Washington Huskies and head coach Steve Sarkisian, the obvious solution would be to change up the play calling on offense to keep Andrew Luck and Stanford's offense off the field. 

Many teams have tried this in 2011 and they have all failed, seeing as the Cardinal are yet to lose a game this season. Will Washington try a similar method on Saturday as they head to Palo Alto? Coach Sarkisian is not so sure at this point, as he explained during his radio show earlier this week:

Sarkisian said he hasn't necessarily decided to try to slow it down to keep Luck off the field. "The first goal is we need to score against these guys,'' he said, noting UW has scored just 14 points (and only one offensive touchdown) against Stanford the last two years. He said "then it becomes what's the best chance to win as well as score.'' He said if the best way to score and win is to play at a fast pace then that may be what the Huskies would decide to do.

As is the case with every game, Washington needs to get out to a fast start and avoid any early deficits that could limit their play calling the rest of the game. With Stanford's ability to score points in a hurry, it seems foolish to try to limit their time of possession.

The Huskies should play their style of football and adjust as the game goes along; any major changes to a team's philosophies for a single game typically do not work well and that will likely be the case this Saturday. For UW, do what has brought them so much success throughout the season.

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For more on the Huskies, check out UW Dawg Pound.

Washington vs. Stanford Odds: Andrew Luck, Cardinal Enter As Heavy Favorites

Despite a record of 5-1 thus far, the Washington Huskies are three-touchdown underdogs this week.