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.