The upset earned Washington a No. 24 ranking. The following weekend, Washington traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., and was beaten handily by Stanford, 34-14.
So this week, Washington finds itself back in the Top 25, at No. 22, after the long absence.
And where do they play?
Of course, they travel to Palo Alto to face a Stanford squad that is ranked No. 7 and led by perhaps the best player in college football, quarterback Andrew Luck.
“It’s going to be a great challenge for us,” Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian said.
Challenge might be putting it mildly because in the past two years against the Cardinal, Washington was overwhelmed and overmatched.
If the loss two years ago was humbling, last year’s 41-0 loss at Husky Stadium was humiliating.
Stanford physically beat up Washington, dominating the line of scrimmage and time of possession.
Painful as it might have been, Sarkisian spent part of Monday taking another look at that game.
“To see our style of play and the way we played them was very disappointing,” he said. “I watched it first thing this morning – our game last year – and the same feelings I felt after the game last year kind of came back again this morning. I didn’t dwell on it too long. We didn’t play well in any phase of the ballgame. We weren’t physical. We didn’t execute. Our efficiency in the pass game was poor. All of that is on me.”
Washington managed 107 yards of total offense – 19 rushing, 88 passing – and seven first downs.
“I don’t know if we just couldn’t do anything right, or they did everything well,” quarterback Keith Price said. “But we got smashed.”
It was the first time Washington had been shut out at home since 1976.
“That’s extremely frustrating as an offense,” receiver James Johnson said. “For our defense, they pretty much did what they wanted offensively.”
The Cardinal didn’t even need an exceptional performance from Luck, who threw for 192 yards and a touchdown and ran for 92 yards and another score. Stanford rushed for 278 yards, including 106 yards and two touchdowns by Stepfan Taylor.
With Stanford returning the majority of players from last year’s team, the Huskies say they’re better now.
“We’re a completely different football team this year,” said free safety Justin Glenn. “I think we have a lot more confidence this year.”
While the mentality has changed, the memory remains.
“It left a bad taste,” Glenn said. “There’s some redemption involved with it.”
Even if the coaches don’t make it a point to mention the embarrassment of the past two losses to Stanford, the players plan to do it.
“It’s extremely motivating, we are going to prepare like every week,” Johnson said. “But we have great leaders on this team, and they are going to make that be known, no one has forgotten about what happened last year.”
RANKING REACTION
Sarkisian avoided talking about his team being ranked when it wasn’t. And he continued to speak in nebulous terms after the Huskies are ranked in both major polls, the AP (No. 22) and the coaches’ (No. 24).
“Our perception’s changing, I guess, of who we are,” he said. “People are ranking us higher, so they must think we’re better than what they thought of us a week ago. Our perception of ourselves hasn’t changed; it’s the perception of what other people think of us has changed. Our perception is where we are. We came into the Top 25, and that doesn’t have to be the reality if we don’t want it to be.”
But Sarkisian’s quarterback had no problem talking about it.
“I think we earned it,” Price said. “We had a downfall against Nebraska, but we bounced back. I think we deserve it.”
GAME TIME UPDATE
The bulk of the games at Husky Stadium this season have been afternoon starts. But that will change for the next home game against the Arizona Wildcats, on Oct. 29.
UW announced that kickoff will be 7:30 p.m. to accommodate a television broadcast.
The game will air on the Fox Sports Network nationally, and on Root Sports locally.
Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
HUSKIES’ OPPONENT THIS WEEK
NO. 7 STANFORD (6-0 OVERALL, 4-0 PAC-12)
5 p.m. Saturday, Stanford Stadium; TV: Ch. 4; Radio: 950-AM
Coach: David Shaw (6-0 in his first season)
Against the Huskies: Washington leads this series that dates to 1893, 40-37-4. Since 1977, Stanford is 7-21 against the Huskies. However, Stanford has won three in a row and five of the past six.
State connections: Stanford defensive line coach Randy Hart spent 21 years (1988-2008) as a UW assistant. Washington wide receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty worked with Shaw on Jim Harbaugh’s staff at the University of San Diego. ... Former Cardinal starting quarterback Tavita Pritchard, a graduate of Clover Park High, is in his first season as a defensive assistant coach. ... The Cardinal roster features three players from the state: senior OL David DeCastro (Bellevue), freshman DE Charlie Hopkins (Gonzaga Prep) and junior FB Geoff Meinken (Lynnwood).
Scouting report: The Cardinal has a 14-game winning streak, including a 41-0 defeat of Washington last season at Husky Stadium. Led by Heisman Trophy favorite and likely No. 1 NFL draft pick Andrew Luck at QB, Stanford dreams of a Pac-12 title and a BCS bowl. Luck, who spurned NFL riches to return for his junior season, has been as good as expected. He’s completing 71.3 percent (129-of-181) of his passes for 1,719 yards and 18 touchdowns with three interceptions. The Cardinal leads the conference in total defense, allowing 294.8 yards a game, and rushing defense at 59.5 yards per game – despite losing all-conference linebacker Shayne Skov for the season to a knee injury.
Did you know? Stanford has outscored opponents this season in the first quarter, 50-0, and in the third quarter, 78-6.
Statistical leaders
PassingAttCompPct.YardsTDsINT
Andrew Luck18112971.31719183
RushingAttYardsAvg.TD
Stepfan Taylor1015715.55
Tyler Gaffney261375.24s
ReceivingRecYardsAvg.TD
Chris Owusu2530912.42
Zach Ertz2027913.93
Griff Whalen2026913.41
Coby Fleener1638323.96
PuntingPuntsAvgBlk
David Green1541.10
Field goalsAttMadeLg
Jordan Williamson9845
2011 schedule
Sept. 3def. San Jose State, 57-3Sept. 10def Duke, 44-14
Sept. 17def. Arizona, 37-10* Oct. 1def. UCLA, 45-19*
Oct. 8def. Colorado, 48-7*Oct. 15def. Washington St., 44-14*
SaturdayWashington*Oct. 29at USC*
Nov. 5at Oregon State *Nov. 12Oregon*
Nov. 19California* Nov. 26Notre Dame
Home games bold*-Conference games
Ryan Divish, staff writer
