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Player of the Game: Keith Price. He is, plain and simple, a warrior. It's hard to imagine how he could have played much better. His stats were fantastic despite being hounded all day by Stanford's front seven, guys dropping a bunch of passes, and being knocked around by some dirty hits. You couldn't ask for a better face for the program than this young man.
Goat of the Game: Johnny Nansen. The Husky special teams, particularly their coverage units, were atrocious. If the Huskies could have adequately kicked off and then covered those kickoffs, they would have blown out the Cardinal. The Huskies were better in every facet of the game except for special teams. It's not a talent issue: the Huskies have as much talent across the board as anybody in the conference. So it has to fall on the man who is coordinating those units. Does Nansen need to go? I'm leaning that way. It seems like he doesn't bring much to the table on game days, as whatever unit he coaches seems to be unprepared. If he's being kept on for his recruiting prowess, well, the Huskies have enough dynamic recruiters to say goodbye.
Who Stepped Up: Kasen Williams. In case you've forgotten about him due to him being a bit quiet on the year so far, he reminded us just how good he is. When it came down to it, he was simply too big, too strong, and too talented for Stanford's secondary to keep strides with. It seemed like it didn't matter where Price threw the ball, so long as it was within arms reach of Kasen, he was bringing it in. It makes you wonder why they don't get him involved in the game from snap 1...
The Game Tipped When: It never really did. It was a game that went down to the wire, and a single bounce of the ball could have -- and did -- determine the outcome. There was never a point when you thought, OK, this one's going to Stanford. It seemed like that moment was when Price's pass was intercepted in the fourth quarter, but the Huskies showed resiliency and proved that to be untrue.
It Was Over When: On review, the officials found conclusive evidence that Kevin Smith had dropped a fourth down pass from Price. My problem with this play is this: the play was ruled a catch. The play happened really fast. There were no real good replays or angles of it. It looked like the ball might have hit the ground. I think the ball did hit the ground. But I am not 100% sure of that, nor can the officials be, and there was no DEFINITIVE proof that it did hit the ground. So, by rule, the play should have stood. That's the way the rule is written.
Surprise of the Game: I can't get over to degree to which UW shut down Kevin Hogan. He finished just 12/20 for a paltry 100 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Is this the best pass defense in the country? You be the judge, here are the stats for QB's playing against it: 78/159 (49%) for 667 yards (4.2 YPA) (133.4 YPG) with 2 TDs and 7 INTs.
WTF Moment of the Game: Darrell Daniels was called for unnecessary roughness on a punt return. Darrell Daniels blocked a guy who was about to make a tackle on a punt return. Granted, Daniels knocked him out of his shoes, but he made a textbook play. He didn't hit him from behind, or launch himself, or lead with the crown of his helmet, or even hit him helmet to helmet. I don't know what he's expected to do on that play other than just immediately run to the sideline on the snap of the ball. A pathetic call by the Pac-12 refs.