After Azeem Victor committed a dumb 15-yard facemask penalty on the game’s first play, Washington’s defense stiffened and quickly forced a Cardinal punt. From there, Jake Browning and the Husky offense got to work on a seven-play, 64-yard drive that culminated with a clutch three-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis on third and goal. A missed PAT gave Washington a 6-0 lead with 9:18 left to play in the first quarter.
Stanford’s next drive last just five plays before Jake Bailey shanked a 19-yard punt that gave Washington possession at their own 45-yard line. Five plays later, Myles Gaskin found paydirt to give the Huskies a 13-0 lead.
Stanford’s next series found starting quarterback Ryan Burns on the sideline, as Keller Chryst took over in an effort to provide a spark to the struggling Cardinal offense. And while the Cardinal found some modest success in moving the ball on their third drive, their biggest assist came in the form of dumb Washington penalties.
Washington finishes the first quarter with more personal foul penalty yardage (45) than Stanford offensive yardage (37).
— David Lombardi (@LombardiESPN) October 1, 2016
The first play of the second quarter was also Stanford’s first on Washington’s side of the 50-yard line, but the deafening environment of Husky Stadium led to an utter disaster of a Stanford fourth-down conversion coming after a timeout.
— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) October 1, 2016
The Huskies’ ensuing drive took them all the way to the Stanford 1-yard line, but the Dawgs were unable to punch it into the end zone and settled for a short Cam Van Winkle field goal and a 16-0 lead with 8:52 left to play in the second quarter.
Stanford’s fourth possession of the game fared no better for the Cardinal, as the offense went three-and-out after losing four yards thanks to a Joe Mathis sack and a delay of game penalty on consecutive downs. The Huskies wasted no time in capitalizing by driving 70 yards in five plays, with Browning connecting with John Ross on a 19-yard touchdown pass for a 23-0 Huskies lead.
Desperate to create some momentum before halftime, the Cardinal found some success with Ryan Burns throwing the ball, but a critical third-and-two became third-and-seven when the Husky faithful brought the noise and caused a delay of game penalty against Stanford. However, Burns stood tall and beat the Husky blitz to connect with Trent Irwin for a 24-yard gain and a Stanford first down at the Washington 31. However, Psalm Wooching and Greg Gaines reared their heads by sacking Burns on consecutive plays, and Stanford’s punt coincided with the end of the half. As the two teams headed into the locker room, Washington took a dominating 23-0 lead over the No. 7 team in the country will all of the momentum in the world at their backs.
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