STANFORD, Calif. -- Washington challenged the surging Stanford offense in the Cardinal's 31-14 win this past weekend. The Huskies, who were ranked atop the Pac-12 defensive pecking order coming in, were able to choke off some of the explosiveness that Stanford had showed in a four-game muscle-flexing leading up to Saturday night. David Shaw's team had averaged 48.5 points in that stretch, and they finished with 17 fewer against Washington.
Yet the Cardinal's offensive performance against the Huskies may have been the most significant one yet, simply because the challenge was greater, and the requirement to conquer it demanded that Stanford return to its deliberate, road-grading roots -- as opposed to the explosive fireworks display of the past month.