The 18th-ranked Washington Huskies opened conference play with a 40-22 victory over the Stanford Cardinal.  Here are 10 statistical storylines from Saturday’s contest.

10.  It took a minute and ten seconds to put Stanford QB Tanner McKee on the ground.  On 3rd and 8 on their own 25 yard line the Washington pass rush collapsed the pocket and Bralen Trice dropped the Cardinal QB for a 5 yard loss.  It was the first of 10 tackles for loss by the Washington defense.

9.  Two of Washington longest scoring drives were capped off with Peyton Henry field goals.  On the second drive of the game, coming on an interception by linebacker, Cam Bright the Huskies put together their longest drive covering 69 yards on 13 plays.  The other drive was a 46-yard drive in 9 plays.  Until the final score by the Cardinal, Henry had outscored Stanford all by himself, 16-15.

8.  A week after finishing with a career-high 153 receiving yards, Ja’Lynn Polk didn’t have a reception until the start of the 4th quarter.  On the other hand, Rome Odunze caught 8 passes for 161.  He became the 4th Washington receiver to cross the century mark this season.  Giles Jackson and Jalen McMillan are the other two.

7.  In each of its first four games the Huskies have held a lead going into the locker room at intermission.  On the season the Michael Penix-led offense has scored 176 points.  For the 4th time in four games the Indiana-transfer threw for over 300 yards.  He found six different receivers including connecting with tight end Jack Westover on all 3 pass attempts to him for thirty yards.  In four games he has matched his output in seven games last season.

6.  Federal Way linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala had his best game as a Husky with 6 tackles.  While his eight tackles against Kent State earlier this season are his career-high in tackles it was his two sacks where he made his biggest impact on the game.  His second one of the night, early in the 2nd quarter on 3rd and 6 snuffed out a promising drive by the Cardinal in Washington territory.

5.  Washington linebacker, Carson Bruener, started five games last season, finishing with 54 tackles, earning a 2022 Preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention.  After the Huskies brought in two transfers in Cam Bright and Kris Moll, the son of former Husky tight end Mark Bruener, took a back seat.  He has made the most of his opportunities with finishing tied for 4th on the team with 5 tackles.  Three of his five stops came on special teams.

4.  It took four games for Kalen DeBoer to equal Jimmy Lake‘s win total from 2021.

3.  The Huskies won the turnover battle 3-0 forcing two fumbles and an interception.  On the other side of the coin, all three of Stanford’s scoring drives were of 75 yards or more, including the final drive that was 4 plays covering 92 yards.  The Huskies didn’t have a scoring drive longer than 70 yards which is not surprising with the three takeaways and a turnover on downs giving the UW an average starting field position of their own 32 yard line.

2.  Twice against Michigan State the Huskies had drives end inside the MSU 2 yard line.  Against Stanford the Huskies made five trips into the red zone, scoring on all five.  However, the Huskies punted twice in the first half, the first time that they have had drives end in punts this season.

1.  The Huskies won the turnover battle with 2 fumble recoveries and an pass interception by Cam Bright.  On the season the Huskies have given the ball away just twice with one fumble and one interception, giving them a +5 in the turnover margin.  Entering the weekend they were tied for 35th in the country in that category.