No. 10 Huskies had extra motivation to take down No. 7 Stanford
Sep 30, 2016, 11:25 PM
It’s common to the point of cliché for football players and coaches to shake off a big win and say that they’re always playing one game at a time.
When it came to No. 10 Washington’s statement-making 44-6 win over No. 7 Stanford, Huskies linebacker Joe Mathis didn’t mind breaking the mold.
“We have had this game circled since spring time,” said Mathis, who had two sacks and four tackles in the victory. “They beat us so bad last year. We wanted them so bad. … We finally got them and we kept our foot on and kept going.”
It’s the truth, on both counts.
Considering how much the Huskies dominated the Cardinal on Friday night, it’s pretty easy to believe there was some extra motivation behind their performance. Last season’s 31-14 loss at Stanford could be considered exactly that.
In that game, Christian McCaffrey had 300 all-purpose yards, rushed for a touchdown and caught another one in just another stellar game in the middle of what turned out to be a Heisman Trophy runner-up season. When the Cardinal came to Montlake on Friday night, the Huskies made sure he didn’t do anything close to resembling his 2015 showing.
McCaffrey was limited to 49 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving and kept completely out of the end zone this time around as Washington flexed its muscles and made a case to be considered one of the top defensive teams in the country.
The Huskies made that case in front of the nation, as well, as the game was broadcast in prime time on ESPN. It won’t be the last time this season that 5-0 UW will be thrust into the spotlight this year, either, but that didn’t make the experience any less special for the Dawgs.
“We knew it was on ESPN and Stanford have been the bullies for a really long time so we knew it was going to be a great game,” safety Budda Baker said.
The fact that Stanford was the team Washington beat in such a monumental, high-profile win certainly seems to have extra meaning for UW coach Chris Petersen, too.
“I think it is a really good win, no question,” Petersen said. “This is a good team and a good program. I think if you can beat Stanford, you are feeling good about yourself.”
As good as the Huskies feel now, though, they just might be feeling even better when their victory over the seventh team in the country factors into the national polls on Sunday.
