Polk makes history, but loss still stings

Stanford, Calif. – Chris Polk just shrugged his shoulders. His place in Huskies history meant little after a 65-21 loss to No. 7 Stanford.

He was bruised, he was beaten, but he battled.

The junior running back rushed for 144 yards on 15 carries. It was his 17th career game with more than 100 yards rushing, tying him for the most in Huskies history along with Napoleon Kaufman. The 144 yards moved Polk up to 872 yards for the season and 3,437 for his career. Kaufman holds the career record with 4,106.

“Individual records don’t really mean too much to me,” Polk said. “I’m focused on taking my team to the next level and going to a bowl game. If I don’t have my teammates blocking for me, I don’t have any of those records.”

Stanford came into the game with the top rated defense against the run, allowing fewer than 60 yards per game. Polk bested that average on one run when he broke two tackles, picked up blocks from Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Kevin Smith to go 61 yards for his second touchdown of the game.

His first touchdown was a 46-yard burst in the first quarter that stunned the sellout Stanford crowd.

“It felt like we had some momentum,” Polk said.

Polk’s second touchdown cut the lead to 17-14.

But when Stanford answered with a 70-yard run from Stepfan Taylor and two more scores without the Huskies answering back, the momentum was crushed.

“I guess we just lost our edge,” Polk said.

Washington looked out of sorts on two three-and-outs to start the third quarter.

But it was also the weight of knowing that they probably needed to score on every possession to stay with the Cardinal.

“We got a little frustrated,” Polk said. “We were getting stopped and they were scoring. We felt like we had to do something, like we had to make plays. People started trying to do too much instead of doing their job.”

PICK PROVES COSTLY

Washington quarterback Keith Price hasn’t made many mistakes this season. Coming into the game, he’d thrown just four interceptions with 21 touchdowns.

But his fifth interception of the season was costly. With the Huskies just trying to stay close in the game and down 31-14 in the second quarter, Michael Thomas stepped in front of a Price pass intended for Jermaine Kearse and sprinted 62 yards for a touchdown.

“I left a guy wide open,” Price said.

Receiver Devin Aguilar ran a slant and was open over the middle.

“I should have hit Devin,” Price said. “They got rewarded for it.”

It was the second time Price had an interception returned for a touchdown this season.

Price also threw one touchdown in the game, and finished with 247 yards on 23-of-36 accuracy.

Stanford made a point to put pressure on Price. They sacked him twice and hit him countless times. Stanford was even flagged for a roughing the passer call as well.

“They were bringing a lot of pressures,” Price said. “I took some shots, but I will be ready to play next week.”

DROPS DON’T HELP

Washington has had its share of dropped passes in the past. But a few really proved costly for the Huskies.

Jermaine Kearse had two drops, including one in the end zone. He also had a slightly tipped pass fall through his hands on a key third down early in the game.

But the most costly drop came in the first quarter when Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck had a rare poor throw. The ball went over receiver Griff Whalen’s head and Huskies cornerback Desmond Trufant was there to make a leaping interception. But the ball bounced off his hands and out of bounds.

“Great corners make that play,” Trufant said. “I just have to go up with confidence and get the ball. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it. I have to learn from it.”

EXTRA POINTS

Freshman tight end Evan Hudson had his first career catch – and it was for a touchdown. The Bothell grad caught a 2-yard pass from Price in the fourth quarter. … Back-up quarterback Nick Montana played in the second game in a row, this time with the Huskies well behind on the scoreboard. Montana completed a nice pass to Kasen Williams, but also tossed an interception. …Freshman defensive tackle Danny Shelton saw his most significant playing time of the season, playing much of the third and fourth quarters. He recorded one tackle.

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com

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