Huskies score game-winner in final moments to leave Stanford with win for first time since 2007
The triumphant roars poured out of the visiting locker room and the music blared.
The Washington Huskies, for the first time since 2007, were getting ready to leave Stanford Stadium with a win.
It didn’t happen in 2009, when Stanford built and never lost an early lead against a ranked Huskies team. It certainly didn’t happen in 2011, when the Cardinal posted the most lopsided victory this series has ever seen. In 2013, the Huskies watched their late rally fall short. In 2015, it wasn’t as close. A win didn’t happen in 2017 or 2019 either, when Stanford’s rushing attack handed defeats to ranked UW teams.
It almost didn’t happen Saturday night. But, trailing in the final minutes after leading much of the way, the Huskies rallied to produce the game-winning touchdown and escaped with a 20-13 win, finally snapping this recent string of losses at Stanford.
“It’s just amazing to be a part of this team, breaking this streak,” sixth-year tailback Sean McGrew said. “We’re just hoping to get on … a hot streak right now, and finish the season strong.
“That was an amazing win.”
Stanford swiped the lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Huskies offense got a needed final chance with less than three minutes to play after the defense, which was steady throughout, forced a three-and-out.
Dylan Morris opened the drive with a completion to Jalen McMillan for a first down. Then McGrew charged forward for another. He and tailback Cameron Davis combined to move the chains again. And Morris moved the ball to the edge of the red zone on a keeper to set up a third-and-2 with 26 seconds to play.
Then, he unleashed the game-winner. McMillan darted toward the end zone, Morris ripped a throw to the corner and McMillan pulled in the pass on the run for the winning 20-yard score.
“I love it,” Morris said of the play call. “That’s just the aggressiveness of this team. The offense, defense, the whole team together — we’re aggressive and we want to put up points on the board. That one right there, we had enough time on the clock for Jalen to work a move and put it up for him. If we missed it, Peyton Henry’s probably going to drill the field goal to win the game either way. So, I love the call by the coaches right there. The players don’t flinch. We just hear the call and we’re going to execute it. That’s it.”
Morris finished 17-of-25 passing for 146 yards and the winning touchdown. McMillan led UW with six catches for 84 yards. McGrew added 19 carries for 114 yards, and Davis 18 for 99 yards as the backfield piled up a season-high 229 on the ground. Inside linebacker Carson Bruener’s career-high 15 tackles, sack and forced fumble anchored a defense that held Stanford to 265 yards, and only 71 on the ground.
And the Huskies (4-4) snapped this streak with a second win in as many weeks that now has them back in the mix in the Pac-12 North Division with four regular season games to play.
“We said this was going to be a heavyweight bought,” Huskies coach Jimmy Lake said. “These are two of the titans in the Pac-12 North and we knew it was going to go all the way down to the end. … I’m so proud of our guys for fighting and swinging. I told you guys last week this is a team full of fighters and they’re going to claw and scratch their way all the way to the end. And you saw that again tonight.”
Indeed, it took a late surge for the Huskies to regain a lead they held most of the contest. It seemed, though, until that fourth quarter drive, this trip to Palo Alto was about to end like the past six.
UW had just pushed its lead to two scores in the third quarter, on the fourth of Henry’s four field goals, capping a drive set up by a timely turnover. The Cardinal were driving toward midfield when Bruener tracked down quarterback Tanner McKee, sacked him and forced a fumble that Sav’ell Smalls scooped up. The Huskies moved into the red zone, and Henry connected on a 35-yarder — he also had field goals of 24, 37 and 32 yards in the second quarter to give UW its early lead — to make it 13-3.
But, Stanford scored the game’s first touchdown on the next drive, when McKee scrambled and stretched across the goal line for a 1-yard score. UW still had a one possession lead at that point, but the Cardinal had the momentum.
The Huskies couldn’t convert on Morris’ quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 on their next possession, and Stanford answered with the second of Joshua Karty’s field goals on a 43-yard try to take a 13-12 lead midway through the final quarter.
UW turned the ball over on downs again the following drive, but that’s when the Huskies defense forced the needed three-and-out inside of three minutes to play, and Morris guided the offense on the game-winning drive. Giles Jackson converted the two-point try after the touchdown to give the Huskies their final seven-point advantage.
McMillan’s touchdown did leave the Cardinal with 14 seconds and a final chance, but a long throw on first down was intercepted by Huskies defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles to seal the win.
“When you win a game like that — especially going down late like that and bouncing back, putting some points on the board and getting the win — there’s no greater feeling,” Morris said.
Stanford’s only score in the first half was on its first drive, when Karty connected on a 35-yard field goal that made it 3-0.
Jackson Sirmon stymied one early Stanford drive with his first career interception, while Voi Tunuufi added his first two career sacks on as many Cardinal drives to open the game.
The Huskies made five trips to the red zone, and scored on all five to remain perfect inside the 20-yard line this season, but their first four ended short of touchdowns, and with Henry field goals — the first three of which gave the Huskies a 9-3 lead at the break.
The Huskies were again without several impact players on their second road trip in as many weeks. Inside linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio — UW’s leading tackler at the halfway point this season — and tailback Richard Newton were both ruled out for the season earlier this week with injuries. Starting left tackle Jaxson Kirkland was missing for the second straight week, starting safety Alex Cook did not make the trip after he was injured in the first quarter last weekend in Tucson and starting outside linebacker Ryan Bowman was also absent.
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 11:10 PM.
