By the time Stanford polished off Washington in a complete and dominating 41-0 win, last week's fourth-quarter letdown against Washington State was a distant memory.
Andrew Luck may have made the Buffalo Bills' decision a little easier, outplaying Jake Locker in one of the most anticipated quarterback duels of the Pac-10 season. Luck was as effective as usual with his arm, completing 19-of-26 passes for 192 yards, and also ran for 92 yards on five carries. His 51-yard touchdown run on Stanford's first possession provided the Cardinal all the offense it would need, but not all of the offense it would receive. Stepfan Taylor scored two touchdowns and topped 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game, while Tyler Gaffney ran for 50 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
Stanford's much maligned defense rattled Locker from the start. The senior faced steady pressure, was sacked three times (twice by Matt Masifilo), and completed only 7-of-14 passes for 64 yards. Johnson Bademosi and Delano Howell, who played with a cast on his right forearm after missing last week's game against Washington State, had interceptions for Stanford, which had allowed 10 touchdown passes and 115 points in its previous three games.
The Huskies found even less success moving the ball on the ground. Chris Polk carried 13 times for 17 yards, as Washington finished with 107 yards of total offense. The shutout, Stanford's second of the season, earned defensive coordinator Vic Fangio a Gatorade shower. I'll have much more on the game in tomorrow's Rule of Tree Rewind.