Stanford vs. Washington: Score and Twitter Reaction

The No. 10 Washington Huskies made an emphatic statement Friday night when they dispatched the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal, 44-6, at Husky Stadium in Seattle to affirm their status as the Pac-12's top team. 

Washington is now 5-0 for the first time since the 1992 season, when it captured a share of the conference title and appeared in the Rose Bowl. The Huskies also captured their first win against Stanford (3-1) since 2012 thanks to Friday night's drubbing. 

As the final score indicates, Washington simply dominated the proceedings on both sides of the ball. 

Not only did the Huskies outgain Stanford 424-213, but they controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and finished the evening with eight sacks.  

Washington quarterback Jake Browning worked from a clean pocket throughout and finished with 210 yards and three touchdowns on a tidy 15-of-21 passing. Running back Myles Gaskin added 18 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns. 

On the flip side, Stanford was limited to one yard per carry as Christian McCaffrey toted the rock 12 times for 49 yards in what amounted to a serious uphill battle for the Cardinal, according to NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah: 

And considering Stanford and Washington entered Friday night ranked eighth (12.0 points per game) and 15th (14.5) in opponents' scoring, respectively, the team that wielded the more dynamic offense figured to come out on top. 

As it turns out, the Huskies had no problem establishing themselves as the superior attack early. 

Browning was dialed in from the jump, and he looked comfortable against one of college's most aggressive defensive fronts. 

The sophomore signal-caller picked apart a Cardinal secondary that was without starting cornerbacks Quenton Meeks and Alijah Holder, and he capped off a composed opening drive that spanned 64 yards in seven plays with a three-yard touchdown toss to Dante Pettis. 

A four-yard touchdown run from Gaskin on the Huskies' next drive put Washington up 13-0, and ESPN.com's David Lombardi noted the Huskies offensive line deserved lots of credit for the team's early success: 

Athlon Sports' Bryan Fischer broke down the protection scheme that allowed Washington to thrive:

While Washington imposed its will on offense, Stanford was left to scramble.

The Cardinal couldn't muster any sort of sustained success against Washington's speedy, forceful defense, and those hiccups forced head coach David Shaw to briefly replace starting quarterback Ryan Burns (15-of-22, 151 yards, one touchdown) with Keller Chryst toward the end of the first quarter. 

However, that swap was short-lived. 

Chryst couldn't put points on the board during his lone drive, and Stanford turned back to Burns on its next drive as frustration continued to mount. 

The Huskies, meanwhile, continued to dissect Stanford with ease as the Cardinal failed to flaunt any sort of pass rush against Washington's offensive line loaded with maulers. 

Browning found John Ross up the seam for a 19-yard score with just under four minutes remaining in the half to give his side a 23-0 lead, and Bleacher Report's Matt Hayes noticed some similarities between the rising talent and one of head coach Chris Petersen's former star players at Boise State: 

That 23-point halftime deficit represented Stanford's second-largest since 2006, according to ESPN Stats & Info.  

And just when it looked like Stanford would make a small dent in Washington's commanding lead after it forced a three-and-out on the Huskies' first drive of the third quarter, things spiraled out of control. 

Washington's ensuing punt hit a Stanford player and was recovered by the Huskies, which led to Gaskin's second touchdown of the day. At that point, Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde noted Stanford simply didn't have enough firepower to mount a comeback: 

With their resume bolstered, the Huskies will now enjoy a slightly extended rest before they travel to Eugene for a clash with the Oregon Ducks on Oct. 8.

That challenge may appear daunting on the surface, but considering Oregon is 2-2 and has allowed more than 32 points in each of its past two games, Browning and Co. should feast if they can replicate Friday's winning formula.

Stanford will be afforded a chance to bounce back when it hosts Washington State next Saturday, but Shaw has to be concerned about what he's seen from his offense the last two weeks. 

The eventual return of wide receiver Francis Owusu (concussion) will help matters, but the fact remains that his team hasn't topped 30 points in a single game this season. 

And with high-powered attacks littering the Pac-12, the Cardinal could watch their College Football Playoff hopes take another hit if they can't rediscover an explosive disposition. 

Postgame Reaction

With the upset in hand, Washington students flooded the field at Husky Stadium to celebrate, as the Seattle Times' Adam Jude documented: 

Back in the locker room, several members of the winning team broke out the Cupid Shuffle, as shown by former Washington player Justin Glenn: 

Once the celebration was complete, Browning took time to discuss the win with reporters, per the Associated Press' Tim Booth:

However, Petersen pumped the breaks on the importance of Friday's win. 

"We don't get any trophies for winning tonight," he said, according to Booth. 

Elsewhere, Stanford was forced to reflect on a night that was sour from start to finish. 

"That's about as poorly as we could play, from start to finish, and that's the bottom line," Shaw said, according to the Tacoma Times Tribune's Christian Caple. 

"We didn't block well, we didn't run the ball, we couldn't pass protect and we couldn't complete passes with any consistency," Shaw added, per Caple.