Washington Football: Grading the Dawgs' Loss vs. Stanford

Well, Dawg fans, that one hurt.

A stellar performance was needed from the Washington Huskies if they had any hope of hanging with the undefeated Cardinals, but the Huskies failed to deliver, falling flat on their faces to the tune of 65-21.

What surprised many fans was the complete meltdown of otherwise solid key players and lack of unity through not only the defense but the offense as well.

This coupled with the overall lack of energy from the team only fueled the Stanford blowout of Washington.   

The report card isn't going to be pretty. 

Quarterbacks: C+

This was a hard one for me to watch. 

The normally confident Keith Price was scrambling for his life half the time, and the other half he overthrew his targets.

Even Nick Montana, who made an appearance in the second half, had a tough time trying to keep his head above water.  

What was meant to be a QB duel ended up being a one-sided beating. 

Running Back: B

The usually unstoppable Chris Polk found himself stuffed time and time again. 

Beside the two long touchdown runs, Polk had his legs cut out from under him and his stats showed it. 

Receivers: C-

With so many options available, it was hard to believe the normally solid receiving corps had butterfingers last Saturday. 

Against a top-notch team like Stanford, mistakes are deadly and have nasty consequences. 

O-Line: D

O-line? Oh my.

If blocking like a sieve was the goal, these guys nailed it. 

D-Line: F-

Do I really have to explain?

They only get this grade because because I can't give them a G+.

Linebackers: C-

If it weren't for Cort Dennison, this game could have been a whole lot uglier. 

And that's saying a lot.

Secondary: C

The expression "letting it slip through your fingers" was all too literal in the case of Desmond Trufant. 

The turning point in the game when Trufant dropped a relatively easy interception—no, not really a turning point, but it would have been nice.

Special Teams: F

Well, since the Huskies got smoked in the first two phases of the game, why would special teams want to miss all the fun?

Coaching: D

For the first time all season the Huskies were thoroughly out-coached and unprepared.  

Here's hoping they can bounce back against Arizona at home.

Intangibles: F

Can anyone explain what happened to the energy and emotion the Dawgs have been carrying the last few weeks?

They headed into Stanford Stadium flatter than a run-over pancake and didn't regain it throughout the entire game. 

Better buck up next week.