And pay it did.

Stanford scored on every possession it had the ball up until the 2:20 mark in the third quarter when David Green punted the ball away. In the second quarter, the Cardinal scored on one of Washington's possessions when FS Michael Thomas intercepted Keith Price and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown and a 38-14 lead at the halfway mark.

UW turned the ball over 3 times, while the Tree was errorless in that category. The Huskies were penalized 7 times for 84 yards. Trailing 24-14 in the second quarter, a UW holding penalty inside the red zone resulted in a missed field goal attempt and a chance to winnow the Stanford lead. The Tree scored on its next possession, and the rout was on.

The Huskies posted 3 consecutive three-and-outs to start the second half and were trailing 48-14 going into the last quarter.

"To come out and be non-existent offensively in the third quarter was real disappointing," Sark said.

It wasn't all bleak for the Huskies, though.

Once again Chris Polk turned in a scintillating performance, rushing for 144 yards and scoring on touchdown runs of 46 and 61 yards in the first half. His 124.5 rushing yards per game ranks 5th best in the FBS.

Under a severe pass rush, Price played as well as could be expected, completing 23 of 36 passes for 247 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 pick. Price ranks 6th in the FBS in passing efficiency.

Super stud TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins caught 5 passes for 77 yards.

Based on its disappointing performance, my guess is that Washington will be hard pressed to beat a rejuvenated Arizona team next week. Becoming bowl eligible may have to wait until the Apple Cup on November 26th. Upcoming games against Arizona, USC, Oregon, and OSU appear formidable for the defensively-challenged Dawgs.

Stopping the run and avoiding blowout losses were two goals we had set for the Dawgs in pre-season.