Washington stormed into this contest boasting a surprising 3-0 record. Having just defeated #11 Michigan State, the Huskies are beginning to see a season full of promise ahead. Today began their Pac-12 journey as Stanford rolled into Seattle. The Cardinal were not experiencing the same success as the Huskies, but conference games are never to be taken lightly.
Contributing largely to Washington’s early success is transfer quarterback, Michael Penix, Jr. Popular on campus are T-shirts reading, “Big Penix Energy,” which is all due to the dynamic aspect that he has added to the Husky offense. Coupled with a great rushing performance by Wayne Taulapapa, Penix threw for over 300 yards in a 40-22 win over the Cardinal. Equally impressive was Washington’s defense, which recorded eight sacks against Stanford’s QB, Tanner McKee.
The buzz in and around Husky Stadium indicated that this would be a long day for the visitors from Palo Alto. The excitement from last weekend’s big win could be felt from the party boats floating on Lake Washington to the fans inside the stadium screaming everything from “Go Huskies” to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Harry the Husky flashed an axe during the fourth quarter – a visual to represent the doom that faced Stanford’s tree logo. Washington had splintered them by game’s end.
While the Huskies move on to face undefeated UCLA next week in their first road test of the season, Stanford is limping out of their eighth straight conference loss. Purple pride is alive in Seattle, and for Washington, they hope to ride that Penix energy to a conference title.
