Huskies Take Down Stanford 40-22 in Conference Opener

The UW runs its record to 4-0 under new coach Kalen DeBoer.

They introduce Husky legends at the beginning of the second quarter of each home game, only on Saturday night the University of Washington football team couldn't wait that long.

Jaxson Kirkland, the two-time, All-Pac-12 offensive tackle, not only made his season debut, he started right away against Stanford. The UW had a 100-yard rusher for the first time in nine games dating back to last season. Coincidence?

Then there was Zion Tupuola-Fetui, the one-time All-Pac-12 edge rusher. After coming off the bench in the three previous outings, the disruptive Hawaiian played a much more prominent role and drew his first game-opening assignment of the season. The UW went out and strong-armed its way to 8 sacks after entering the game with 7 all season, with ZTF getting credit for 1.5. Coincidence?

For sure, it was way too much star power for Stanford to handle. And no, all-everything linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio didn't make it a trifecta of hero appearances, still not quite ready to suit up in his recovery from a knee injury.

With these added headliners in the lineup giving everyone in purple a notable boost, the Huskies turned back a stubborn Stanford team 40-22 before a crowd of 65,438 on a comfortable night beside Lake Washington to maintain their unbeaten record under Kalen DeBoer.

In their Pac-12 opener, the Huskies (4-0 overall, 1-0 league) faced more of a challenge from this latest Bay Area outfit (1-2, 0-2) than their earlier opponents. The UW actually had to punt in the first half for the first time. 

Only for comparison sake, the returning Montlake players also matched their win total from the forgettable season last fall (4-8) as quickly as possible.

The addition of Kirkland, with his fill-in Troy Fautanu moving to left guard, helped the Huskies churn out a 478 yards of total offense. 

The home team used touchdown runs by transfer portal backs Will Nixon and Wayne Taulapapa, mixed in with a Peyton Henry, to jump out to a 17-0 first-half lead. 

ZTF looked like his old self crashing in from the edges and supplying constant pressure on the backfield, beginning with the game's second play, when he dropped Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee for no gain. He finished with 7 tackles.

"I'm just happy to see like my work come to fruition," Tupuola-Fetui said. "Especially against a team like Stanford, who I've been shut down in the past against."

Zion Tupuola-Fetui made his first start of the season against Stanford :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

For the fourth consecutive game, the Huskies scored on their first possession. After forcing Stanford to punt, they needed just six plays to move 58 yards for a 3-yard scoring run by Nixon. The Nebraska transfer scored standing up, running through a huge lane provided by tackle Roger Rosengarten and then bowing toward the end-zone crowd. The game was four and a half minutes old.

The UW got the ball back immediately when linebacker Cam Bright came over the back of Stanford running back Casey Filkins, who bobbled a pass from McKee, and took it from him on the Husky 13.

This led to Henry's 35-yard field goal a minute and a half into the second quarter, capping a 12-play, 69-yard drive and the UW led 10-0.

After trading punts, again just the UW's first in an opening half this season, the Huskies regained possession when edge rusher Jeremiah Martin knocked the ball out of McKee's hands as he ran past him. 

Defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele recovered and Martin was credited with a sack and a forced fumble. The Huskies took over on the Stanford 43.

The Huskies punished Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Two players later, Taulapapa skirted around the left end and tightroped his way up the sideline for a 34-yard touchdown run and a 17-0 lead. That gave him 76 yards rushing on just four carries. He wasn't done yet. Not even close.

Taulapapa had 99 yards rushing by intermission and broke the 100-yard barrier on the first play of the second half, rushing for 3 yards. He finished with 120 yards on 13 carries. It was his first game over the century mark in his college career, covering 40 games at Virginia and now four at the UW. His previous best was 95 yards.

"I'm definitely happy about this," the veteran running back said. "I feel super blessed. I just feel like I made a great decision coming here. A lot of the coaches have trust in me, which is huge for me." 

Operating this high-level offense, UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was his usual steady and highly productive self, completing 22 of 37 passes for 309 yards and 2 scores. He had no sacks and no interceptions, just a lot of time to throw the ball. 

"We're putting up 40 points," DeBoer said of the offensive effort, "knowing there was a lot more we could have had."

Stanford got on the scoreboard near the end of the first half, but not until ZTF opened that series by ferociously swatting down McKee's first pass.

The Cardinal, however, took advantage of the young, reconfigured UW secondary, which is getting younger all the time. Redshirt freshman Davon Banks drew his first career start at cornerback instead of the injured Mishael Powell, who was injured and won't next Friday at UCLA either.

McKee took advantage of this by first finding Michael Wilson for a 37-yard completion to the UW 38, beating junior cornerback Julius Irvin. The former safety was subbing for Jordan Perryman, who was in uniform but didn't play. Perry man might return for the next game.

The Stanford quarterback next found Wilson on a 23-yard scoring pass, this time throwing it over Banks' head, and the Cardinal trailed 17-7 with four minutes left in the half.

The UW put this one away by scoring on its first three possessions of the second half. 

They sandwiched a pair of Henry field goals from 46 and 33 yards around a 30-yard touchdown pass to Rome Odunze, who took the ball away from Stanford safety Jonathan McGill in the end zone, and it was 30-7 entering the fourth quarter.

In the final period, the Huskies offset a pair of Stanford touchdowns with 10 points to close it out on Henry's fourth field goal, a 26-yarder, and a TD on a 21-yard screen pass to Giles Jackson.

Between those final UW scores, ZTF had one last exclamation mark in him. With 4:20 left to play, he crashed through to strip-sack the ball from the well-worn McKee and then broke into his high-stepping celebratory dance. The UW player enjoyed himself, not too concerned about anything except causing havoc.

"Whether it's coming off the bench or starting, you just go out and do what you do," Tupuola-Fetui said. "We have a lot of good dudes in our room and I'm not ashamed to come off the bench."

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