In a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score would indicate, the Stanford Cardinal cruised to a 38-28 victory over the Washington State Cougars. The victory improved Stanford to 6-1 (3-1 conference record), which is their best record after seven games in 40 years. Although Stanford remains locked in behind Oregon in the Pac-10 race, if they continue to rack up victories they will have a shot at a BCS bowl appearance with an at-large spot, particularly if Oregon ends up in the “national title” game.
The final score indicates a deficit of ten, but Stanford was up 38-14 with 6:11 left in the game. Their defense suffered a setback in allowing garbage time points, but it’s not something the team likely needs to be overly concerned about as the game was well in hand.
Andrew Luck had one of his smaller performances in terms of statistical output, but again, a huge game from Luck was not necessary. Luck was 20 of 28 for 137 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception. Running back Stepfan Taylor was key for the Cardinal as he rumbled for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Stanford will now travel on the road to face a Washington squad that has been incredibly up and down. Washington has alternated wins and losses all season long and is facing the #18 Arizona Wildcats down in Tucson tonight. The winner of Washington-Arizona will improve to 3-1 in conference and remain tied with Stanford.