Washington has achieved seven first downs, gained only 90 yards of total offense, and rushed for less than three yards per carry, but they sit in their Husky Stadium locker room tied with No. 16 Stanford 13-13 at the half.
The Huskies trailed 13-6 with two minutes to go in the first half, but linebacker Shaq Thompson ripped the ball from Redmound Wright’s arm and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. Before that, Cyler Miles found Jaydon Mickens for a beautiful 25-yard touchdown pass to put the Huskies on the board with 9:59 to go in the second quarter. (The extra point try failed.) Other than that throw, Miles has completed 5-of-8 passes for 25 yards, and he was also sacked for a loss of 12 yards. Four Washington rushers have been credited with 40 yards on 14 carries. The touchdown was just the second of the season allowed by Stanford’s defense.
And yet the game is tied.
Stanford jumped to a 10-0 lead after Ty Montgomery returned the opening kickoff 62 yards to set the Cardinal up for a field goal, and then caught a 17-yard scoring strike from Kevin Hogan early in the second quarter. Hogan has 125 yards on 13-of-19 passing and a handful of Cardinal rushers have combined for 112 yards on 21 carries, but Stanford’s inability to stay on the field and finish drives (2-of-7 on third down) and an ill-timed fumble have the game deadlocked.
For what it’s worth, Wright appeared to be halted by the Washington defense before Thompson ripped the ball free, but no whistle was blown. The play was upheld after a review.
Washington receives the ball to start the second half.