Nov 3, 2001
Seatle, WA (AP) - Willie Hurst showed that No. 11 Washington does have arunning game after all, scoring his third touchdown with 3:48 left as theHuskies beat No. 10 Stanford 42-28 on Saturday.
Hurst finished with 108 yards on 22 carries, a week after running for 185yards against Arizona State. Coach Rick Neuheisel has been emphasizing the needto get the running game untracked.
Perfect timing.
Both teams came into the game with only one loss in Pac-10 play, andcouldn't afford another. The five-team Pac-10 race will be more clear now, andafter UCLA's game at Washington State. The Bruins and Cougars also had one losseach.
Stanford (5-2, 4-2 Pac-10) beat Oregon and UCLA the last two weeks, butcouldn't make it three big wins in a row.
Washington (7-1, 5-1 Pac-10) just keeps on winning in the final minutes. Itwas the Huskies' sixth victory decided in the final period and 11th in twoyears.
Hurst's go-ahead touchdown was set up by two completions from Cody Pickettto tight end Kevin Ware, who has been the replacement for injured JerramyStevens since the second game of the season.
Ware caught an 18-yard pass to bring Washington to the 15, and had an11-yard reception that gave the Huskies a first down on the 3.
Hurst ran 2 yards into the end zone, then scored again with 4 seconds leftin the game on a 15-yard run. He also had a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter.
Stanford tied it at 28 with 10:01 remaining on Brian Allen's 8-yardtouchdown run, his second touchdown of a 138-yard rushing day. The Cardinalwere successful on the 2-point conversion when quarterback Chris Lewiscompleted a pass to Teyo Johnson.
They had one final chance with 2:22 left in the game but Washingtoncornerback Roc Alexander broke up a pass intended for Johnson on fourth down.Lewis was 19-of-34 for 231 yards and an interception, with no touchdowns.
These comeback Huskies also were the quick-strike Huskies for much of theday.
Washington started two straight second-quarter scoring drives in good fieldposition at its own 49 and took only 1:39 combined off the clock for twotouchdowns. What's more, the Huskies' first touchdown of the second half byHurst took only 57 seconds off the clock.
That gave Washington a 28-13 lead, but that didn't last long. Stanfordanswered with an 80-yard touchdown run by Allen to pull within 28-20.
Washington showed a balanced offense it has lacked for most of the season.
In addition to Hurst, receiver Reggie Williams caught three passes for 74yards and an 8-yard touchdown before leaving the game in the third quarter witha thigh contusion.
Pickett completed 15 of 28 passes for 291 yards and an 8-yard TD run.
Hurst found success against a Stanford defense that held UCLA star tailbackDeShaun Foster to 77 yards in the Cardinal's upset of the Bruins a weekearlier. Foster entered Saturday's game at Washington State as the nation'sfourth-leading rusher.
The Huskies had been waiting for a game like this.
Every aspect of Washington's game was effective. For example, freshmanpunter Derek McLaughlin booted a 56-yard punt when his team needed it from deepin its own territory.
Stanford safety Simba Hodari left in the third quarter with a concussion. Hewas moved onto a stretcher on the field and taken by ambulance to a hospital.
On-field medics conducted tests to check for spinal cord injuries and hepassed those, able to move his extremities.
The game was delayed about 10 minutes after he was hurt with 1:34 left inthe third quarter. Hodari was taken to Harborview Medical Center.
A year ago, Washington safety Curtis Williams was paralyzed from the neckdown while making a tackle during an Oct. 28 game at Stanford.
Also leaving Saturday's game were Cardinal runningback Kerry Carter and Huskiessplit end Wilbur Hooks Jr., both with shoulder injuries.
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer