SEATTLE — In a game in which neither defense blinked, Washington coach Chris Petersen tried sleight of hand.
Stanford saw it coming all the way.
In its 20-13 loss Saturday, Washington slugged it out with one of the baddest brutes in the Pac-12.
With 7:45 to play, the Huskies were tied 13-13 with the two-time defending conference champs who brought the nation’s top-ranked defense into Husky Stadium.
On fourth-and-9 at its own 47, Washington (4-1, 0-1) tried a fake punt by snapping the ball short to Shaq Thompson.
The play never had a chance. Two Stanford defenders hit Thompson in the backfield, forcing a turnover on downs.
Six plays later, Stanford (3-1, 1-1) scored the game-winning touchdown on a five-yard keeper by quarterback Kevin Hogan.
After the game, Petersen admitted that his first Pac-12 game also included his most visible blunder as UW coach.
“That was on me,” Petersen said. “It was too much. We were trying to create something. … I didn’t want to sit back and do nothing. If I had that (fake punt) back, I’d do that differently.”
Stanford coach David Shaw said his players expect surprises.
“We talk through it ad nausea through the week, and our guys executed,” Shaw said.
Petersen felt he had to force the issue. The UW offense could do nothing against a Stanford defense that entered the game allowing 204 yards and 4.3 points per game, both tops in the nation.
The Huskies managed just 179 yards Saturday. Cyler Miles spent much of the game fleeing and flailing under a heavy pass rush. He had 98 yards passing, completed 15 of 29 passes and had minus-50 rushing yards.
“There might have been a couple times I could have hung in the pocket and continued to make reads,” Miles said. “At times, the pressure did get to us, which we gotta clean up during the week.”
Petersen said he’ll spend Washington’s upcoming bye week searching for answers in the film room.
“We have to get our quarterback some answers, for sure,” he said. “We need to be able to run the ball better and figure out how we’re going to throw the ball down the field better.”
If there were any questions about Washington’s defense, those were emphatically answered.
The Huskies forced three turnovers, including Thompson’s third defensive touchdown of the season. With 1:32 left in the half, the linebacker ripped the ball from Stanford running back Remound Wright and dashed 32 yards to tie the score at 13-13.
In the first half, the UW defense spent two minutes on the field for every minute the offense had the ball. Still, the Huskies flexed their muscle when they needed to, holding Stanford to 3 for 12 on third-down conversions for the game.
“The defense came out ready for a fight,” UW nose tackle Danny Shelton said. “I love it, playing physical like that. I feel like guys have been running away from me too much.”
Saturday’s game indeed resembled a heavyweight brawl. But when Washington tried a surprise jab, it got hit with a haymaker.
