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Most Important College Football Game for Each Top 25 Team During 2016 Season

By Zach Bigalke

Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Bo Scarbrough (9) moves past Mississippi Rebels linebacker DeMarquis Gates (3) during the fourth quarter of the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Bo Scarbrough (9) moves past Mississippi Rebels linebacker DeMarquis Gates (3) during the fourth quarter of the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 30, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies linebacker Connor O'Brien (29) sacks Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ryan Burns (17) during the first quarter at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies linebacker Connor O’Brien (29) sacks Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ryan Burns (17) during the first quarter at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Washington Beats Stanford 44-6 to Take Over Pac-12 North (Sept. 30)

For the past few seasons, Stanford has owned the Pac-12 North. Entering the season, Washington was highly touted as the team that could take down the Cardinal this season and compete for a College Football Playoff spot out of the conference. Entering the game, though, the Huskies had played three scrubs in Rutgers, Idaho, and FCS Portland State along with a close call at Arizona. Stanford arrived in Seattle as the higher-ranked team in the AP Top 25 after a 3-0 start.

By halftime the game was entirely out of reach, as Washington stormed to a 23-0 lead in the first two quarters. Over the course of the contest Stanford managed just 213 total yards of offense against a stout Huskies defense. The Cardinal, normally a fairly disciplined team under David Shaw, committed 11 penalties in Seattle and fumbled the ball twice. Meanwhile, Myles Gaskin rushed for 100 yards and two scores while Jake Browning completed more than 70 percent of his passes for 210 yards and three TDs.

The win reconfigured the pecking order in the Pac-12 North, even as Stanford went on to win nine games over the regular season. A win by the Cardinal would have created a three-way tie in the division with each team 1-1 against the others. Washington vaulted into the top five of the AP Top 25 after that win, positioning themselves for a run at the College Football Playoff.

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