Washington Football: 3 takeaways from shocking loss at Stanford

Washington football dropped its second Pac-12 game of the season at Stanford. What can we learn about the Huskies and Cardinal from their bout?

Washington arrived in Palo Alto as a top-15 team, hoping to move up a spot or two after their Pac-12 North showdown against perennial thorn Stanford. Entering the contest at Stanford Stadium, the Huskies have not won two in a row against the Cardinal since winning six straight in the Pac-10 days between 1996 and 2003.

Since their 2004 showdown in the Bay Area, Washington had lost 10 of their past 14 contests against the Cardinal as they prepared for this battle. After winning last year’s game in Seattle, a cursory glance of historical trends said this year might not go in their favor. At the same time, though, this season’s Stanford team has been a shell of its recent vintages. David Shaw’s team was below .500 after losses to USC, UCF and Oregon in their first five games.

What a difference a flip of the calendar made for both sides. Stanford looked like the ranked squad on their home turf, toppling the Huskies 23-13 in Pac-12 After Dark action to close out the book on Week 6. The Cardinal closed out a tough first half of the regular season at 3-3, putting them in better position to get to bowl eligibility.

Washington, on the other hand, showed some systemic issues that need to be rectified quickly if the defending conference champions hope to have any shot at defending their Pac-12 crown. What can Chris Petersen and the Huskies learn from their loss down in Silicon Valley as they look to rebound in the back half of their campaign?