Washington Football: 3 takeaways from shocking loss at Stanford

3. Washington needs to find ways to get more defensive disruption

A big reason why Stanford quarterback Davis Mills was able to have so much success throwing the ball in his second straight start for the injured K.J. Costello was his mobility. He was able to keep his uniform clean all night as Washington failed to get through the offensive line. Mills finished the night with 293 passing yards and a touchdown as he completed 21 of his 30 attempts. The quarterback also ran three times for 26 yards to keep the chains moving consistently.

This could be chalked up to a strong Stanford offensive line — except for the fact that the Cardinal ranked 88th nationally in sacks allowed and 96th in tackles for loss conceded to their opponents before the takedown of the Huskies.

An offense that entered the game averaging just 112 rushing yards per game found huge holes against Washington as Cameron Scarlett posted 151 yards on his own as he carried 33 times. The Cardinal finished the night with 189 rushing yards as a team, with Scarlett punching in a touchdown for good measure.

Washington has struggled to get pressure on quarterbacks or make stops behind the line of scrimmage all season long. That trend finally bit them against a quarterback who benefitted from the additional time in the pocket and the open space when he did roll out. If the Huskies are going to have any shot at rebounding to claim a spot in the Pac-12 title game, they need to find ways to get their front seven to win battles more consistently at the line of scrimmage.