DALLAS (FWAA) The Washington Huskies raced to a 23-0 halftime lead and shut down defending Pac-12 champion Stanford, 44-6, on Friday night in Seattle. For winning the key Pac-12 Conference matchup between top-10 teams, the Huskies (5-0, 2-0) earned the Football Writers Association of America National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Oct. 1.
The announcement was made on "Playbook," hosted by Chris Carlin and Gino Torretta on SiriusXM Radio's "College Sports Nation." Each Monday during the season, the FWAA National Team of the Week will be unveiled during the program, which airs from 1-4 p.m. ET.
Jake Browning threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns and Myles Gaskin added 100 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in the rout. The Huskies controlled the line play and the pace of the game with 214 rushing yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry, and scored on six of eight possessions. Washingtons defense provided eight sacks to keep Stanford at bay, the Huskies· highest one-game total since 2002.
"We don't get any trophies for winning tonight," Washington coach Chris Petersen said. "You dont think it's going to that well against a team like Stanford. Like I said, it was kind of one of those nights where they were probably a little short-handed and we were clicking on all cylinders and the guys played hard. I really don·t want to underestimate; I think those kids were playing really inspired ball by the energy in that stadium."
This is the third time for Washington to earn National Team of the Week honors. The others came in 2009 and 2012.
Other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 1 included:
Indiana (3-1): The Hoosiers rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat Michigan State for the first time since 2006, 24-21, in overtime. Griffin Oakes nailed a 20-yard field goal in the extra session to give the Hoosiers possession of the Old Brass Spittoon.
North Carolina (4-1): Nick Weiler made a 54-yard field goal as time expired to give North Carolina a 37-35 win at Florida State, snapping the Seminoles' 22-game home win streak. After Florida State rallied to take the lead, UNC drove 38 yards in three plays to get within range for the game-winner. It was the second straight week that UNC has won in the final seconds.
South Alabama (3-2): The Jaguars ended San Diego State's 13-game winning streak with a 42-24 win, the first over a ranked opponent in program history. Cole Garvin won his first collegiate start, completing 16-of-21 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns, and set the school·s completion percentage record against FBS foes at 76.1 percent.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. Members of the 12-person FWAA All-America Committee – plus one fan vote from Twitter – decide the weekly honor.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,400 men and women who cover college football.
The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key
executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas
that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.
For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson
at tiger@fwaa.com.