The Washington Huskies won their first game against a top-10 team since 2009 on Thursday night, upsetting the eight-ranked Stanford Cardinal 17-13 in Seattle.
The team played dominant defense and kept Stanford's high-powered offense at bay for most of the game.
"The way we executed in the most critical moments, that's what I'm most proud of those guys for," Sarkisian said.
The turning point of the game came with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Washington wide receiver Kasen Williams caught a quick-throw screen pass from quarterback Keith Price and raced 35-yards for a touchdown after breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage. The score put the Huskies ahead for good, completing a 10-point comeback.
Washington was down 13-3 in the third when running back Bishop Sankey was able to convert on a fourth-and-1 to score the team's first offensive touchdown. Sankey had an excellent game for Washington, rushing for 144 yards on 20 carries.
Stanford's defense had allowed only 124 yards on the ground through three games this year.
The Huskies improved to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Pac-12. Last season Stanford completely dominated the Huskies, amassing 446 yards of rushing and scoring 65 points.
"Against Stanford we know what they were going to do, we knew they were going to try and power the ball down our throat like they did the last four years and it's worked," Washington safety Justin Glenn said. "But Coach Wilcox just told us [to] focus on each play. If something happens, erase it and focus on the next play. We kept battling down after down."
Price had a solid game for the Huskies, throwing for 177 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Washington had a bye last week, allowing the team extra time to prepare for Stanford. The defense showed that the hard work paid off, holding the Cardinal to just 235 yards in total offense, the fewest the team has gained since 2010.
The Huskies also kept Stanford from scoring a touchdown in the first half, which is the first time that has happened in 42 games, according to ESPN.com.
Stanford was only 5-for-18 on third down and quarterback Josh Nunes only had 170 yards passing. Washington was able to shut down Stanford's running game, keeping running back Stefan Taylor to just 75 yards. Last season, Taylor ran wild against the Huskies, gaining 138 yards.
"We didn't play well enough to win," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "We didn't make the throws we needed to make. We didn't make the catches we needed to make. We didn't sustain our blocks in the running game as long as we should have. We got outplayed tonight."
The only touchdown for Stanford came in the third quarter on Trent Murphy's 40-yard interception return. The team had a shot to score at the end of the game with about two minutes left, but turned the ball over on downs. Nunes tried to find tight end Levine Toilolo deep down the sidelines, but cornerback Desmond Truffant was there to intercept it.
"I've lost to Stanford every time since I've been here. It's great to be on the other side this time," Trufant said.
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