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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- With a teammate in the hospital and time
running perilously short, Washington scored the last improbable
touchdown in a fourth quarter full of them.
|  | | Third-string tailback Willie Hurst had a 22-yard TD run with 5:57 to play that put Washington up 24-6, but Stanford made it a wild finish. |
Justin Robbins caught a 22-yard TD pass from Marques Tuiasosopo
with 17 seconds left as the ninth-ranked Huskies blew an 18-point
lead with six minutes to play and then drove 80 yards in the
closing seconds to beat Stanford 31-28 on Saturday.
A driving rain at Stanford Stadium made scoring difficult until
the frenetic final six minutes, when the teams combined for five
touchdowns. The small, soaked crowd -- equally divided between
Washington and Stanford supporters -- might have got neck aches from
watching the teams drive up and down the field.
But the Huskies' celebration of an amazing win was dampened by
the loss of safety Curtis Williams, who was removed from the field
on a stretcher late in the third quarter with a neck injury.
Williams remained at Stanford Hospital on Saturday night for
evaluation.
"Right now our thoughts are with Curtis Williams," Tuiasosopo
said. "We're happy with the win, of course, but our thoughts are
elsewhere. We just hope it's not too serious. It's an emotional
time."
All season long, Washington and Stanford have been at their best
in the fourth quarter. The Cardiac Cardinal, who have beaten two
teams in the closing seconds at home already this year, were good
again -- but Washington was even better.
Tuiasosopo needed just three plays to erase nearly five minutes
of amazing football from Stanford quarterback Randy Fasani, who ran
for two touchdowns and passed for another in the final 5:32.
"I couldn't believe they made a comeback," said Fasani, who
scored on a 2-yard bootleg with 53 seconds to play that put
Stanford up 28-24. "I thought it was the end of the game. They
just had a great comeback, just like we did."
Washington (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10) came from behind for the sixth time
in their seven victories.
"Give all the credit to Marcus. Our two-minute offense is
second to none," receiver Todd Elstrom said. "It's hard to come
back from an injury like that, but you try to play with some extra
emotion."
The Cardinal (3-5, 2-3) put themselves in position for a
remarkable comeback by recovering three onside kicks -- one was
negated by a penalty -- in the final minutes and scoring three
electrifying late touchdowns. Stanford had just 178 yards of total
offense until racking up 170 more in its final three drives.
"It was devastating, but we're all men and we'll bounce back,"
Fasani said. "Everybody said Washington was a good fourth quarter
team, but we showed we're good in the fourth, too."
Tuiasosopo, who got 80 of his 216 yards passing on the final
drive, marched the Huskies down the field with three long
completions after scrambling out of the pocket. The final touchdown
came on a broken play as Tuiasosopo stumbled toward the Stanford
sideline and picked out Robbins all alone in the end zone.
"I told him the same thing I tell him every time," Washington
coach Rick Neuheisel said of his instructions to his quarterback.
" 'Use the field, use your legs.' He made three perfect throws. He
scrambled out and found Robbins coming out of the back side.
"It was a tough day to play offense, given the weather, but we
had enough in the tank."
The victory kept Washington one game behind Oregon for the
Pac-10 lead.
Stanford beat Texas and Southern Cal earlier this year on
last-second scores at home. Fasani, who was knocked out of both of
Stanford's previous last-second wins with knee injuries, stuck
around for this one -- and he was phenomenal, passing for 166 yards
and rushing for 65.
Third-string tailback Willie Hurst had a 22-yard touchdown run
with 5:57 to play that put Washington up 24-6 and seemed to seal
the game. But the fireworks were only beginning.
Stanford scored its first touchdown of the game 34 seconds after
Hurst's run. A 60-yard pass to Luke Powell was followed by a 4-yard
TD pass to DeRonnie Pitts, who also caught a 2-point conversion
pass from Fasani.
The Cardinal recovered two onside kicks -- the first was erased
by an offsides penalty -- and Fasani led a 58-yard drive capped by
Fasani's 4-yard TD keeper with 2:33 left.
Stanford then recovered yet another onside kick at Washington's
48. Fasani, looking more like an option quarterback than Tuiasosopo
ever did on Saturday, got Stanford to the Huskies 6 with 1:59 to
play on a dangerous 30-yard scramble through the heart of the
Washington defense. He rushed for 6 more yards with a minute to
play and then scored the go-ahead TD on a naked bootleg.
Stanford lost for the fourth time in five games and has only a
mathematical chance of defending its Pac-10 title. The Cardinal
must win their final three games against UCLA, Arizona State and
California even to qualify for a bowl.
Hurst had 96 yards rushing and two TDs, while Rich Alexis added
56 yards and another score. Elstrom had six catches for 94 yards,
while Pitts caught eight passes -- including the 200th of his career
-- for 71 yards.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
Stanford Clubhouse
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