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Washington rallies, dumps Stanford

— Kasen Williams took a quick screen pass from Keith Price, broke a tackle and the line of scrimmage and raced 35 yards for the go-ahead score with 4:53 left, and Washington rallied from 10 points down to stun No. 8 Stanford 17-13 on Thursday night.

Trailing 13-3 late in the third quarter, the Huskies (3-1, 1-0 Pacific-12) got a 61-yard touchdown sprint from running back Bishop Sankey for their first offensive touchdown against an FBS opponent since the first quarter of the opener against San Diego State.

Then Washington put together a nine-play drive that included another fourth-down conversion and was capped by Williams’ catch-and-run that gave the Huskies their first lead.

It was Washington’s first victory over a top 10 opponent since its upset of then-No. 3 USC back in 2009, Steve Sarkisian’s first season at Washington. And it was thanks to an inspired defensive effort that was the opposite of a year ago when Stanford (3-1, 1-1) bulldozed the Huskies to the tune of 446 yards rushing and 65 points.

Washington’s student section poured on to the turf of CenturyLink Field after Price took a knee for the final time. It was a crucial victory for the Huskies in the first game of a schedule that only gets tougher next week at No. 2 Oregon before returning home to host No. 13 USC.

Price finished 19 of 37 for 177 yards and the touchdown pass to Williams. Sankey had 144 yards on 20 carries after Stanford’s defense had allowed just 124 yards rushing combined in the first three games of the season.

SAM HOUSTON STATE 50, TEXAS SOUTHERN 6

HOUSTON — Brian Bell passed for 208 yards and three touchdowns and Sam Houston State had 558 yards of total offense in a victory over Texas Southern. The Bearkats (2-2) struck early, with Bell finding Texas A&M transfer Chance Nelson open for a 61-yard scoring pass 3 minutes into the game. Bell also threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Williams, and added a 32-yarder to Nelson en route to a 33-6 halftime lead at BVAA Compass Stadium.

Bell was 10 of 15 with one interception, and Nelson finished with three catches for 127 yards. Linebacker Darius Taylor had eight tackles, including two sacks, and Sam Houston limited the Tigers (1-4) to 165 yards of total offense.

Dax Swanson’s 12th career interception set up the Bearkats’ second touchdown, with Trey Diller scoring on a 32-yard run.

Justice Jones threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to James Davis in the second quarter for Texas Southern’s lone points. Preston Sanders blocked the extra point and Kenneth Jenkins ran it back for a defensive conversion.

In the second half, Keshawn Hill scored on a 36-yard run, and Ridgeway Frank had a 4-yard touchdown run.

Sports, Pages 23 on 09/28/2012

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