Stanford Falls in Seattle

SEATTLE — Wayne Taulapapa rushed for a career-high 120 yards and one touchdown, Washington's defense sacked Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee eight times and forced two fumbles, and the 18th-ranked Huskies beat the Cardinal 40-22 on Saturday night.

Playing as a ranked team for the first time this season, Washington (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) used a stingy defense and a handful of big plays on offense to win its conference opener under new coach Kalen DeBoer.

Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for 309 yards and second-half touchdowns of 30 yards to Rome Odunze and 21 yards to Giles Jackson on a screen pass. Odunze had eight catches for 161 yards, his first career game over 100 yards receiving.

But Washington's defense deserved equal recognition for the constant pressure it was able to put on McKee. The Huskies sacked him six times in the first half.

Facing a ranked opponent for the second straight week, Stanford (1-2, 0-2 Pac-12) was led by McKee, who finished 17 of 26 for 286 yards and three touchdowns. McKee's first touchdown pass, a 23-yard strike to Michael Wilson with four minutes left before halftime, brought the Cardinal within 17-7.

McKee tossed his other two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, connecting with John Humphreys on a 17-yard score and finding Wilson again on a 78-yard touchdown as the Cardinal outscored the Huskies 15-10 in the final period.

Wilson finished with six catches for 176 yards and was one of eight Cardinal players to record a reception.

Casey Filkins, who started in place of injured leading rusher E.J. Smith, totaled 20 carries for 100 yards while also catching two passes for 29 yards.

Stanford is on the road again next Saturday at Oregon.