STANFORD, Calif. — Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney and Anthony Wilkerson powered seventh-ranked Stanford to a school-record 446 yards rushing to blow past No. 22 Washington 65-21 on Saturday night.
The running backs gave Heisman Trophy hopeful Andrew Luck some rest as the Cardinal extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 15 games. Taylor ran for 138 yards, Gaffney 117 yards and Wilkerson 93 yards to break the previous team mark of 439 in a victory over Oregon State in 1981.
Facing its first ranked opponent of the season, Stanford pounded the Huskies in a critical Pac-12 North matchup.
Chris Polk ran for scores from 46 and 61 yards in the first half to keep Washington close early. He finished with 144 yards rushing as the Cardinal’s defense clamped down.
Wilkerson’s 38-yard scamper late in the fourth quarter gave Stanford the most yards rushing in a single game, eclipsing a 439-yard mark set in a victory at Oregon State in 1981.
Southern California 31, Notre Dame 17
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jawanza Starling returned a fumbled snap 80 yards for a third-quarter touchdown and Matt Barkley passed for three scores to end the Irish’s four-game winning streak.
The Trojans jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half and then fought off a comeback by the Irish in the first night game at Notre Dame Stadium in 21 years.
USC, which has won nine of the last 10 meetings in the long rivalry, had a 443-267 advantage in total yards.
California 34, Utah 10
SAN FRANCISCO — Zach Maynard threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and California’s defense completely shut down Utah’s offense to help the Golden Bears get their first Pac-12 win of the season.
Jon Hays threw three interceptions and lost a fumble, and Utah had just 57 yards of offense in the first three quarters.
