WASHINGTON_The Washington Huskies concluded their most dominant run through their nonconference schedule in 25 years with another blowout Saturday at Husky Stadium.
Final score: No. 8 Washington 41, Portland State 3.
The outcome was never in doubt. It was never going to be.
The Huskies led 28-0 at halftime, and it could have been worse. They improved to 3-0 while sleepwalking through the second half before a half-empty stadium on a chilly evening.
With the start of Pac-12 play here, finally, Washington might be a much-needed wake-up call next Saturday in the Arizona heat. Kickoff against the Wildcats in Tucson is set for 7:30 p.m.
Six days later, No. 7 Stanford comes to Husky Stadium for a Friday-night showdown on ESPN. If both teams remain undefeated, that would be the first matchup of top-10 teams in Husky Stadium since 1997 (when the No. 2 Huskies lost to No. 7 Nebraska, 27-14).
For now, the Huskies have to be content with another shellacking against another supremely overmatched opponent. Yes, Portland State, a rising FCS program, knocked off Washington State in Pullman last season, but even Vikings coach Bruce Barnum acknowledged that these Huskies were a much different scenario.
This is the fourth time in the past 22 seasons that the Huskies won all three of their regular-season nonconference games (they did so in 2014, 2013 and 2000), and it's safe to say this is as soft a nonconference slate as UW has ever had.
The aggregate score of 148-30 in UW's 3-0 start is the program's most lopsided in nonconference play since UW's national championship team of 1991, which defeated Nebraska (36-21), Toledo (48-0) and Kansas State (56-3).
What to make of this latest romp from the Huskies' perspective?
Very little, frankly.
This, again, is what they were supposed to do.
Still, there were noteworthy performances:
_UW's first-string defense still hasn't allowed a touchdown this season, and it only gave up a third-quarter field goal to Portland State (1-2).
_Sophomore quarterback Jake Browning, who came into the game second in the nation in QB rating, continued his impressive start to the season, throwing four more touchdown passes. In three games, he has 12 touchdown passes against one interception, plus two lost fumbles.
_Sophomore receiver Chico McClatcher had two touchdown catches, of 43 yards and 13 yards, and he added three runs for 37 yards, showing again that he might be UW's most versatile weapon.
_ Sophomore running back Myles Gaskin had a season-high 93 yards on 13 carries. He scored two touchdowns, the first on a 4-yard run and the second on a 4-yard reception.
The first three weeks have been kind to the Huskies. Easy, even.
The real season, the Pac-12 season, is about to begin, and one major question remains:
Are they ready?
