Morris, McGrew Find More Personal Salvation in Big Win at Stanford

Dylan Morris and Sean McGrew stand next to each other in the University of Washington backfield during the heat of the battle. On Saturday night, with the midnight hour fast approaching in the Bay Area, the starting quarterback and running back were still side by side as they plopped down in chairs to explain a 20-13 victory over Stanford.

It has not been the kindest season for either of these guys, but this outing chose to reward them both.

Morris has been ridiculed nonstop for his uneven performance, but on this night he threw a 20-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan with 21 seconds remaining. Memories are short, but he'd done it before.

In 3 of his 12 career starts, the 6-foot, 200-pound redshirt freshman from Puyallup, Washington, has won games with late TD passes, his Stanford heroics following up last week's 21-16 win at Arizona, where he lobbed an 8-yard scoring toss to Rome Odunze with 6:44 left to play; and last year's 24-21 victory over Utah, when he drilled a 16-yard TD strike to Cade Otton with 36 seconds left to play.

Morris is making a living beating the clock as well as the Pac-12 competition with a cool hand.

He shrugged off any suggestion that any doubts might have crept in with the Huskies struggling more than envisioned during a 4-4 season.

"It was those little details, even including in my game, that I could clean up that was manageable," Morris said. "Every game watching the film, it was one or two little things that I could pick out and had to work on during the week. My confidence has never taken a blow."

McGrew had the indignity of not playing a down in the opening games against Montana and Michigan, which was simply a coaching staff decision. He since has piled up a career-high 114 yards on 19 carries against Stanford, preceded by a 16-carry, 104-yard performance against Oregon State on the road.

Starting the past five games, the 5-foot-7, 180-pound back from Torrance, California, leads the Huskies in rushing with 383 yards on 92 carries and in scoring with 6 touchdowns.

Try and sit him out now.

Following the Stanford win, which brought a season-high 229 team rushing yards, McGrew spoke on behalf of his entire position group in sizing up the ground-game resurgence. The Huskies were averaging 107 rushing yards an outing coming in.

"I think we're just hungrier," he said. "We know we were struggling in the run game. We know we had to come out because it was going to be a heavyweight fight. When you play Stanford, you know you have to be able to run the ball against them."

Redshirt freshman Cam Davis backed McGrew with 99 yards on 18 runs against the Cardinal, with both numbers representing career bests, and has bolstered a group that has taken a physical pounding over the past two weeks.

Sophomore Richard Newton, who started the first three games at Husky running back, tore a knee anterior cruciate ligament against UCLA and was lost for the season after having surgery last week.

Kamari Pleasant, who like McGrew is a sixth-year senior, was injured against Arizona. He dressed for Saturday's game in Palo Alto in case he was needed, but he didn't play while in recovery.

"We're just trying to get on a hot streak now," McGrew said, "and finish the season strong."

Morris and McGrew make it really hard to criticize or sit them when they come up with performances like they did at Stanford.

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