Bishop Sankey of Washington and Ka'Deem Carey of Arizona lived up to the billing in a battle of college football's top running backs, but the Huskies used a superior passing offense to come away with the 31-13 win.
Sankey brutalized the undersized Wildcats' 3-3-5 defense by carrying the ball a career-high 40 times to set a new school single-game record, finishing with 161 yards and one touchdown. The junior has proved to be a bell cow, with 104 carries for 607 yards and five scores this season and 393 rushing attempts in 17 games as a starter.
It was Sankey's eighth 100-yard performance in his last nine games and the perfect remedy for driving rains and howling winds that ripped through Husky Stadium all evening.
Huskies quarterback Keith Price did just enough to keep UW undefeated, completing 14 of 25 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. His Arizona counterpart, B.J. Denker, was 14-of-35 for 119 yards with two interceptions, wasting a fine effort from Carey.
Carey had 132 yards -- his seventh-straight game topping the century mark -- and one touchdown on the ground, along with four receptions for 49 yards to lead UA in both categories.
Considering the sloppy conditions and one-dimensional nature of their respective offenses, the stellar performances from Sankey and Carey again reinforced their status as the top two running backs on the West Coast.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
