Pac-12 football: No. `13 Washington and No. 23 Washington State roll; No. 25 Stanford wins

Jacob Eason threw for 349 yards and four touchdowns in his first game in nearly two years, and No. 13 Washington opened the season with a 47-14 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday.

Taking his first snaps since the 2017 season when he lost the starting job at Georgia to Jake Fromm, Eason showed no rust, carving up one of the top FCS programs in the country with a debut that will only increase the hype around the former No. 1 recruit in the country.

Eason completed 27 of 36 passes and led Washington (1-0) on touchdown drives on four of its first five possessions.

Eason’s fourth pass in purple was a 50-yard touchdown strike to Andre Baccellia. Eason added a 7-yard TD pass to Aaron Fuller, who made a stunning one-handed catch while getting a foot inbound, and capped his first-half with a 10-yard TD strike to Chico McClatcher late in the first half.

Fuller caught his second TD on the opening drive of the second half on a perfect back-shoulder throw from Eason, tapping his toes as he fell out of bounds.

This was a far different situation than the previous two times the Huskies and Eagles faced off. In 2011, Washington needed a late end zone interception to hold off Eastern Washington 30-27, and three years later in head coach Chris Petersen’s first home game, the Huskies held on for a wild 59-52 victory.

After playing in the FCS national championship game last January and falling to North Dakota State, the Eagles were simply overmatched by Huskies this time around.

Richard Newton rushed for a 23-yard touchdown on Washington’s first possession and Salvon Ahmed added a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter to give the Huskies a 42-7 lead.

Eastern Washington (0-1) quarterback Eric Barriere was 21 of 35 for 211 yards, but was sacked four times. Barriere threw a 64-yard touchdown to Andrew Boston late in the first half and Antoine Custer Jr. ran for a 4-yard TD in the fourth quarter.

at No. 23 Washington State 58, New Mexico State 7: Anthony Gordon completed his first 15 passes, threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, and No. 23 Washington State rolled past New Mexico State 58-7 on Saturday night.

Gordon made his first college start memorable throwing touchdowns of 41, 48, 19 and 54 yards in the first half as the Cougars (1-0) built a 35-7 lead and coasted to an easy opening victory. Gordon finished 29 of 35 for 420 yards and five TD passes before checking out late in the third quarter.

Gordon, who had just five career passes coming into the season, beat out Eastern Washington transfer Gage Gubrud for the starting job with a stellar fall camp and his performance in camp continued into the start of the season. Gordon hit Rodrick Fisher on a 41-yard TD on the opening drive of the game and the passing onslaught was only getting started.

at No. 25 Stanford 17, Northwestern 7: K.J. Costello threw a 2-yard touchdown pass before getting knocked out of the season opener on a late hit and No. 25 Stanford went on to beat Northwestern 17-7 on Saturday.

Costello completed 16 of 20 passes for 152 yards and the TD pass to Michael Wilson that capped a 90-yard drive in the second quarter for the Cardinal (1-0). But his day ended early when he was hit with a forearm to the facemask while sliding on a scramble by Earnest Brown IV with just 2 seconds remaining in the first half.

Brown was called for a late hit that set up Jet Toner’s 51-yard field goal but wasn’t ejected for targeting. Costello stayed down on the turf for a few minutes before being helped to the locker room. He didn’t return to the game and there was no immediate word on his condition.

Northwestern also lost a quarterback with TJ Green leaving with a leg injury in the third quarter after being sacked and losing a fumble on a play in the red zone. Green had replaced the ineffective former Clemson five-star recruit Hunter Johnson late in the first half.

Johnson came back in to finish and went 6 for 17 for 55 yards and two interceptions. He also lost a fumble that Stanford’s Jordan Fox recovered in the end zone for a touchdown that sealed the game with 20 seconds remaining.

Things were so bad for the Wildcats that they failed to score after Stanford backup quarterback Davis Mills lost a fumble that Gavin Newsome returned to the 21. Northwestern gained 1 yard on three plays before Charlie Kuhbander missed wide right on a 38-yard field goal try.

The Wildcats finally got on the board on a 1-yard run by John Moten IV midway through the fourth quarter.

at California 27, UC Davis 13: Christopher Brown Jr. rushed for a career-high 197 yards and a touchdown in his first start, and California overcame a sloppy first half and beat UC Davis 27-13 on Saturday.

Chase Garbers shrugged off two turnovers and completed 16 of 28 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns, both to Kekoa Crawford. Greg Thomas kicked a pair of field goals, including a career-best 47-yarder, as the Golden Bears won their third consecutive opener under coach Justin Wilcox.

California won despite four turnovers including a fumble by Ashtyn Davis on the opening kickoff. That set up a short touchdown run by Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. and the Aggies went up 10-0 on a field goal by Max O’Rourke before the Bears rallied.