(AP Photo)

Please note: Kickoff for the Washington State game should be announced today. I m figuring 7 or 7:30 p.m. It s quite possible Stanford will end October without having played a game that started after 9 a.m. and before 5 p.m.

Mentioned in my report Thursday night that a playoff path is opening for Stanford, based on both current position and upcoming schedule.

The Cardinal will be favored in every game down the stretch, and heavily favored in several. Does it need to run the table? Perhaps not.

A two-loss team could very well make the semifinals, but that team would have to be its conference champion.

The more interesting discussion involves Stanford s prospects if it were to run the table in the Pac-12, but lose to Notre Dame.

The Cardinal would be a Power 5 champ that went 10-0 in its league (including the title game) but lost twice to P5 non-conference opponents.

In that scenario, Notre Dame could end up as a one-loss semifinalist, squeezing out multiple P5 champs. (The Irish will be favored in every game leading up to the regular-season finale against the Cardinal.)

In other words: The Nov. 28 showdown at Stanford Stadium could very well turn out to be a playoff-elimination game.

Result: Beat UCLA 56-35

Grade: A+

Comment: Tough to find any flaws in the performance. The offense was off the charts, and the defense allowed just 17 meaningful points (and 18 in garbage time).

From the department of misleading statistics, here are the total yards: UCLA 506, Stanford 440.

*** Now that the Cardinal has rediscovered its power running attack, it seems the matchup rules that governed outcomes of games in the 2012-13 seasons, but went on hiatus last year, are once again applicable.

Finesse teams – teams that run the spread offense, whose defenses that aren t used to facing (in games or practice) opponents with tight ends and fullbacks and extra linemen – will have an exceedingly difficult time containing the Cardinal.

The toughest remaining matchups for Stanford, it seems, are Notre Dame and Utah, but the former isn t a conference opponent and the latter isn t on the schedule – at least until the league title game.

(The fact that Cal held its own against Utah on the line of scrimmage indicates the Bears might be able to do the same in Big Game.)

*** Stanford benefited immensely from the fact that the best offenses it has faced thus far chose not to make optimal use of the running game.

USC was carving up the Cardinal on the ground, then inexplicably went aerial. And UCLA failed to use Paul Perkins as it should have early in the game, either on handoffs or short passes.

*** Christian McCaffrey was, of course, masterful. The sophomore accumulated 369 all-purposes yards, which was 19 shy of the school record and the highest total by a Football Bowl Subdivision player this season.

He added four touchdowns and 243 rushing yards, which broke Toby Gerhart s school record (223, set in 2009 against Oregon).

He returned a kickoff 96 yards, uncorked a 70-yard touchdown run and averaged 13.1 yards every time he touched the ball.

He s on Stanford s all-purpose pantheon with Darrin Nelson and Glyn Milburn.

*** Stanford in situational football, which we re tracking every week for the Bay Area teams:

Turnover margin: +1Third-down conversions: 5 of 12Red zone TDs: 4 of 4

*** Quarterback Kevin Hogan in his last four games: Nine touchdowns, two interceptions and a 73.2 completion percentage.For most of that span, he has played with a sprained left ankle.

I feel like I have a good thing going with the training staff, and they re getting me out there and getting me healthy, he said. So, hopefully, one of these days I ll be back at 100 percent.

*** If you have not seen Francis Owusu s catch … and I hesitate to call it a circus catch because it s far more remarkable than a half-man/half woman … here s the video.

Next up: vs. Washington.

The matchup: The Huskies are fairly stout defensively and will make Stanford s pursuit of a fifth consecutive 40+ point game difficult.

But it s hard to envision how UW will keep up even if Stanford scores 25 or 30 points.

The Huskies are averaging a meager 20.3 ppg in league play. They are short on playmakers and trying to make do with a freshman quarterback.

Usually, that s Jake Browning, a true frosh, but Browning injured his shoulder in the loss to Oregon. His replacement, K.J. Carta-Samuels, is a redshirt freshman (from Bellarmine Prep, by the way).

Browning s status is uncertain, and will likely remain that way for the rest of the week.

So either way, Stanford will be facing a freshman for the fifth time in seven games. (And a sixth opposing QB, Arizona s Jerrard Randall, was a backup forced into a starting role.)

And either way, it seems unlikely that UW has the offense to keep up.

*** There is no betting line yet because of Browning s injury. Stanford should be favored by low-to-mid double digits.

Feels like a grinder early, blowout late. Stanford 34, Washington 13, or thereabouts.

xxxxxxx

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