Eighth-ranked Washington did not need long to remove the suspense from Saturday night's nonconference match-up with Portland State at Seattle.

Quarterback Jake Browning threw four touchdown passes as the Huskies raced to an early 28-point lead and rolled to a 41-3 victory over the FCS Vikings.

Browning had two touchdown passes in the first quarter and one in the second as the Huskies (3-0) jumped to a 28-0 halftime lead. He added one in the fourth quarter as Washington padded its big lead and cruised to the victory.

Now, it's on to the tough Pac-12 schedule and next week's meeting with Arizona. The Huskies' nonconference schedule has ended, and coach Chris Petersen said it's time for the big tests.

"We have been staring at this schedule for a long time, going 'OK, we have our first three games, which have their own unique challenges, but then we start our league in a tough way,' " Petersen said. "To go to Arizona in a night game to open the league, that is going to be a challenge. Then we go home in a short week against Stanford, then go to Eugene (to play Oregon). We will find out quickly what we have."

The Huskies had plenty in this game. Browning finished 12 of 19 for 163 yards and the four scoring passes. He threw two touchdowns to Chico McClatcher and one each to Darrell Daniels and Myles Gaskin.

Washington simply dominated Portland State, which made too many early mistakes, and that let the Huskies take command early.

But everybody is now, as their coach said, looking ahead.

"A 3-0 start, that is what we wanted," Browning said. "We have been able to get a lot of people in to play and all that. But here comes Pac-12, and we all know that every Pac-12 game is a big game and anybody can beat anybody."

That's what they've done in these first three games.

Washington opened the season with a 48-13 victory over Rutgers and followed that with a 59-14 rout of Idaho. Add in this game and the Huskies have outscored opponents 148-30 so far.

Petersen and his players all said it doesn't matter who they played in these first three games. It's just a matter of preparing for conference play.

"It is about us," safety Budda Baker said. "We take each opponent like it is our last game."

That's what it looked like in this game. In addition to Browning, Gaskin ran for 93 yards and one touchdown. K.J. Carta-Samuels came on at quarterback late and also threw for one touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Washington overwhelmed Portland State (1-2) on offense. The Huskies finished with 406 yards of total offense compared with 182 for Portland State even though the Vikings kept possession for more than seven minutes longer.

Also, Washington shut down the Portland State running game. Quarterback Alex Kuresa completed 11 of 17 passes for 148 yards, but the Vikings ran for just 34 yards on 42 carries -- an average of only 0.8 yards.

Four Portland State turnovers also proved costly in the loss.

"Their defense is incredible, and they force turnovers, but at the same time there are things that we can do to avoid those situations and take care of the football better," Kuresa said. "We're not going to like the scoreboard when you turn the ball over, so that's going to be an emphasis for us moving forward."

The Huskies jumped out to that quick early lead and never looked back. They scored four touchdowns in the first 16 minutes and rolled to the 28-0 halftime lead.

Portland State also helped with a few mistakes that led to two touchdowns and 14 points.

Browning threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to McClatcher 2:23 into the game for a 7-0 lead. But Portland's Mitchell Thompson fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Washington recovered. Three plays later, Browning found Daniels for an 11-yard touchdown pass.

That came just 25 seconds after the first touchdown and gave the Huskies a 14-0 lead.

The same scenario happened early in the second quarter and helped Washington push the lead to 28 points. Portland State never could recover.

Browning threw a second scoring pass to McClatcher 11 seconds into the second quarter. This was from 13 yards and made it 21-0.

Portland then fumbled and Washington recovered at the 4-yard line, setting up another touchdown. Two plays later, Gaskin ran for a 4-yard touchdown and the 28-point lead.

That touchdown came just 57 seconds after the second McClatcher score, and the lead remained that way until the half.

"Yeah, but you know it was a devil's nightmare," said Portland State coach Bruce Barnum. "You win two [games like this] last year and now they expect it which is a great thing. I'd much rather have it this way than walk in and everyone thinks we're lambs to slaughter."

NOTES: This loss leaves Portland State with a 1-15 record versus FBS schools. The lone victory came against Washington State last year. ... Washington now has won 14 consecutive nonconference home games. Its last loss came on Sept. 18, 2010 versus Nebraska. ... Washington TE Will Dissly scored a touchdown on his first career catch, a 27-yard pass from backup QB K.J. Carta-Samuels.