It was clear from the start that Michael Penix Jr. wasn’t quite his normal bright self. It ultimately didn’t matter as Penix did just enough with help from Wayne Taulapapa and the Husky run game plus a surprisingly strong Dawg defense to take down No. 20 Texas 27-20 and cap off an 11-2 season. The Huskies finished the game 11/20 on 3rd down to traumatize Texas all night and continue to score long shots, which kept the defense fresh and deprived the Longhorns of the ball.
Washington decided to dazzle to start the bowl game as Michael Penix Jr.’s flickering flea connection to Ja’Lynn Polk resulted in a 35-yard gain on the first play. Unfortunately, accuracy de Penix didn’t quite live up to his normal standards for a while after this point. A miscommunication between Penix and a receiver resulted in an interception to end UW’s first down.
The Husky defense was ready to bail out the offense as a Bralen Trice sack set the Longhorns back and helped earn a 3-and-out. On the Texas punt, Edefuan Ulofoshio came out unblocked and got his hands on the ball to give UW field position almost exactly where the pick was.
Penix threw some more incompleteness though as his deep ball was off target and miscommunications were common. The excellent field position, however, allowed for a 46-yard field goal try and Peyton Henry completed it to put UW ahead with a 3-0 lead.
Texas got up on kickoff but moved the ball fairly consistently on their next drive. Washington forced a short 4th and Texas lined up quickly with a WR lined up at the RB point and fed him the ball for a gain over 25 yards from the 10-yard line. Things stalled from there, helped by a false start and Texas’ 3rd down was caught. Texas’ short field goal tied the game at 3.
Washington’s Giles Jackson was taken down at the 12-yard line after a poor decision to get the ball out of the end zone at kickoff. Penix reached his 6th straight incompletion before an Odunze completion threw the drive off. Washington moved the ball with several carries to tight ends Jack Westover and Devin Culp before Wayne Taulapapa finally showed up. UW wasn’t willing to run the ball much but Taulapapa came out and a nice stiff arm cleared it for a 42-yard score to put Washington up 10-3.
In Texas’ next drive, they got a short 4th again and went into Husky territory, but this time Ewers pitched badly for an open Xavier Worthy for a turnover on the downs. At this point, the referees took over for a while. On the 3 and 14, a Texas DB caught Rome Odunze by the horse’s collar on a deep ball but no DPI was called. Washington instead punted and it could easily have been a blow to the punter, but instead just ran into the kicker and didn’t give UW a first down. Again, the UW defense forced a 3 and despite Jalen McMillan being tackled after a good hold, there was no flag for interference.
Richard Newton in the game as RB No. 2 with Cam Davis unavailable due to injury starting the next drive with an 8-yard gain and 9 yards down the middle with the inside zone. From there, Washington’s offense stalled after pressure forced Penix to let go early a few times and the Huskies once again punted.
Texas got a first down on a 17-yard gain at its tight end, but Washington’s defense went from there. Texas gained 7 yards before throwing incomplete 3rd and 3rd and the punt went into the end zone giving the ball to UW at the 20. Washington worked the ball upfield, including a pair of conversions to the 3rd and 6th, one on a draw from Taulapapa and another blow to Odunze. That pass to Rome officially gave Penix the all-time UW single-season record for passing yards. However, the 3rd and the goal with 7 seconds to go, a throw to Rome in the end zone hit him in the hands, which forced a shot down the field when time expired. Henry’s 2nd mark put the Dawgs ahead 13-3 at the break.
Penix entered the half throwing just 16/30 throws at 4.6 yards per attempt. Fortunately, the Huskies averaged 9.8 yards per carry, unlike Texas’ 1.8 yards per carry, the Longhorns’ top two running backs retired from the game.
Despite the Husky defense’s fantastic effort in the first half, it was clear they couldn’t keep up forever. Quinn Ewers found Xavier Worthy after escaping the Husky pass rush and he picked up 21 yards and might have had more if not for a nice tackle in the secondary. Shortly after, Ewers threw a small boundary screen pass and Cam Bright took a bad angle which allowed Jonathan Brooks to run 34 yards for the TD and bring it back to a game at 13 -10 HU.
Washington faced a tough decision early on as they had a 4th and 1st pit inside their own territory. The Huskies looked to draw Texas offside, but Michael Penix sneaked the QB in as the game clock ran out and somehow emerged from the pile after looking to be stopped at the beginning. Tight ends helped pick things up from there as Quentin Moore gained 17 yards and Jack Westover 16 yards to help move the ball to 1st and on base at the 6-yard line. Taj Davis opened up on the perimeter and easily headed it into the corner of the end zone and the TD put UW up 20-10 to cap 13 plays, 5:47 away.
Texas looked like it was destined to respond right away. Xavier Worthy beat Jordan Perryman deep on the sideline but dropped him. And to add insult to injury, Perryman stepped on Worthy and left the game injured. On the next play, Texas went deep to Worthy again and he got behind the entire Husky defense, but again dropped the pass wide open and Texas was forced to punt.
Washington decided enough was enough by then. Penix designed a 14-play, 90-yard practice nearly 7 minutes behind. It was capped off by Jalen McMillan diving down a slope and barely snatching the ball from the turf with fantastic hands for the score. No Husky play lasted more than 11 yards, including the TD, and it led to a 27-10 UW lead.
It wasn’t over as Texas had their best practice of the night moving the ball consistently 3 points. A pair of 19-yard gains helped put the Longhorns in position and Jonathan Brooks got his 2nd score of the game, this time on the ground from 2nd and goal at 3. That score took the Longhorns to 27-17 with 9:50 remaining.
Washington tried his best to run out of time, but in typical Penix/Grubb fashion, it still involved at least one shot from deep every 3 plays and, as was typical that night, none of them they weren’t full. On 3 and 11 in no man’s land, Penix threw it for Odunze on the incomplete sideline. Washington opted to go 4th and 11th and the pass to Polk was inaccurate, giving Texas a strong position on the court with just under 5 minutes left.
Luckily for the Dawgs, Texas didn’t seem to know how to execute a rushing offense. They got plenty of first downs but seemed to forget that the clock would start again once the ball was spotted and the seconds kept ticking down. Ewers again showed his inexperience when UW had 12 men on the field but couldn’t break it before Tuitele got to the sideline and then threw him incomplete on 3rd and 5th rather than getting a free 1st and goal. Texas instead kicked the short field goal to make it 27-20 UW with 1:40 left in the game.
The Longhorns were forced to go for the onside kick, but it went straight to a Husky player who rolled it up to end Texas’ chances. Washington ended up throwing a punt, but he used the last of Texas’ timeouts and a Voi Tunuufi sack ensured the Longhorns could do nothing but throw a Hail Mary from their own line 10 yards out when time expired (which was caught but well short of the end zone).
Penix finished the game 32/54 for 287 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Wayne Taulapapa had 103 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in his last game with the Huskies. Jalen McMillan led the receivers with 8 catches for 58 yards and a touchdown while Rome Odunze had 5 catches for 57 yards.
The Husky win cap contributed to a stunning turnaround in Year 1 under Kalen DeBoer from 4-8 to 11-2. Now, Washington hopes to go even further next season with a team that fires the vast majority of its top talent. WR Rome Odunze is the only key player eligible for a potential return who has yet to publicly announce his return. Next year’s team only loses the inside of the offensive line (no small thing), plus Wayne Taulapapa, Jeremiah Martin, Alex Cook, Jordan Perryman and Cam Bright among the starters.
Now we have 8 agonizing months to wait until the next Husky football game. But what an exciting, fantasy-filled 8 months it’s going to be for Washington fans. Go Dawgs!
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