HOUSTON – So this is what a loss looks like.
It looks like strength and conditioning coach Ron McKeefery standing in the darkness of the tunnel hugging every Husky that leaves the field; like wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk sitting alone on the grass with a towel draped over his head as Michigan accepts a trophy he's not allowed to touch; like safety Asa Turner and running back Richard Newton – two sixth-graders – walking arm in arm into the locker room, defeated but undeterred.
It looks like a green field strewn with yellow confetti and streamers and missed opportunities; like uneven defense and a few ill-timed interceptions; like a 21-game winning streak being wiped out by a future conference opponent.
Washington's first loss in 15 months looked like this.
Surprisingly, it also looked like love.
“Man, this sucks,” quarterback Michael Penix Jr. said after the Huskies’ 34-13 loss to Michigan in the national championship game on Monday. “We played against a good team. You've done some good things. I feel like we just missed a lot of opportunities offensively where we needed to put in the most effort to help our team and put them in a better position to win.
“But it’s just a lot of love in the locker room. We're just a group that's been through a lot together, man, and we're not going to point fingers or anything like that. There's a lot of love in the locker room. Everyone just shows their appreciation for every person who put their bodies on the line, not just during the season but during the offseason, despite everything we've been through.”
It's easy to identify every single point on Monday where Washington could have given up.
When Michigan running back Donovan Edwards rumbled down the left sideline early in the game and scored an untouched 41-yard touchdown, the Huskies could have collapsed, stunned and incinerated on a national stage. When Edwards found Wolverines offensive lineman Trevor Keegan, rallied and added a 46-yard touchdown trot on the ensuing drive, the Huskies could have buried their heads, dropped their helmets and gone home.
national championship Michigan 34, Washington 13
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When Penix made an uncharacteristic mistake and missed a wide-open Rome Odunze for a potential touchdown on fourth-and-7 with a 17-3 deficit… UW definitely could have folded.
“It's up to me. I just have to make the throw. That's it,” Penix said.
Odunze also acknowledged the mistake and said he walked the wrong route. “That was my fault, I should have broken out of that game. … Selfishly, I had so much open space that I kind of had a mental breakdown and just ran straight up the field because there was so much open space.”
No. 2 Washington (14-1) didn't give up Monday night at NRG Stadium.
But for a program still waiting to end a 32-year national title streak, that's cold comfort.
“When you see players care so much about what happens on the football field, when you see they love each other, when you see they have expectations and when you fall short like we did tonight, then … I’m just sorry,” he told UW coach Kalen DeBoer, his eyes glittering. “I'm sorry that they couldn't achieve a championship this year.
“Because they made the sacrifices. They made the commitments. The goals they had, the work supported them. And tonight we couldn’t get over the hump.”
The Wolverines didn’t help.
Not surprisingly, Michigan's running game was relentless and methodical, producing 209 rushing yards on 12.3 yards per carry and two touchdowns in the first half alone. Standout senior Blake Corum rushed for a 59-yard gain on the final play of the first quarter, en route to 133 yards rushing on 6.7 yards per carry and two total touchdowns.
But after a disastrous opening stanza, UW's defense suddenly stiffened – forcing five punts and a turnover on downs while conceding a single field goal on Michigan's next seven drives.
Cornerback Jabbar Muhammad and linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio each converted critical pass breakups to stifle Michigan marches, while linebacker Carson Bruener had Corum compensate for a 1-yard loss on third and second to force a third-quarter punt.
“[It was] To be honest, I just missed fits,” said Ulofoshio, who made four tackles with a pass breakup in his last game. “So, I mean, we corrected it. But in games like this we can't make explosive mistakes like that. And ultimately it cost us.”
But while UW's defense was revitalized, the offense closed in. On fourth-and-goal from the 3 with 46 seconds left in the second quarter, Penix took a shotgun snap, called Odunze for a defensive holding penalty… and instead found Jalen McMillan over the middle for a touchdown.
The Wolverines entered the locker room with a disappointing 17-10 lead despite outshooting the Huskies 290-160.
UW also received the ball early in the second half and had a chance to tie the game.
This opportunity evaporated.
On the first play of the third quarter, Penix was pressured and made a duck that cornerback Will Johnson fired to juggle down the sideline and intercept. Seven plays (and 12 yards) later, the Wolverines added an uninspiring 38-yard field goal.
Which contributed to an evolving – and atypical for this team – theme:
While UW's defense put the Huskies in position to win, the offense couldn't respond.
That was the case on third and fourth passes early in the fourth quarter, when running back Will Nixon scored a sure conversion on his own 33-yard line. That was the case on UW's next drive, when a questionable holding penalty on right tackle Roger Rosengarten negated a fluttering 32-yard completion from Penix to Odunze.
Against college football's premier defense, UW needed Penix to put together another flawless performance and lead its Huskies to their first national championship since 1991. The Huskies needed their wide receivers to manipulate Michigan's defensive backs and running back Dillon Johnson to deliver despite a series of injuries.
“We just didn’t get it done in the moments we needed to,” Penix said. “I don’t feel like they did anything; I feel like we beat ourselves. And there were times where we definitely had opportunities to make big plays and make the game completely different. But it depends on the execution. They are a good team, but we had a lot of opportunities.”
When it mattered most, UW's offensive options dwindled.
And his defense couldn't hold.
With 7:09 left in the fourth quarter, Corum capped a five-play, 71-yard drive by fending off a tackle by Alphonzo Tuputala and scoring a 12-yard touchdown. Trailing 27-13, Penix finally managed to find Odunze for a 44-yard shot. But a Penix prayer on fourth-and-13 was intercepted by nickelback Mike Sainristil, who rounded the Huskies for an 81-yard return. Corum added a seven-yard score two plays later to seal the tie.
In his final college game, Penix completed 27 of 51 passes and threw for 255 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Meanwhile, Michigan's Corum and Edwards (104 yards, 17.3 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns) each passed the century mark.
When it was over, Ulofoshio and McKeefery stood, hugged and swayed, symbolically ending an era. Sixth-grader Zion Tupuola-Fetui choked back tears with a lei around his neck and another on his forehead, gifts from his family. Johnson hobbled into the locker room as Will Rogers — Penix's possible replacement, a soon-to-be senior from Mississippi State — watched, leaning against the wall.
Together, these Huskies have won so much that they may have forgotten what it looks (and feels like) to lose.
It feels better with your brothers.
“I feel blessed to be here,” said Penix, sitting between Ulofoshio and DeBoer. “I feel blessed to be on this team and these guys will be my brothers forever.”