TUCSON, Ariz. — Hours after the Mariners were eliminated from the postseason, UW didn’t bury Arizona under a barrage of home runs from Michael Penix Jr.
The little ball won the day.
Specifically, the Huskies scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions, ultimately leading to a 31-24 win. They opened the game with a 12-play, 95-yard, nearly seven-minute win that culminated in a 4-yard touchdown plunge by Dillon Johnson to give UW a 7-0 lead.
Their next two drives — seven plays and 57 yards, then 12 more plays and 73 yards — ended the same way. Sophomore wide receiver Germie Bernard made an end-around on the left edge for a 3-yard score before running back Will Nixon caught a throw and rushed forward for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Huskies a close to take the lead 21:7 in the second quarter.
With the nation’s leading passer at quarterback, UW (5-0, 2-0 Pac 12) scored three rushing touchdowns in an efficient first half.
But Penix also came to play.
Without injured standout outside hitter Jalen McMillan for the second straight game, the senior slinger was forced to complete 22 of 25 passes (88%) for 223 yards in a precise first half. But the Huskies — who came into the game with 22 completions of 30 yards or more, by far the most in the country — managed just 23 yards in the first two quarters.
A year after Penix threw for a school-record 516 yards in a 49-39 win over Arizona, the long ball was elusive in a sold-out Arizona Stadium.
But it wouldn’t stop there.
After shooting a three-pointer in the first half of the second half, the Huskies’ offense responded – as Penix drained a looper down the left sideline, giving Josh Cuevas a 57-yard gain. And after a Cuevas penalty helped the Huskies, UW extended the drive again on third-and-16 — tight end Devin Culp carried a pass through the arms of safety Dalton Johnson for 18 critical yards. Dillon Johnson then added another four-yard score, extending the lead to 28-10.
In Washington’s first legitimate test No. 7, Penix completed 30 of 40 passes for 363 yards in the win. Johnson rushed for 88 yards, 6.3 yards per carry and two touchdowns and added five catches for 48 yards.
But even without Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura — who missed the game after suffering an ankle injury in last week’s 21-20 win over Stanford — the Wildcats’ offense continued to thrive. In his first career start, redshirt senior quarterback Noah Fifita didn’t shy away, completing 21 of 32 passes for 165 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
In fact, after missing its first two possessions on Saturday, Arizona found its feet. The Wildcats’ standout wide receivers Tetairoa McMillan (five catches, 35 yards, one TD) and Jacob Cowing (six catches, 37 yards, one TD) both found the end zone.
But to continue the baseball analogy, both teams made costly mistakes in the fourth quarter. With 11:46 left, Fifita attempted to escape a sack by Ralen Goforth with an underhand flip to tight end Tanner McLachlan. Instead, UW sophomore safety Vincent Nunley grabbed his first career interception. But instead of capitalizing on it, UW’s ensuing 39-yard drive ended with a Bernard fumble at the Arizona 3-yard line.
UW struggled to close the door.
But ultimately the Wildcats succumbed to a barrage of base hits.
Although it wasn’t pretty, the Huskies’ playoff hopes survived the day.
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