Michael Penix Jr. leads huge UW huddle, then Huskies past Ducks to Pac-12 title, playoff
The football palace just off The Strip was bonkers.
Washington’s and Oregon’s bands were dueling in opposite end-zone stands. It was the timeout between the third and fourth quarters of a pulsating Pac-12 championship game. The Ducks had just scored 21 unanswered points. Washington’s perfect season, its chance at the college football playoff, were in serious jeopardy.
At that tipping point to the Huskies’ year, all 100-plus Huskies players and coaches formed a giant circle just onto the field, at their sideline. They all listened to one man give a fiery talk, with pointed fingers.
It wasn’t a coach leading in that moment.
Michael Penix Jr. was the man in the middle. He was absolutely barking at his Dawgs.
“Just keep believing!” Penix told his Huskies. “Just keep fighting! We’ve been in this position before, when it gets tight at the end.
“Look at the guy next to you. Just trust that he’s going to do his job, and win this game!”
The Huskies’ response?
Plowing to the go-ahead touchdown, a 6-yard run by dump-trucking Dillon Johnson. Then, a drive stop by Washington’s defense, highlighted by linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio’s tackle of a Ducks receiver after his catch — while prone on the turf.
And then, a dagger to the Ducks: Penix’s 2-yard pass to seldom-used tight end Quentin Moore, only Moore’s second catch all season.
It was purple bedlam in the desert.
Penix’s leadership, and arm, led the Huskies to the mammoth 14 unanswered points. Then Washington held on for a rollicking, 34-31 victory over Oregon Friday night at Allegiant Stadium that doesn’t get this loud for Raiders NFL games.
The comeback won UW the last Pac-12 Conference title before the league dismantles. And it puts Washington squarely into the college football playoff for the second time in school history, the first since Jake Browning’s 2016 Dawgs.
The playoff committee will make its decision on its four national-semifinals teams on Sunday. Yes, they were watching Friday night. Intently.
The Huskies are likely headed to the Rose Bowl to play a national semifinal on New Year’s Day.
Thanks to Penix’s talk of belief and togetherness.
“That’s what it’s all about, just loving each other and trusting each other when those moments get big, or when those moments seem to get tough.
“Just having that belief that we are going to make it happen.”
They have, 13 times in 13 games this season. Washington, 13-0 for the first time in school history, is the only Football Bowl Subdivision team that’s 7-0 against teams with winning records this season.
“There is a deep, deep, DEEP belief right now in our football team that when the moments get tough, we can really hone in,” Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer said, after UW’s 20th consecutive victory. “Guys will just do their job, not get overwhelmed — and go execute.”
They Huskies have. Twice by three points over top-6 Oregon (11-2). At then-11th-ranked Oregon State. At ranked Arizona. At USC. On the final play of the Apple Cup last week over Washington State.
“I don’t there’s anyone else in the country that’s gone through what we went through... We did it at home. We did on the road. We did it in wind. We did it in rain. ...
“We did it against one of the best years ever that the Pac-12 had, in the depth of the league.”
Or, as Olufoshio said: “You can say whatever you want. We earned it.”
Johnson was UW’s hammer. He had 152 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns.
Penix, UW’s 3,900-yard passer in 12 games during the regular season, was the Huskies’ maestro. And inspiration. He completed 27 of 39 passes for 319 yards, a touchdown to a reserve tight end and an interception.
But stats don’t make true leaders. True leaders make champions.
Penix, who had two reconstructed knees while playing at Indiana, plus shoulder injuries, who is in his sixth college season, is a leader. Whaatever his Heisman Trophy and national-awards future is.
If their teammates had a vote in next week’s announcement, you know whom they’d pick.
“We have the frickin’ Heisman quarterback!” Ulofoshio said.
Epic effort
The all-out effort of both teams in this wildly emotional, max-stakes rivalry renewal was off the charts.
In the fourth quarter, Ulofoshio fell down as Oregon’s speedy Bucky Irving ran seemingly past him. The UW linebacker reached up and made the tackle — while prone on the turf. His grit led to a drive stop for the Huskies’ defense, protecting a 27-24 lead midway through the final period.
“My mindset was to get him down by any means,” Ulofoshio said.
For much of the night, it was raining home-run balls from Penix to UW’s wide receivers in the desert. To Rome Odunze. To Jalen McMillan. To re-emerging Ja’Lynn Polk, who came up huge late on the 12-play, 82-yard drive that took over 6 minutes off the fourth-quarter clock and produced the Huskies’ winning points.
At one point in the first half, Penix got drilled on a free blitz by Oregon’s Khyree Jackson. The Huskies QB got up, stalked Jackson back to his huddle and woofed in his helmet ear hole. They had to be separated.
Washington dominated most of the first half while taking a stunning, 20-3 lead. Then the Huskies got stunned. Oregon scored 21 unanswered points to go ahead 24-20 into the fourth quarter.
Oregon took advantage of an iffy penalty on UW for pass interference — where have Seattle football fans also seen that already this football weekend? — to swipe back a touchdown in the final 10 seconds of the first half. Then the Ducks took the opening possession after halftime and marched to fourth and goal at the Huskies 2.
Nix scrambled away from Washington’s Bralen Trice pressuring him up the middle on a looping stunt, then threw to tight end Terrance Ferguson low for a tumbling, 2-yard touchdown catch.
Washington’s early dominance and 20-3 lead was down to 20-17 with 5 minutes gone in the third quarter.
Penix and Nix traded interceptions. Then Johnson tripped on the artificial turf running for a first down on a Washington third and 1. On fourth down from the 28, instead of a field goal try of 46 yards for a 23-17 Huskies lead, DeBoer went for it. Penix didn’t sense the backside pressure running him down on his rollout to the left. He got sacked for a turnover on downs.
Nix then took off away from Trice nearly sacking him for the third time on the night. Trice erred by leaving his feet on Nix’s pump fake of a pass. Oregon’s QB sprinted 44 yards down the left sideline. That set up Jordan James’ 6-yard touchdown run.
Oregon had its first lead, 24-20.
Dominant Dawgs beginning
The Huskies dominated all but the final drive of the first half.
Their defense was UW’s biggest surprise.
After allowing the Ducks to roll them for 541 yards and 33 points that should have been more in their first meeting at Husky Stadium in October, Washington’s defense made sure tackle after sure tackle after sure tackle Friday. The Huskies’ defensive backs immediately dumped Ducks after their catches of Nix’s short, quick passes. Junior nickel back Kamren Fabiculanan, out injured much of the season, made two stops in the open-field to ruin consecutive Oregon drives in the second quarter.
Oregon never punted in the first meeting. The Huskies forced two punts with two three and outs on the Ducks’ first two drives Friday night.
The second was because of a brilliant play by Washington safety Mishael Powell. He crowded the edge of the line, held the edge through a blocker to deter Nix from running on third and 1, then ran in at Nix, almost sacking him. Nix was forced to throw the ball away to avoid a big loss, and Oregon punted again, down 10-0.
Oregon didn’t get its initial first down of the game until 1 minute into the second quarter. That drive ended in the red zone with a field goal to make Washington’s lead 10-3, after consecutive stops on Ducks pass plays by Fabiculanan and Jabbar Muhammad.
Meanwhile, Penix had 192 yards passing in the half. The Huskies threw short early, then when Oregon played aggressively up UW hit them with deep routes by Odunze, a candidate for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver, and McMillan.
Penix completed a 22-yard pass over two defenders to Odunze midway through the second quarter, then a 45-yard rainbow to McMillan on a double move, to the Oregon 8-yard line.
Dillon Johnson then flipped a pass to fellow running back Germie Bernard who ran it in from 4 yards for the touchdown. The Huskies led 17-3.
It was 20-3 UW after another Penix lofted ball to Odunze for 34 yards set up a field goal from 37 yards by Grady Gross.
Oregon swiped a touchdown back in hurry-up mode at the end of the half. A dubious pass-interference on UW’s Muhammad trading hand holds with Oregon receiver Troy Franklin set up Nix’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Ferguson, and Washington’s lead was down to 20-10 entering the third quarter.
Ultimately, Penix wouldn’t let the Huskies lose.
It all came up roses for UW.
On the field, amid purple confetti, former Huskies players such as the Seahawks’ Will Dissly and NFL veteran Marcus Peters hugging current Dawgs, with players poses with the final Pac-12 conference football trophy as we know the league, Penix’s teammates chanted “Heis-man! Heis-man!”
“It’s just a blessing,” he said, “to be in that talk.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2023 at 8:53 PM.
