10 more notes from the Huskies’ win over Cal in their Pac-12 opener
Maybe it took a bit longer than expected after Washington built an early lead, but Saturday night in Seattle, the Huskies outlasted visiting California in overtime for a 31-24 victory in their Pac-12 opener.
Here are 10 more notes from the win:
▪ The first forced fumble of safety Cameron Williams’ career at UW could not have happened in a more pivotal moment.
UW had just scored a touchdown to open overtime, but Cal seemed on the brink of scoring moments later. Christopher Brooks carried the ball 9 yards on the first play, and quarterback Chase Garbers kept the ball on the next play to pick up a first down. He then completed an 8-yard pass to his tight end Jake Tonges, before a Damien Moore run set Cal up with first-and-goal at the 2. Moore then took a pitch, headed toward the end zone and was met at the 1-yard line by Williams.
Here’s how coach Jimmy Lake saw the moment unfold: “It was quite a hit,” he said. “It was a big-time hit. So, Cam Williams — I mean, everyone’s got nicks and injuries and all kinds of things going on. That’s football.
“But, if you guys noticed, Cam Williams, both of his hands are wrapped up. He’s got two hands that are wrapped up like a boxer, tape, and he came over the top and laid his shoulder right into the running back and popped the ball loose. Just an extraordinary play by Cam.”
Huskies linebacker Ryan Bowman picked up the fumble and tumbled to the turf to end the game.
▪ Elsewhere on defense, cornerback Kyler Gordon posted a breakout performance to return the ball to the Huskies’ offense on three separate Cal drives.
The former Archbishop Murphy standout collected his first career interception on Cal’s opening drive of the game. On third-and-9, Cal quarterback Chase Garbers tossed the ball toward the right sideline, Gordon read the throw the whole way, and hauled it in to set up UW’s first score seven plays later.
Gordon intercepted another pass late in the third, making an impressive catch on the sideline, and dragging his feet across the turf to keep both toes in bounds. UW’s offense lost the ball again moments later on a fumble, but Gordon made yet another pivotal play on Cal’s ensuing drive, tackling Moore short of the first down marker after a short catch on a fourth-and-2.
Gordon finished with a team-leading 10 tackles and the two interceptions.
“This is the Kyler Gordon tonight that we all knew was going to happen,” Lake said. “Extremely athletic. Ball skills. Fast. His technique is as good as it’s been since he’s been here.”
▪ Gordon’s career night was key, considering the Huskies were missing All-Pac-12 cornerback Trent McDuffie, who usually starts opposite him. McDuffie left last weekend’s win over Arkansas State early with an apparent ankle injury, and his status remains unknown moving forward. He was on the sideline Saturday, but not suited up.
Redshirt freshman Mishael Powell, the former O’Dea High School standout who passed up six FCS offers to walk on at UW in 2019, earned his first career start in place of McDuffie and contributed six tackles and a forced fumble.
“This is part of football,” Lake said. “We’re going to miss guys next week as well and the week after that. And that’s why you’ve got to make sure you coach up your depth and get them ready to go for prime time.
“How about Mish Powell? He goes out there, makes his first start, plays solid football for us in a very impactful position. There’s a lot of defenses that we play and he was able to go out there and execute them.”
▪ Sixth-year tailback Sean McGrew made his first start of the season against Cal, and led the Huskies with 16 carries for 53 yards.
He also scored a pair of touchdowns — including the game-winner on the Huskies’ overtime possession.
UW drove to the 4-yard line on its first three plays before a false start knocked the Huskies back to the 9. McGrew took the next three carries — twice as direct snaps — for 4, then 3, then 2 yards and reached over the goal line for the decisive score.
“It just felt good to get in the end zone in overtime and win the game,” he said.
Especially considering the Huskies were looking to snap the streak of two straight losses to Cal in the most recent meetings in 2018 and 2019.
“The last two times we played them, they handed us the L, and it just feels good to come out victorious this time,” McGrew said.
He scored earlier on, too, taking another snap out of the wildcat formation in for a 5-yard score to give UW a two-score lead just before the half.
“Sean as a running back, he’s very slippery, he knows how to set up his blocks, he knows how to hit pause and then hit go, hit pause and then hit go,” Lake said. “And he’s given us a tremendous boost these last couple games. I’m so proud of Sean.”
Richard Newton, who started the first three games for UW at tailback, was on the sideline in uniform, but did not play.
McGrew, Kamari Pleasant (four carries, 17 yards), Cameron Davis (five carries, 15 yards) and quarterback Dylan Morris (five carries, 7 yards) were the four players who carried the ball for the Huskies, combining for 92 yards on 30 carries.
▪ For the first time this season, the Huskies had all three receivers who were projected to be starters during their spring and fall camps — Terrell Bynum, Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze — available against Cal.
Odunze, playing the first time this season after missing the first three games, caught all three of his targets for 56 yards — which led UW’s wide receivers — while McMillan added three catches on five targets for 28 yards and a 6-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, and Bynum two catches on four targets for 16 yards.
The Huskies were missing other offensive starters, but with his wide receiver group back healthy, Morris had an efficient game against Cal, connecting with a season-high nine different players on 19-of-32 passing for 234 yards and two touchdowns.
McMillan now has 13 catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns this season, while Bynum has 11 catches for 195 yards and two scores.
▪ Taj Davis, who has been steady for the Huskies even while they were missing Bynum, McMillan and Odunze earlier on, remains UW’s top receiver statistically through four games with a team-leading 19 catches for 257 yards.
He added 26 of those yards against Cal on two catches, including bringing in his first career touchdown catch on a 20-yard pass from Morris on UW’s second drive.
▪ The Huskies were without two of their starting tight ends against Cal, missing both Cade Otton, an All-Pac-12 performer last season, and Jack Westover.
Otton, who led UW in receiving last season, had played nearly every offensive snap for the Huskies — 218 total, per Pro Football Focus — entering the week. He has also been a top target for Morris this season, bringing in 13 catches for 138 yards, is averaging 10.6 yards per reception, and hauled in his first touchdown pass of the season last week in the win over Arkansas State.
It was reported pregame Saturday that Otton, who was absent during warmups, was in COVID-19 protocol. Lake said postgame Otton’s availability would also most likely be impacted next weekend, when the Huskies travel to Corvallis to play Oregon State.
Westover was on the sideline during Saturday’s game, but not suited up. He played 49 offensive snaps through the first three games for the Huskies, per PFF.
▪ With those two missing, Devin Culp, the former Gonzaga Prep standout, made his first start of the season and led the Huskies in receiving, catching a career-best five passes on six targets for 81 yards.
Every UW scoring drive in regulation featured at least one catch from the fourth-year sophomore tight end.
Culp’s first grab, for 8 yards, converted a fourth-and-2 on the Huskies’ second drive, and set up their first touchdown three plays later. He caught a career-long 27-yard pass on the next drive, making another key grab before UW found the end zone again. He caught two more passes of 10 and 26 yards on the Huskies’ final touchdown drive of the first half. And one more for 10 yards on a third-and-8 that contributed to the Huskies’ field goal on their first drive the second half.
“We gave Devin a game ball there in the locker room as we were celebrating,” Lake said. “We talk about our guys seizing the opportunity when the opportunity presents itself.
“And here goes Devin. He’s thrust into a starting role, and we had a bunch of plays that were targeted at that position, which you guys know every single week we’re targeting that tight end position, and he was going to have to execute every single one of them as the starter, and he did in a big way.”
▪ Garbers gave the Huskies trouble on the ground, rushing for a game-high 71 yards on his 16 attempts, but UW overall continued to show improvement against the run, holding Cal to a season-low 3.7 yards per carry.
Cal entered the game having run for 5.7 yards per attempt against Nevada, 4.9 against TCU and 7.5 last week in a win over Sacramento State.
Garbers and four others combined for 138 yards on 37 carries against the Huskies. Moore (18 carries, 67 yards) was the only other ball carrier for Cal with more than 10 rushing yards.
“Extremely proud of our guys stopping the run,” Lake said. “That was one of the keys to the game. Our D-line and outside linebackers played phenomenal. They did a great job of limiting their run game. They have two big-time running backs who have been running all over everybody else, and for us to limit those guys was a huge achievement.”
Cal did ultimately outgain the Huskies on offense, 457-326 — and Garbers finished 30-of-41 passing for 319 yards, two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown, and the two interceptions — but UW’s defense also tallied the three turnovers, three sacks of Garbers and five tackles for losses.
“Our guys just continue to fight,” Lake said. “We played a quality football team with a big-time quarterback who has been in this conference for a long time. And we knew we had to try to limit him as much as we could, and he still got a bunch of yards on us and made a bunch of plays for them.
“But, so proud of our guys to hold together and continue to fight all the way to the end.”
▪ Two Washington natives played for Cal during Saturday’s game. Former Skyline standout offensive lineman Matthew Cindric continued his role as the Golden Bears’ starting center, and played every offensive snap. Former Kennedy Catholic wide receiver Justin Richard Baker, played 13 snaps, per PFF, primarily as a slot receiver, and was targeted by Garbers once.
This story was originally published September 26, 2021 at 3:18 PM.
