Seattle, WA – The power slowed down both teams but the Washington Huskies outlasted the Oregon State power surge of the Beavers on Friday night. Huskies led by Michael Penix Jr controlled the balance attack with 24-21 victory.
Trailing the Beavers to start the 4th quarter, but staying in striking distance. They never stopped fighting for a victory knowing anything but a win was going to be unacceptable.
“We have a goal of winning championships, and we talked about it at halftime,” Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer.
Penix Jr. found 8 different receivers throwing for 298 yards with a touchdown. He could be a little more efficient with his passes completing 30/52. Rome Odunze was findings the gaps in the Beavers defense catching 7 passes for 102 yards.
The ground game filled in the gaps by having Wayne Taulapappa reach the end zone 2 times. Cameron Davis led the Huskies with 11 carries for 55 yards.
“I’m proud of the way the guys were just resilient,” DeBoer said.
Beavers pushed the ball down the field most of the night adding almost all the pressure the Huskies could handle. Running downhill controlling the clock was working for three quarters.
The running game was working for 175 yards total, with Damien Martinez carrying the load on 19 carries for 107 yards. Deshaun Fenwick dipped into the end zone twice with 5 carries for 37 yards.
The Beavers were unsuccessful on fourth down on both attempts that could have pushed the game in their favor.
“We’re going to err on aggression down there,” Beavers coach Jonathan Smith.
Beavers accomplished next to nothing through the air. Quarterback Ben Gulbranson completed 12 of 19 passes for only 87 yards total. Beavers receiver was Tre’Shaun Harrison, who caught five passes to lead his team for 15 yards.
Now Oregon State will host Cal next Saturday looking for another win to add to their already bowl eligible record of 6-3 overall.
Washington will travel to #8 Oregon and try to shake up the road to PAC-12 Championship in Vegas by getting the team 8 win on the season.