SEATTLE — With 14:09 left in the second quarter Saturday, Michael Penix Jr. dropped a shotgun snap from the shadow of Washington’s west end zone. While the pocket tightened, the sixth-year senior calmly corralled the ball, turned and fired to wide receiver Jalen McMillan for a 7-yard score.
The touchdown — UW’s first in what could be a special season — was preceded by a pair of Husky punts.
But like Penix, the Huskies didn’t panic.
There were early stumbles … and eventual success.
Specifically, UW found the end zone in four of its final six drives in a scintillating second quarter. Penix — the 6-foot-3, 213-pound senior — located McMillan again for a 38-yard score, before tacking on touchdowns to wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk (44 yards) and tight end Jack Westover (20 yards).
In a 56-19 Washington win, Penix completed 29 of 40 passes (73%) for 450 yards and five touchdowns. The ever-elusive McMillan (eight catches for 95 yards and two TDs, plus a 19-yard TD run) and fellow junior Rome Odunze (seven catches for 132 yards and 1 TD) each surpassed triple digits in a predictably prolific display.
UW sophomore running back Will Nixon tacked on 48 rushing yards and eight yards per carry, while junior Mississippi State Dillon Johnson provided a 1-yard touchdown plunge in garbage time.
UW’s defense, meanwhile, was concerningly inconsistent once again. While Boise State quarterback Taylen Green completed just 19 of 39 passes (49%), he gashed the Huskies for gaudy gains — including a 50-yard screen score to running back Ashton Jeanty (featuring a hellacious stiff arm of linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio) to kick off the second half. The 5-9, 210-pound Jeanty recorded a 48-yard gain on an eerily similar screen in the second quarter as well.
But the Husky defense also overcame an inauspicious start. After surrendering a 39-yard field goal to trail 9-7 with 12:06 left in the second quarter, the Broncos managed three punts, a Kamren Fabiculanan interception and a field goal in their final five first-half drives. That stretch included three consecutive three-and-outs as well.
Junior linebacker Carson Bruener added another interception — and a 33-yard return to set up another Husky score late in the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Dylan Morris led the two-play scoring drive in mop-up duty, capping it with a 31-yard touchdown pass to tight end Josh Cuevas.
Green — the Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2022 — threw for 244 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, plus 31 rushing yards. Jeanty — who contributed 44 rushing yards and a 7-yard score, and three catches for 102 yards and a touchdown — was the Broncos’ primary producer.