Washington survives upset scare from Arizona State to move to 7-0
Washington, which had been averaging 44.3 points per game entering Week 8, was held without an offensive touchdown against Arizona State. Washington, which had been averaging 544 yards a game, was held to just 288 against Arizona State. Washington, which was led by the Heisman Trophy favorite and was coming off a 36-33 win over Oregon that boosted it up to No. 5 in the AP poll, looked mortal against Arizona State.
Every team will eventually have a clunker. The great teams win them.
In the late-night window on Saturday, Washington scored a 15-7 victory over Arizona State to remain unbeaten on the season and extend its overall winning streak to 14 games. And it did so without scoring an offensive touchdown, the first time that’s happened in a Husky victory since 2001.
Coming off a huge win over Oregon last weekend at home, Washington looked very off.
The Huskies had just 167 yards of total offense in the first half. Michael Penix Jr. threw two first-half touchdowns and the Huskies fumbled it twice more, losing one of them.
In the third quarter, it was more of the same. UW produced only 36 yards on 11 plays.
Arizona State played keepaway. The Sun Devils held a 15-minute advantage in time of possession and ran 23 more plays than the Huskies.
That kept Penix out of rhythm and it kept the UW pass game — down two key receivers — from opening things up the way it is used to. Penix completed 27 of his 42 yards for 275 yards and two interceptions. He was held without a touchdown pass for the second time in three weeks.
But, in a 7-6 game midway through the fourth quarter, Arizona State’s only turnover of the game did it in.
Mishael Powell jumped a fourth-and-3 pass attempt from Arizona State and returned it 89 yards for the eventual game-winning touchdown.
PICKED OFF !!!!@UW_Football takes it 89 yards TO THE HOUSE 😤 pic.twitter.com/fDVtA9LGQa
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 22, 2023
Washington forced a three-and-out on ASU’s next possession and then added a field goal for insurance. Arizona State turned it over on downs after nine plays and 23 yards to effectively end the game.
Though it lost the overall yardage battle, Washington outgained Arizona State on a per-play basis 5.2-4.4. Jabbar Muhammad led the defense with seven tackles and two tackles for loss. The defense as a whole broke up nine Arizona State passes.
ASU quarterback Trenton Bourguet threw it 47 times for 196 yards. Elijhah Badger led the way with eight receptions for 50 yards, but was never able to break loose.
On the other side, Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk combined for 184 yards on 14 receptions.
The Huskies (7-0, 4-0 Pac-12) take sole possession of first place in the league with the win and USC’s loss to Utah. They’ll face Stanford in Week 9.
Arizona State drops to 1-6 on the year and 0-4 in league play. The Sun Devils will host Washington State next Saturday.