When Arizona State’s BJ Green and Travez Moore met in the Washington backfield, sandwiching quarterback Michael Penix Jr. just after he released the ball, the entire Husky fanbase held their breath.

UW’s quarterback has gotten off to a wonderful start this season, but in his previous four years at Indiana, he never made it more than six games in a single year before injuries took their toll. So, with Penix staying down on the deck after getting hit, clutching his throat, it was natural to worry.

“At first I wasn’t sure. Maybe a little bit of that thought was going through my mind (about Penix’s injury history),” said coach Kalen DeBoer on Monday. “I didn’t feel in my heart that it was something that would be a season-ending injury. I don’t know, it just didn’t feel that way.”

And Penix was right back in the game after just one missed play.

“I think he’s all good,” DeBoer said. “I think he was a little sore after the game. Really didn’t know what was wrong when I first got out on the field, and then I figured it out and really just turned the corner really fast. It’s really just one of those things where all of a sudden he’s like, ‘Oh, I think I’m going to be OK.’ He was really sore but he’s fine now.”

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb added that it was a bit difficult for Penix to swallow after the game, “but he’s OK now.”

No worries going forward.

He finished 33-for-53 in UW’s 45-38 loss to Arizona State. He threw for 311 yards, but was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season.

Penix currently ranks second in the country in passing yards, with 2,044 in his first six games. He 17 total touchdowns on the year and ranks third nationally in explosive pass plays generated (15-plus-yard completions). He’ll look to help the Huskies get back on track Saturday against Arizona at home.