The Washington Huskies Football team marched into Folsom Field looking to play a complete game after their second bye week of the season.
At the beginning of the game, the Huskies won the toss and elected to defer to the second half, which they have done all season long.
On the first drive of the night for the Buffaloes, a holding penalty negated a long run by quarterback Steven Montez.
The Huskies forced Colorado to punt the football, resulting in pinning the Huskies on the 2-yard line.
With the first offensive drive of the game, the Huskies were forced into a 3-and-out, after they failed to move the ball away from the goal line.
Colorado got the ball next and was able to move the ball down the field and convert a 22-yard FG, taking the early 3-0 lead with 7:23 left in the 1st quarter.
The Huskies got the ball and drove it 13 plays for 64 yards, before junior quarterback Jacob Eason threw a costly interception in the red zone.
Momentum completely changed and the Buffaloes returned the ball to the 31-yard line. Eason has struggled with interceptions the last 3 games.
It was another classic slow start for the Huskies during a late night kickoff game and the Buffaloes looked good early on.
On the next drive, the Buffaloes marched the ball down the field and chose not to kick a field goal and go for it on 4th and 4 instead.
The Husky defense would stop them a yard short and take over on downs at the 15-yard line. It was a big momentum play, as the Buffaloes had moved the ball pretty easily on the Huskies.
Offensively the Huskies couldn’t get anything going, as Eason was sacked for a 6-yard loss on 3rd down and senior punter Joel Whitford punted the ball 54-yards down to the Colorado 31-yard line.
Colorado was able to move the ball on their next drive for 55-yards on 9 plays and settle for a 23-yard field goal, to extend their lead to 6-0 with 7:18 left in the 2nd quarter.
Defensively, the Huskies bent but didn’t break, as they put the clamps on the Buffaloes in the red zone and showed signs of life.
The entire first half was a flat start for the Huskies under the lights, eerily similar to the Stanford loss earlier in the season.
The Husky offense got the ball back and couldn’t convert a first down with going 3-and-out and being forced to punt once again.
In desperate need of a spark, the Huskies were hoping that their defense would get a turnover and help them with good field position.
It seemed as if the Husky defense was able to settle in the last two drives and get some stops to help stop the Buffaloes momentum.
With the Husky offense being anemic up until this point, there was no telling if they could move the ball down the field and score.
At the 3:25 mark in the 2nd quarter, the Buffaloes were leading 6-0 and holding the Huskies scoreless for almost the entire half.
Once again the Huskies couldn’t convert on a 3rd and 2, which forced the Whitford 56-yard punt down to the Colorado 28-yard line.
Colorado decided to play aggressive and go for a quick strike down the field and catch the Husky defense off-guard.
Montez connected with wide receiver Laviska Shanault Jr. for a 39-yard touchdown strike, which gave the Buffaloes momentum before halftime.
The Buffaloes were leading 13-0 at the 1:37 mark of the 2nd quarter. It was an absolute flat performance for an entire half for the Huskies.
Eason would get another chance to lead the Huskies down the field but he would be sacked for an 11-yard loss.
The Huskies would go into halftime losing 13-0 with a lot of questions to be addressed in the locker room by Chris Petersen and staff.
Offensively, the Huskies only gained 91 yards of total offense and rushed for just a mere 10-yards the entire half.
At the start of the 3rd quarter, the Huskies started with the ball on offense with a critical drive looming ahead of them!
The Huskies would answer the bell with a 15 play, 75-yard drive, which was capped by a 1-yard rush touchdown by redshirt freshman running back Richard Newton.
On the drive, the Huskies would take 6:57 off the clock, which helped them settle into the game and finally gain some rhythm on offense.
The Huskies would cut the Buffaloes lead to 13-7, with the Husky defense set to take the field and lock it down for the offense.
It wasn’t to be, as the Husky defense gave up an 82-yard drive on 11 plays, which was culminated by a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Alex Fontenot.
Colorado would extend its lead to 20-7 with 2:40 left in the third quarter and the Huskies officially on the ropes in Boulder.
During the next offensive drive, the Huskies would march down the field with an impressive 12 play, 75-yard drive, which resulted in a touchdown.
Eason connected with sophomore tight end Cade Otton on a 15-yard touchdown pass that would put the Huskies right back into the game.
The drive would take 5:05 off the clock and cut the Colorado lead to 20-14 with 12:35 left in the 4th quarter. It was a “dawg fight!”
On defense, the Huskies would get a crucial 1-yard sack on Montez by defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike and the Husky offense was back in business.
Eason moved the offense down the field but the drive would stall and the Huskies were forced to punt the ball down to the Colorado 34-yard line with 7:45 left in the game.
The Husky defense forced another stop and Eason had another chance to win a game for the Huskies down the stretch. Wide receiver Aaron Fuller provided a spark with a 52-yard punt return but the Huskies wouldn’t capitalize on it.
Colorado’s defense forced the Huskies to punt down to the 1-yard line with 5:20 left in the game. Was there enough time to still get a win?
It just wasn’t the Huskies night as the Buffaloes would convert enough first downs during the final stretch of the game to hold on to a 20-14 victory.
Probably the worst performance by the Huskies in recent history, it wasn’t the way they wanted to finish out the final leg of the season.
Eason went 21 for 34 on the night for 206 yards, with 1 TD and 1 interception. He struggled most of the night to move the Husky offense.
With the loss tonight, The Huskies will enter the final game of the regular season with no momentum and a lot of unanswered questions.
Next up for the Huskies (6-5, 3-5) is the Apple Cup at Husky Stadium, with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff against the Washington State Cougars (6-5, 3-5), on Friday, November 29th.
WASHINGTON VS. COLORADO FINAL GAME STATS
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