Huskies Defeat Bears In 31-24 Overtime Thriller

Heading into this contest, the Huskies came off a dominating 52-3 performance last weekend against Arkansas State, as the offense finally came alive. Washington entered this game as 7.5 point favorites, but the Bears had won the previous two meetings against the Huskies by a combined 3 points total. In the end, the Huskies did just enough to hold on and grind out the 31-24 overtime victory in a hard-fought game.

On offense, the Huskies received the ball first and went three-and-out on their first drive. Fortunately, they were able to rebound from that and put some points up on the board to the tune of 21 by halftime. Washington quarterback Dylan Morris looked sharp early on, making some precision throws down the field to his receivers. Six-year running back Sean McGrew got the starting nod and made an impact by gaining some tough yards and rushing for two touchdowns, most notably the go-ahead score in overtime. In the second half, the Husky offense failed to continue to put points up on the board, which allowed the Bears to creep back into the game. The Huskies were ahead 24-10, but that lead was quickly erased, which led to the game going into overtime. Overall, the Husky offense amassed 326 total yards.

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Defensively, it was a game where Washington came up with some huge momentum plays by coming up with turnovers. Washington head coach Jimmy Lake always says that “turnovers come in bunches” and they did for the Husky defense. Defensive back Kyler Gordon had the best game of his Husky career by notching two interceptions, which helped the Huskies gain some huge momentum when they needed it. Statistics-wise, it wasn’t the greatest game for the defense, as they gave up a combined 457 yards to the Bears offense. They chased Cal quarterback Chase Garbers all around the field the entire night, but they made the big play when it counted. That play was in overtime when Husky defensive back Cameron Williams laid the boom on Cal running back Damien Moore at the 1-yard line. Washington outside linebacker Ryan Bowman recovered the fumble. Ball game Washington!

Any way you slice it, a conference win is a conference win. It was nice for the Huskies to get that monkey off their back, with losing the last two contests to the Bears by a combined total of 3 points. It wasn’t perfect by any means and there is a lot to clean up before heading to Corvallis this week. A two-game winning streak for the Huskies means confidence and momentum. Gritting out an overtime victory builds toughness and belief, which is what the Huskies will need for their upcoming slate. On to the next!

Next up for the Huskies (2-2, 1-0) is the Oregon State Beavers, at Reser Stadium, next Saturday night, October 2nd, with a kickoff time of 6:00 PM PT. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

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