The Washington Huskies beat the Oregon State Beavers 42-23 at Husky Stadium on a day devoted to all Husky seniors.
“Really happy to send the seniors out with a win. Jake finished it off here at home with a pretty solid performance, and Myles got some things done as well so it was great to see that happen. Just pleased and happy to get this last one done it was really important to us and now we’re excited for a big game next week.” Washington Head coach Chris Petersen said.
Many people were wondering what the Huskies would look like after a week off from football, and recharged batteries from the bye week.
It was nice to see the Huskies return some injured players to the field, who had been missing for several weeks.
Headlining the group was LT Trey Adams who was able to get into the game in limited action, for the first time this season.
When the opening kickoff started, the Huskies jumped all over the Beavers in the first quarter and looked like a team that was ready to play.
On the opening the drive, the Husky offense marched down the field on 4-plays for 79 yards and was capped by a 4-yard TD run by running back Salvon Ahmed.
It was a great way for the Husky offense to start out the game with some much-needed confidence and swagger to themselves.
“That’s a good question, I’d like to start like that every week, every first quarter. They were clicking and set the tone for the game. You knew Oregon State was going to keep battling, they’ve done that against every team they’ve played. They did a nice job on offense moving the ball. I thought it was pretty good football for three-quarters and it’d be nice to score another touchdown in the fourth quarter but that’s how it goes.” Petersen said in regards to why the offense got going early.
The Beavers would answer back on the very next drive with a score of their own, when Jordan Choukair hit a 47-yard field goal to cut the Huskies lead to 7-3.
What would ensue the rest of the first quarter was a Husky onslaught with three unanswered touchdowns for the Huskies.
The Huskies went on an 8-play, 75-yard drive that ended with another Ahmed 4-yard TD run, to push the Husky lead to 14-3.
Just over a minute later, the Huskies would score again when Husky quarterback Jake Browning connected with wide receiver Aaron Fuller for a 17-yard TD pass, to increase the score to 21-3.
At this point, Husky Stadium was a happy place but the Huskies still had some more fireworks in store for the rest of the first quarter.
Towards the end of the quarter, the Huskies went on a 7-play, 88-yard drive which resulted in a 21-yard TD reception by Cade Otton from Jake Browning, and the Huskies took a commanding 28-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
That “killer instinct” team that the Husky fans had been looking forward to all season, was finally there and in full control.
It was a much different story in the second quarter for the Huskies, as they just kind of treaded water for the entire time.
The Beavers would outscore the Huskies 13-7 in the second quarter as it seemed like the Huskies lost momentum, and just sort of coasted through the quarter.
The only score for the Huskies in the quarter was a Myles Gaskin 10-yard TD reception from Browning after an 8-play, 79-yard drive, which made the score 35-13 for the Huskies.
At the very end of the quarter, the Beavers would respond with a 44-yard FG, after Petersen used two timeouts to try to ice Beavers FG kicker Choukair.
Heading into halftime the Huskies had a comfortable 35-16 lead but once it again it was the tale of two teams. Where was that Husky team that came out and dominated the first quarter?
In the third quarter, the Huskies were the only team that scored any points when Gaskin ran into the end zone for a 6-yard TD, which pushed the score to 42-16 and the Huskies firmly in control.
When the fourth quarter rolled around, much of the same team that surfaced during the second quarter showed itself again.
The hope was that the Huskies would finish the game out strong and take that momentum into the following week, but that wasn’t the case.
While the fourth quarter was mostly academic, the Huskies struggled to control the game and the Beavers showed their grit down the stretch.
“They do a good job on offense. They move the ball and score points on everybody. We thought that’s how they would play. They never go away, they’re always battling.” Petersen said of the Oregon State Beavers.
The Beavers connected on the only score of the fourth quarter by both teams, when backup quarterback Jack Colletto ran into the end zone on a 3-yard TD run. Scoring the touchdown was all setup by a blocked punt by the Beavers the play before.
In the end, the Huskies did enough to take care of business at home and win comfortably, while keeping their hopes alive for a Pac-12 Championship.
The Huskies were able to win the turnover battle 2-0 which was a major key for the Huskies coming into this game.
Jake Browning finished with a clean stat line of 17 for 23 with 242 yards and 3 TD’s on the game. Most importantly, this was his second consecutive without a turnover.
He became the Pac-12 Conference’s all-time winningest starting quarterback with 37 wins, breaking a tie at the top with Stanford’s Kevin Hogan and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. He is now 37-13 (.740) in his career.
“There’s no one you spend more time with, with the offense, in this office. He’s been preparing since the second he’s got here, it’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. He’s a rare individual, never flinching, always the same, always prepping as hard as he possibly can. He’s completely locked in at all times. It’s hard to do for anybody especially a college kid going through this process. It’s really special and awesome to watch him do that for these four years.” Petersen said.
Myles Gaskin controlled the game from the ground with 135 yards on 18 carries for 2 TD’s total. It’s his second straight game over 135-yards rushing.
“Another special player. A rare running back, he has tremendous vision. He’s another guy who’s been exactly the same since he showed up as a freshman. He’s worked his tail off and really loves football, he likes to practice. These guys we are talking about are as good as they come. You ask them to do something and they do it, they take care of business, they’re always all-in, it’s been awesome being around them.” Petersen said.
Its wasn’t perfect by any means but the Huskies looked well rested and healthier, which was the main goal coming out of the bye week.
The Huskies will not have the luxury of taking quarters off next week during their cross state Apple Cup rivalry showdown.
“Well, it’s a short week, that’s a big deal for us, it really is. On offense we are always trying to scheme and dream and taking a day away is tough. This is a unique offense obviously, it kind of changes everything we do on defense just because of their stuff. We will go right back to work tomorrow.” Petersen said about the Washington State Cougars.
Next up for the Huskies (8-3 overall, 6-2 in-conference), is a matchup against the Washington State Cougars on Friday, November 23rd at Martin Stadium in Pullman, WA. Kickoff will commence at 5:30pm PST.
