Washington's championship chase comes up short as Huskies fall 34-13 to Michigan

The magical run of the Washington Huskies to the National Championship came up one win short of glory.

Michael Penix Jr. and Washington's standout offensive attack was almost completely shut down by a dominant Michigan Wolverines defensive effort in a 34-13 loss on Monday night.

Penix was hassled and battered constantly by Michigan's pass rush as the Huskies were unable to produce the type of effort needed to keep up with the top-ranked Wolverines. 

"They were giving us some pressure and some different looks that were creating chaos and confusion for (Penix_ back there" wide receiver Rome Odunze said. "But all of us weren't able to execute our jobs properly, which makes it difficult for him when we're not on our Ps and Qs and exactly where we need to be exactly when we need to be there. It was all of us, a whole collective effort. We didn't go out there and execute like we needed to and they had a game plan that was effective against us."

Washington was also challenged significantly by a Michigan ground game that rushed for 174 yards in the first quarter alone en route to 303 yards overall.

Even with Michigan's dominance for large stretches of the game, Washington remained within reach into the fourth quarter, trailing just 20-13 with 10 minutes left to play. But the Huskies just couldn't sync up their offensive efforts enough to solve the Wolverines.

While he was sacked just once, Penix took some massive hits in the latter stages of the game as the Huskies were forced to take more chances.

"Obviously we didn't come out how I wanted it to, but I know each and every player on this team they gave it their all and it wasn't enough today," Penix said. 

Eventually, the dam burst for Washington. 

A 41-yard completion from J.J. McCarthy to Colston Loveland flipped the field position for Michigan and Blake Corum slipped a tackle for a 12-yard touchdown run to make it a 27-13 game with 7:09 left to play.

Penix and Odunze hooked up for a 44-yard catch as the Huskies tried to answer, but a fourth down pass for Jalen McMillan was picked off by Mike Sainristl and nearly returned for another score. Corum punched in another touchdown run from seven yards out to end the Huskies hopes.

Penix completed just 27-of-51 passes for 255 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for Washington. Running back Dillon Johnson re-injured his foot on the first offensive snap of the game and gutted it out through the rest of the game, but he was held to 33 yards on 11 carries by Michigan's defensive front.

Washington fought valiantly to keep the game close after being vastly outplayed in the opening quarter.

Donovan Edwards bounced a run back to his left after getting slowed at the line of scrimmage and raced through the Washington defense for a 41-yard touchdown to give Michigan the 7-0 lead on the opening drive of the game.

The Huskies put together a solid opening drive of their own before the possession stalled out at the Wolverines’ 8-yard line. A Grady Gross 25-yard field goal cut the lead to 7-3 after Penix’s third down pass missed Odunze. 

Edwards then delivered a near copy of his first touchdown run of the game to extend the Michigan lead. While the first score spit out free to the left side of the field, his 46-yard romp through the UW defense found a seam off the right side as he ran untouched into the end zone for a 14-3 Wolverines lead.

Then it was time for Michigan’s leading rusher, Corum, to get into the action. A 59-yard run on the final play of the first quarter set up another scoring drive for the Wolverines. 

Corum led the way for Michigan again with 134 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, while Edwards had 104 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.

But this time, the Husky defense was able to keep Michigan out of the end zone. A third down pass from J.J. McCarthy to Cornelius Johnson was broken up by Jabbar Muhammad as the Wolverines had to settle for a 31-yard James Turner field goal for a 17-3 lead.

As he’s done throughout the year, UW head coach Kalen DeBoer rolled the dice in a key moment with the Huskies facing a fourth-and-7 just across midfield trying to jumpstart Washington’s effort. Odunze was wide open on a coverage mistake by the Wolverines, but Penix’s throw was just too far toward the sideline and turned Odunze around for a critical incompletion. Odunze may have scored on the play if the connection had been made.

"That was my fault," Odunze said. "I should have broke out on that play, Selfishly, I had so much open space that I kind of had a mental lapse and ran straight up the field because I saw so much open space there, but the route design should have had me breaking out on that particular play so that was my fault."

Washington’s defense finally delivered a couple pivotal stops to keep Michigan from pulling further away. After dueling three-and-outs, the Wolverines were back marching into UW territory. But on fourth-and-2 from the Washington 38-yard line, Michigan had appeared set to punt before calling timeout and electing to go for it after all. Edufuan Ulofoshio delivered a vital pass breakup on a McCarthy pass for Roman Wilson to energize the Husky sideline.

With 4:42 left in the half, the Huskies seized the opportunity presented to them. A pair of completions to Jack Westover combined with a defensive pass interference call against Mike Sainristil moved UW inside the Michigan 10-yard line. It took until fourth down, but a 3-yard completion from Penix to McMillan finally cracked the end zone for the Huskies to cut the lead to 17-10 heading into halftime.

Washington then got the ball back to open the third quarter with a chance to further erase the Michigan advantage. Instead, Penix was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage to deflate the Huskies. Kris Jenkins tipped Penix’s throw at the line of scrimmage and the ball floated toward the sideline with Will Johnson picking off the pass to give Michigan terrific field position.

A pair of false starts helped the Huskies thwart the Michigan drive as they had to settle for a 38-yard Turner field goal for a 20-10 lead.

Penix had a lineman roll up on his right ankle on the interception and was a bit hobbled as he returned to the field for UW’s next drive.

Gross connected on a 45-yard field goal on Washington’s ensuing drive to trim the deficit back to just seven at 20-13.

The Husky defense continued to make stops as Michigan's offense couldn't replicate its success from the first quarter. A trio of three-and-outs, a turnover on downs, and only one drive that spanned more than 30 yards allowed the Huskies to stay within reach.

"Even down to the very end it felt like one play, one touchdown and we're right back in it," defensive end Zion Tupuola-Fetui said.

But Washington's offense was similarly neutered by the Michigan defense. Penix finally managed to complete a downfield pass – a 32-yard strike to Odunze – only to have the play wiped out due to a holding penalty on right tackle Roger Rosengarten.

"For me, I'm going to take accountability for the offensive side of the ball," Penix said. "Thought we could have did better. Too many penalties and we had a lot of offsides. Put that on me because I've got to be louder, I've got to make sure I'm great with my communication and stuff like that so my offensive line isn't hearing ghosts. I'm blessed to be here, blessed to be on this team and these guys will be my brothers forever." 

Odunze led Washington with 87 yards on five receptions. McMillan had six catches for 33 yards and a touchdown.

Michigan was finally able to break the offensive stalemate between the two teams and pulled away with less than 10 minutes left to play.

SportsWashington HuskiesCollege FootballInstastories