The Huskies seem to get better and better as the season moves forward and the 713 total yards of offense that they collected on the road against Michigan State was the second most in school history and the most yards ever surrendered by the Spartans—a team who didn’t score a single point until garbage time late in the 4th Qtr when the Washington starters were already sitting on the sideline. Husky QB Michael Penix-Jr came out of the game late in the 3rd Qtr having already connected with his receivers for 473 yards and 4 TD at a 75%+ clip. They led 14-0 after the 1st Qtr, 35-0 at the break and then picked up a couple of field goals, one in the third and another in the fourth to put them up 41-0. The Spartans’ only score came on the back of a Dylan Morris interception and subsequent 11 play drive and Katie Houser 4 yard run into the end zone to make it 41-7.
Penix-Jr, who is certainly on Heisman watch, in his 16 starts with the Huskies—as pointed out by Mike Vorel in his article for the Seattle Times—“has the top three passing performances in Husky History.” One of his favorite wide receivers Junior Rome Odunze, who came back this year to help his QB try and make it to the PAC-12 Championship game and beyond had this to say about Penix-Jr after the game; “I think he’s the best quarterback in the nation. Week in, week out he goes out there and proves it. I see it all the time. I see it every day in practice . . [and] I know he’s got even more in the tank. I’m just excited that you guys get to see.”
Odunze, fellow Junior WR Jalen McMillan, and Sophomore WR Ja’Lynn Polk collected 17 of their QB’s 27 receptions for a staggering 394 yards—an average of over 20 yards per reception. Senior TE Jack Westover didn’t collect as many receptions or yards—just four for thirty-seven—but got the benefit of Michigan State’s secondary having to cover the WR trio above and instead was Penix-Jr’s favorite end-zone target collecting three TD’s in all. On the ground the Huskies rushed for 177 yards and 1 TD on 33 attempts, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Michigan State struggled in the air as their starting QB Noah Kim connected on less than 40% of his passes, 12-of-31, for no TD’s and 1 interception while their backup QB, Freshman Katie Houser, was 2-for-4 for 74 yards in the air and the only rushing TD for the Spartans who combined for just 53 yards on 27 attempts.
Is Washington really this good and Michigan State really this bad? Washington is certainly good, but considering that the Spartan’s starting QB connected on 68% of his passes for a combined 571 yards and 5 TD’s with no interceptions in their first two games and their RB Nathan Carter rushed for well over 200 yards and 4 TD’s while averaging about six yards per carry in those same two games, one has to think that the team was really affected by the loss of head coach Mel Tucker early in the week who was suspended amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Considering Michigan State’s past history regarding their former sports physician Larry Nasser and the lawsuit which has cost the university well over $500 million one has to think that Mel Tucker’s days at Michigan State are over, a fact that could have weighed heavily on the team this past week. With a really tough schedule the rest of the way against the likes of Oho State, Iowa, Michigan, and Penn State we’ll get a chance to see whether this loss will be typical against other ranked teams. Washington will be back home in Alaska Airlines Husky Stadium to host Cal this next Saturday—a team that has a history of giving Washington fits. If the Golden Bears can get their lead rusher, Jaydn Ott, back after the injury he sustained in their game against Auburn they might be a tougher out than folks expect.