Huskies Had One Real Bad Blemish That Was Costly — Here's Why It Happened
People lamented that the University of Washington football team should have been in the Pac-12 championship game. In the Rose Bowl. In a New Year's Day bowl.
Yes, any and all of that easily could have happened except for this lone serious blemish on the end of the handsome Huskies' oh so proud snout that was impossible to overlook.
Debut college football seasons following a coaching change aren't supposed to go so well because, well, that's why one football leader got fired and another was hired to fix his mess.
Yet in the case of Kalen DeBoer and his inherited team, the Huskies impressively won 10 games, including all seven at home; beat all three of their Northwest rivals, which are each bowl bound; stumbled to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, no great shame because the Bruins are talented, nationally ranked and bowl-bound; and await a Alamo Bowl invitation and likely a postseason meeting with Texas and a reunion with former UW coach Steve Sarkisian, who, by the way, was 5-7 in his first Husky season in 2009.
What got in the way of this total Cinderella football fairy tale for DeBoer and Company this fall was a cringeworthy moment in the desert, one where the Huskies looked like they got stranded amid the prickly saguaro while trying to avoid the angry rattlesnakes without any water or shade.
They ended up stepping on one of those fangs-out, lunging diamondbacks: Arizona State 45, UW 38.
DeBoer has said that someday he'll share the challenges that he and his coaching staff faced that difficult afternoon in Tempe, of how and why the Huskies were not themselves at all against an overmatched, on-a-ventilator opponent.
After all, the Sun Devils showed up with an interim coach after firing Herm Edwards, were forced to use a back-up quarterback most of the way when the starter suffered concussion symptoms and stumbled to a 3-9 season.
Picture ASU losing in the rain in 2021 to an interim Bob Gregory-coached UW team that was missing several key players, its head coach and and its offensive coordinator at Husky Stadium.
That college football upset didn't happen in Seattle. It's still hard to believe this one took place at Sun Devil Stadium.
Here's why disaster appeared in a perfect storm of miscues, injuries and weirdness:
In Disguise
If this game wasn't confusing enough when it began, ASU showed up in custom mustard-colored uniforms as a military tribute, leaving the Huskies to put on their purple jerseys and white pants as if they were the home team — a game-day ensemble that wasn't repeated again all season, home or away. The UW clearly had an identity crisis.
Baby Elephants in the Room
By their second defensive series, the Huskies were so banged-up and shorthanded for this sixth game of the season they were forced to play four true and redshirt freshmen all at once in defensive tackle Jayvon Parker, cornerback Elijah Jackson and safeties Tristan Dunn and Makell Esteen. That was going just a little too young for a Pac-12 game still in question.
Target Practice
On that same second defensive set, UW junior safety Asa Turner, after missing three games with an injury, was welcomed back as a veteran, calming influence, but he lasted all of 10 plays before he was called for targeting on ASU quarterback Emory Jones and received an ejection. So much for reinforcements.
The Pick
Michael Penix Jr. threw seven interceptions all season, including a pair of pick-sixes, but none was any stranger than the one he threw in Tempe. His pass hit offensive guard Jaxson Kirkland in the back of the helmet, was snatched out of the air by ASU cornerback Jordan Clark and returned 38 yards untouched for a second-quarter score. The calamity was stunning to watch. It was a freaky play.
The Gamble
Coming out of halftime, the always aggressive Huskies went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 32. An end-around by wide receiver Rome Odunze got stuffed for a 3-yard loss. The Sun Devils scored five plays later with this field-possession gift. For the season, the UW was good on 14 of 25 fourth-down plays while seeking a first down or a touchdown. This one was the team's most costly misfire.
The Scare
With 1:22 left to play, Penix heroically threw a 19-yard pass to Odunze on fourth-and-12 from his own 12, but got hit high and low by a pair of Sun Devils on a play determined to be targeting. Worse yet, Penix, who suffered four season-ending injuries at Indiana, stayed down for several minutes before he was able to get up and slowly jog off the field. The entire Husky season passed in front of the eyes of the coaching staff with this scary play.
The Snap
Corey Luciano had a fairly solid season as a first-year starting center, but he had one bad snap in him and it was a doozy. With the Huskies on the ASU 31 seeking a tying touchdown and the game inside the final minute, Luciano sent a shotgun snap sailing wide of Penix and, with many hands touching it and knocking it backward, the ball was recovered by the UW for a 30-yard loss. Rally-killer.
The Tears
So calm and composed all season, Penix actually teared up when discussing the Huskies' 45-38 loss to Arizona State and his near-brush again with a debilitating injury. The late bookend hit by two overeager ASU players admittedly scared him. He got hit in the throat and had trouble breathing at first after getting bookended on a play that was deemed targeting on the Sun Devils. He was so upset by this unlikely setback, Penix right then and there promised to be back at practice on Sunday, ready to go, ready to play better. That was a promise kept, followed by six consecutive victories.
Epilogue
For all the good things that happened to this exceptional quarterback, his overachieving football team and DeBoer as a first-year Husky coach, the ASU game was the one blotch on an amazing turnaround resume that prevented ultimate postseason opportunities. The Huskies battled to tie the game at 38-38 with 12:09 left to play, but they gave it right back. Someday, DeBoer will share that promised insight on how impossible and dire this situation was for the UW to overcome. Of course, it will come after these Huskies play their bowl game and take a final curtain call.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.
Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.
Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com or https://www.facebook.com/dan.raley.12
Follow Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @DanRaley1 or @UWFanNation or @DanRaley3
