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Instant Reaction: UW Dominance Ran All Phases Until Starters Were Pulled

An explosive Washington offense put the game out of reach and this performance was more what Jimmy Lake expected.
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After grinding out a six-point victory over Oregon State, the Huskies looked much more dominant against Arizona, building a 37-point lead entering the fourth quarter of a 44-27 victory. They just needed two games to really get going.

Washington's Puka Nacua scored first, streaking 65 yards with a Dylan Morris pass. Nacua caught the ball at the Husky 40-yard line, raced past four Wildcat defenders and was escorted the final 20 yards by fellow wide receiver Ty Jones.

Following a 20-yard Peyton Henry field goal, Husky linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio forced a fumble from Arizona's Grant Gunnell at the Wildcats' 9-yard line. Two plays later, Sean McGrew scored on a 1-yard run for a 17-0 lead, and the rout was on.

A lot of Washington's offense went through tight end Cade Otton. He was a dominant blocker again. He led all receivers with 7 catches. He finished up with a 20-yard touchdown catch for that 37-0 lead with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter. The coaching staff gave him the game ball.

Entering the fourth quarter, the UW was 8 for 13 on third down.  Additionally, the Huskies converted both of their fourth-down attempts.  The UW scored on seven of its first nine drives, and had scoring drives of two and three plays.  

UW running back Richard Newton, after scoring 11 touchdowns in 2019, got his first one of this season with a 54-yard burst in the fourth quarter.

Washington won all phases of the game, which is what new coach Jimmy Lake has promised the Huskies would do. 

Special-teamer and backup cornerback Kyler Gordon led all tacklers in the game with 7. He downed a punt inside the 2-yard line.

Through three quarters, the Huskies held Arizona to 66 yards of total offense, then the starters were pulled and the Wildcats scored four times in a hurry. 

Lake got more of the defensive performance he's known for. On their first seven drives, the Wildcats punted five times, gave up the ball on downs and handed it over on Ulofoshio's forced fumble.

The Huskies punted only once in their first eight possessions. The offense created seven scoring opportunities, missing out only on Henry's errant 47-yard field-goal attempt.