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Washington LB drops football short of end zone, taking away pick six

A costly blunder for Washington, but it didn't cost the College Football Playoff hopefuls too much
James Parks|
Washington LB drops football short of end zone, taking away pick six
Washington LB drops football short of end zone, taking away pick six

For a second there, it appeared that Washington had a sure-fire touchdown when linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala intercepted a Utah pass and was headed for the end zone. After bringing in a tipped pass, he dropped the ball before crossing the goal line as he ran it back for what he thought was a touchdown.

The video replay showed Tuputala dropping the football well before he crossed into the end zone, thereby denying the Huskies what would have been a game-changing pick-six for the Huskies, who would have taken a two-score lead with the play.

While the blunder cost Washington from getting the seven points, it did get two points shortly after when it forced a safety on Utah's ensuing drive to take a 35-28 lead.

Washington went on to beat the Utes by that score to stay undefeated and take a more secure hold on the No. 1 position in the Pac-12 conference standings.

But the College Football Playoff selection committee has kept the Huskies out of the top four so far, naming them the No. 5 team in their two rankings to date.

However, should Washington run the table and win the Pac-12 championship, it's a virtual guarantee that it will earn a position in what would be its second playoff.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He has covered football for a decade, previously managing several team sites and publishing national content for 247Sports.com for five years. His work has also been published on CBSSports.com. He founded College Football HQ in 2020, and the site joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022 and the On SI network in 2024.

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