This is what the Washington Huskies wanted everyone to see: a dominant 39-28 victory over No. 11 Michigan State.
A nationally televised game that started on a picturesque Seattle afternoon and ended beneath cool evening skies and halogen lights featured an array of Husky highlights, including explosive offensive plays and a suffocating run defense that added up to the first signature win for first-year coach Kalen DeBoer.
From the start, the near-sellout crowd of 68,161 Husky Stadium created a cacophony of noise that caused (three) Michigan State false start penalties and helped the UW defense jump the snap count for an advantage on its three sacks.
And in the waning minutes, the Huskies did just enough to hold off the Spartans (2-1), who scored 14 points in the fourth quarter.
It’s the first time Washington has started 3-0 – not including the COVID-shortened season in 2020 – since 2017.
Here are three impressions.
A STAR IS BORN
In just his third game for UW, junior quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had one heckuva coming-out party. The Indiana transfer endeared himself to Husky fans with a performance for the ages that proved to be the main reason why Washington captured its biggest win in decades. Penix wasn’t perfect, but he was close. The 6-foot-3 Tampa native completed 24 of 40 passes for 397 yards and four touchdowns. Penix ranks ninth on the school’s single-game passing list.
GREAT START FOR UW
At halftime, the Huskies led in every way imaginable. They had more points (29-8), total yards (322-90), passing yards (278-80), rushing yards (44-10) and first downs (16-7). They also ran more plays (39-28) and averaged 8.3 yards per play to the Spartans’ 3.2.
The statistics evened out in the second half, but Washington maintained its big lead for an 11-point victory.
HUSKIES STIFLE MSU’S VAUNTED RUN GAME
The Spartans’ road to victory supposedly rested on redshirt sophomore running back Jalen Berger who entered Saturday’s game with 227 rushing yards, 6.9 yards per carry and four rushing TDs. Michigan State ranked 25th nationally while averaging 228.5 rushing yards in its first two games and Washington provided little ground resistance last year during its 31-10 loss to Michigan while allowing 343 rushing yards. But on Saturday night, the Huskies stonewalled the Spartans who finished with just 42 yards on 29 attempts. Berger had 27 yards on 13 carries.