BERKELEY, Calif. — It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a gritty one. And for the Huskies, it rippled with meaning. As coach Kalen DeBoer said afterward, it was a case of all their world’s colliding.
The 28-21 triumph over Cal, not secured until a fourth-down stop with under a minute to play, was Washington’s first road win of the season. It was another manifestation of what has invariably been a close, hard-fought game with Cal, often ending in heartbreak for the Huskies. And most significantly, it raised their record to 6-2 and made the Huskies bowl eligible, ensuring a postseason foray they haven’t made since Chris Petersen’s last year as coach.
Just mull over that for a second. The Huskies’ 4-0 start may have lulled folks — myself included — into delusions of grandeur. And the two frustrating road defeats that followed might have induced a mental course correction that overplayed their deficiencies.
The truth is, this season was always going to be a slog toward respectability with a high degree of difficulty, which makes what they are in the process of achieving more impressive. They had a new coaching staff to adjust to, and the hangover from a disquieting 2021 to break away from.
And now, here they are, two-thirds of the season gone, a much-needed bye week looming, and the highest of aspirations still in their minds.
“I told them, the games in November are the ones you remember,’’ DeBoer said. “That’s what we’ve set ourselves up for, is trying to make a big run and keep pushing.”
The Huskies have games remaining with Oregon State, Oregon, Colorado and Washington State. DeBoer is allowing himself to dream big.
“The sky’s the limit,’’ he said. “You’ve got to catch some breaks along the way. But there’s a belief that, if we take care of business, you might find yourself in a Pac-12 championship (game). I know there’s a lot that’s got to go our way. But it’s the way that this team is right now. There’s a lot of belief, and we keep fighting. And most importantly, we just need to keep getting better. And when you really try to narrow it down, don’t get overwhelmed by the big picture. Just get better”
For the Huskies on Saturday, the first half was one of dominance, and regret. They dominated the stat sheet but barely registered on the scoreboard, where it counts. Cal went to the locker room no doubt delighted to be down just 6-0 despite getting outgained 245 to 83 and possessing the ball just 9:25 compared to 20:35 for the Huskies. But DeBoer preferred to focus on the long-awaited defensive execution rather than the points they let slip away via penalties, dropped passes and a more conservative game plan.
The Bears honored former Seahawks running backs Justin Forsett and Marshawn Lynch at halftime; coach Justin Wilcox probably checked to see if they had any eligibility remaining.
It’s almost preordained that Washington and Cal will have gritty, down-to-the-wire games, the last three of which either went to overtime or were decided by two points or fewer. The Huskies won 31-24 in overtime last year in Seattle; Cal won 20-19 in Seattle in 2019 over a nationally ranked Husky team; Cal won 12-10 in Berkeley in 2018 when UW was also ranked.
You just knew that Cal would make a run at some point the longer Washington let them hang around. Just like a baseball team that keeps leaving runners on base, it felt like it was going to come back and haunt them. Sure enough, Cal took the second-half kickoff and marched methodically 75 yards to the game’s first touchdown. Suddenly, Washington trailed 7-6 in a game they had been fully in charge of. It would have been enough to whip the crowd into a frenzy that energized the Bears if not for the fact Memorial Stadium was only about half full and about a quarter engaged.
Whatever energy had been brewing was stymied by an immediate and impressive response by UW. The Huskies drove 70 yards for a go-ahead score, no single play longer than 11 yards, with designated scorer Cameron Davis getting the touchdown on a six-yard run and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. hitting Ja’Lynn Polk for the 2-point conversion.
That lead never disappeared again, though Cal kept creeping back every time Washington seemed on the verge of putting the game out of reach. Afterward, Penix, who had another routinely brilliant game (36-for-51, 374 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) expressed just how meaningful — and difficult — it was to pick up that elusive road win after losses at UCLA and Arizona State that slipped away.
“It’s huge,’’ he said. “You know, winning in college football, it’s hard. It’s tough to win, especially on the road. It was a great win. There was a lot of great complimentary football going on.”
Senior Alex Cook exulted over the accomplished of bowl eligibility, being of the few players to have done so at Washington in the Vegas Bowl in 2019, after which the Huskies transitioned from Petersen to Jimmy Lake.
“Being bowl eligible is special, especially as an older guy,” Cook said. “One of the experiences I’m going to remember forever is those bowl game experiences, And for those young guys, man, they need to experience that. I feel like everybody in college football needs to experience a bowl game, and I’m just so happy we get we get that opportunity.
“I remember in fall camp, I was telling the young guys, we’re going to get you to a bowl game, if that’s the last thing I do on earth.”
The Huskies have done just that, an accomplishment to savor. But they don’t feel like it will be the last thing they do this year.