You can identify the precise moment Portland State safety Duhron Goodman conceded he was cooked.
With 10:02 left in the second quarter Saturday, UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr. took a shotgun snap, dropped three steps and uncorked a trebuchet, as wide receiver Jalen McMillan sprinted uncovered up the seam. McMillan pulled in the football at the Husky 45-yard line, behind Goodman and rover Tyreese Shakir.
From there, it was a foot race — which wasn’t very fair.
McMillan — who participated in Junior Olympic track and field in middle school — separated from his pursuers with widening strides, galloping untouched down the left sideline. At the 20, trailing by three yards (that must have felt like the length of a football field), Goodman took an abrupt left turn and coasted out of bounds.
A metaphorical white towel waved.
The 84-yard touchdown — which gave Washington a 21-0 lead, in an eventual 52-6 win — is tied for the seventh-longest reception in Husky history. It was also just UW’s fourth 99-yard scoring drive to date. McMillan waved for teammates to join him in the end zone … and four others obliged over the course of the afternoon.
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Huskies 52, Portland State 6
Like Goodman, the visiting Vikings likely understood their fate long before the race was finished.
After dazzling a week prior in his UW debut, Penix produced another strong outing on Saturday — completing 20 of 27 passes (74.1%) for 337 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. McMillan (four catches, 127 yards, 1 TD) and Giles Jackson (six catches, 105 yards) both passed the 100-yard mark, the first time two Washington wideouts have done that since John Ross and Dante Pettis in the Cal game in 2016.
Standout sophomore wide receiver Rome Odunze didn’t play … and it didn’t really matter.
Likewise, UW’s rushing attack succeeded against Portland State regardless of personnel. A week after underwhelming with just 132 rushing yards and 3.9 yards per carry in the Kent State win, the Huskies amassed 217 rushing yards, 6.4 yards per carry and five rushing touchdowns on Saturday.
Graduate student Wayne Taulapapa contributed 94 rushing yards, 7.8 yards per carry and a 6-yard score, while sophomore Cameron Davis added 70 rushing yards, seven yards per rush and two touchdowns. Junior Richard Newton even made his season debut, after recovering from a torn ACL, to net 48 rushing yards in garbage time.
Defensively, UW allowed just 131 total yards and six measly points, while amassing four sacks (1.5 of which were credited to edge Bralen Trice). Dual threat quarterback Dante Chachere completed 6 of 17 passes for 50 yards, and rushed for all of five yards before being replaced.
This story will be updated.