The 5-2 Washington Huskies take to the road again as they travel down the coast to take on the 3-3 Cal Bears on Saturday night. The Huskies rebounded from two-straight losses with a win over Arizona, 49-39, on Saturday afternoon. The Cal Bears come in off of a 20-13 overtime loss to Colorado on the road last Saturday. The opening kick for this Pac 12 matchup is scheduled for 10:30pm EST.
The NFL, College Football, the NHL, the NBA and the MLB playoffs…oh my! Check out all my premium picks for a variety of premium events. My Best Bet of the week is available for only $49.99 (normally $100) if you use this link. Don't miss out as this comes with a profit guarantee. Win or get the money back in credit!
The Washington Huskies and their vaunted passing attack came back to life on Saturday afternoon in a win over Arizona. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. set a school-record with 516 yards and threw for four scores and ran for another in a 49-39 home win. Washington is now 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Pac 12 this season.
“Always good to win especially coming off a couple of close ones the last two weeks. There are always things to clean up and keep getting better at. I think the things that we knew that would be challenging, there were challenges today with (Jayden) de Laura buying time. It is just what he does. I know they threw for a lot of yards but I think going into the game they were throwing more than we were in conference play. We knew that we would have our hands full, we know that we would want to be better. Guys kept fighting and found a way to get off the field there at the end of the game when it really mattered . The offense doing a good job making it a 10 point game. In the fourth quarter, just super proud of how they executed all day. Mike (Penix Jr.) was on his game today and the guys were just making plays and taking care of the football. You could see the guys going for it and ball security is a high priority all season long. Proud of the guys, proud of the effort getting through this stretch right here before our bye week. We’ve got another one next week and we keep string it along to get a road win. I know the guys are determined to do that.” Head coach Kalen Deboer said in his postgame press conference.
Penix continued his stellar season since transferring over from Indiana this season. He finished the game 36-of-44 for 516 yards and four touchdowns. Along the way, he broke the school record for passing yards (516) and total yards (529). Washington had 618 yards of total offense in the win. They were 6-of-10 on third down conversions and averaged 8.2 y ards per play. The Huskies also didn't commit a turnover on the day.
The Huskies defense allowed 31 first downs and 526 yards of total offense to Arizona. They had five tackles for loss in the game and four sacks. The Huskies defense allowed 7.7 yards per play and didn't generate any turnovers in the 10-point win.
Husky Royalty Threads ??#NoLimits #PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/IKPY7mvtGH
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) October 20, 2022
Needless to say, the Huskies have been led by their potent offense this season. Washington is 10th in the country in scoring offense this season. The offense is heavily slanted towards the pass as Washington ranks just 99th in the country in rushing while they own the nation's #1 passing offense. In the red zone, Washington has the 55th most efficient offense in the nation. Surprisingly, despite having such a pass-heavy offense, the Huskies have been safe with the football with the nation's 25th best turnover differential. Defensively, the Huskies are just 92nd in the country in scoring defense. They have been good against the run, ranking 34th in the country. Through the air, however, the Huskies have been extremely vulnerable with the 93rd ranked defense against the pass. In the red zone, Washington is just out of the top-50 with the 51st most efficient red zone defense.
Key Injuries: The Washington defense, already suspect this sea son, took a major hit when it was announced that starting safety Vincent Nunley will miss the remainder of the season with a leg injury.