After the Washington Huskies escaped an upset at the hands of the Arizona State Sun Devils, a lot of questions began to swirl about coach Kalen DeBoer’s Washington Huskies.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb revealed that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had been battling the flu during the previous game and certainly looked like he had recovered in Palo Alto when the Huskies took on the Stanford Cardinal.
Penix threw for 369 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Huskies were able to earn a 42-33 victory on the road to move to 8-0. He was aided by his stellar supporting cast, especially wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk, who pulled in a 92-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.
Polk had 5 receptions for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Rome Odunze added 6 catches for 89 yards and a score, as well as a lost fumble that Cardinal turned into a touchdown on the ensuing possession, bringing them within two points halfway through the fourth quarter.
However, a dropped pass on an attempted fourth down conversion led to a Dillon Johnson touchdown to close the game out. Johnson led all rushers with 18 carries for 84 yards and a score, while tight end Jack Westover also scored the first rushing touchdown of his career.
Westover’s running mate, Devin Culp, pulled in his first touchdown reception of the season to open the fourth quarter. Washington’s defense struggled on the day, giving up 495 total yards to a Stanford offense that had been mediocre at best all season long, but was able to do just enough to secure the victory.
As we look back through Washington’s magical run to the national championship in 2023, enjoy some of the best photos of the journey from our USA TODAY network of photographers.