#10 Huskies Grind out Victory against UCLA, 31-24

You knew it was a bad omen when there were upsets happening among top 10 teams. Washington went into Pasadena with a bullseye on their backs, and the struggling UCLA Bruins took their best shot.

Jake Browning threw for 265 yards and Myles Gaskin rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 31-24 victory at the Rose Bowl.

The Huskies started the game on the receiving end, and they drove downfield at will on the UCLA defense, but the drive stalled after a holding call.

The next time they had the ball, they drove it down into UCLA territory again — but Jake Browning threw an interception and UCLA took over at their own 25-yard line. 

But that possession wouldn’t last long; Bruin quarterback Dorien Thompson-Robinson returned the favor and his pass was picked off a tipped ball by Taylor Rapp. 

The Huskies would go on to put the first points on the board on a 25-yard long floater from Browning to Aaron Fuller. 

The Huskies led 7-0 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter, but UCLA caught a break when Joshua Kelley ran for 39 yards to the Washington 32, and put the Bruins within striking distance to end the quarter.

Washington’s defense then held the Bruins to a field goal attempt from 47-yards out, but JJ Molson’s attempt steered off and missed.

Washington would come back after seven plays and 62 yards to try a field goal, themselves, and Payton Henry connected perfectly from 26 yards out and the Huskies would take a 10-0 lead with 11:32 left in the half.

UCLA’s only touchdown of the first half came when Thompson-Robinson found Theo Howard in the endzone, making the score 10-7 at the 9:47 mark.

Washington wasn’t done yet.

The Dawg’s o-line bore their teeth and pushed their way down field on a couple of wildcat plays and Myles Gaskin would run in from one yard out to put the Huskies up 17-7 with just 4:42 left in the half. They would a return trip to endzone nearing the end of the quarter on another push up the middle from Jake Browning that gave the Huskies a 24-7 score going into the locker room

Browning was 11-17 in the first half and finished with 202 yards, while Gaskin had 73 yards. The Huskies recorded 335 yards of total offense to UCLA’s 198 yards to end the half.

The second half, however, wasn’t as happy for the Huskies. UCLA seemed to have all the serendipity on their side.

Molson hit a 49-yard field goal to put three on the scoreboard and Washington led 24-10; the only points scored during the third quarter. 

Thompson-Robinson got hot and completed pass after pass to help his team go 90 yards and pull to within a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. But the Huskies got back into the endzone again to pull ahead 30-17 with a one-yard push into the endzone from Myles Gaskin.

The Huskies went up 31-17 with just over three minutes left in the game. But UCLA didn’t go away without a fight — and again — Thompson-Robinson got his team downfield. With just 1:38 left Kelly waltzed into the endzone and the onside kick was inevitable.

Washington tight end, Drew Sample fell on the kick and Washington was able to run out the clock and come away with the win, 31-24.

The Good

One a day that saw three Top 10 teams fall to upset, Washington was able to hold on and eek out a tough win.  Myles Gaskin rushed for 116 yards and Browning threw for 265 yards and completed 18 of 26 passes. He also rushed for 49 yards.

The Bad

Poor tackling and coverage from the secondary. Aside from the pick from Rapp, the Husky DB’s seemed a little off their game. Guys were left wide open and everyone knows the UW secondary is not usually sleeping on the job.

The Ugly

This was an ugly win for the Dawgs. There was a lot of bloodshed, sweat dripping, and players looked flat out exhausted by the end of the game. The defense wasn’t getting into Thompson-Robinson’s face enough. All in all, they just looked tired.

Next Up

Washington, now 5-1 and 3-0 will travel to Eugene next weekend to face the Ducks, who had a bye this weekend. 

Stat Sheet