This game couldn’t have been much weirder. Led by Pac-12 refs doing everything in their power to erk fans of both teams and topped off with a 25-minute delay due to the lights in the stadium losing power, this game had it all. Capped off by a fight on the sidelines following Peyton Henry’s game-winning field goal with eight seconds left on the clock, Washington was able to escape over the 23rd-ranked Beavers 24-21.

After the game, head coach Kalen DeBoer said he didn’t let the adversity, or the darkness, deter his team. “I emphasized that we had just spent all our energy to fight back and make it a tie game,” he said after the game. “Coming after the touchdown, it’s hard to get guys to stay up after that for that long.” He went on to say that during a game in 2018 at Fresno State, the lights went out and caused a similar delay.

DeBoer also said his defense did an “amazing job” and gave the coaching staff credit for halftime adjustments that they made that held Oregon State to just 87 yards passing, and 262 total yards. This marks the second time this season the Husky defense has held an opposing quarterback under 100 yards passing. While running back Damien Martinez took his first six carries for 74 yards, the defense stiffened up after that, and the Beavers’ leading rusher finished his day with 19 carries for 104 yards.

It looked like the turning point in the game came right before the half, when Michael Penix Jr. threw a pick-six to Oregon State linebacker Easton Arnold-Mascarenas to make it 14-7 Beavers going into the locker room, but Penix and the Huskies made a statement on their final drive of the night, which totaled 18 plays and 92 yards to eat up the final four minutes of the ballgame. Penix has only thrown five interceptions on the season, and that one was no doubt the worst of the five, but he owned up to it after the game.

“I just made a bad throw… I’ve got to stay away from that,” he said. “I don’t want to make excuses and I can’t blame the weather, I just know that I’ve got to be better.”

The wind and rain were the biggest talking points leading up to the game, but it stayed dry throughout the night. While the wind was still howling throughout the night, both wide receiver Rome Odunze and running back Cam Davis said after the game that they didn’t feel like the wind really affected the team’s game plan too much.

Game notes

Tuli Letuligasenoa played his best game of the year, blowing up a lot of what Oregon State wanted to do in the run game. He finished his day with four tackles, and half a tackle for loss, but was probably the biggest game wrecker along the defensive line all night.

Rome Odunze racked up another seven catches for 102 yards, which marks his fifth 100-yard performance of the 2022 campaign, tying Mario Bailey for the most 100-yard receiving games in a single season.

Michael Penix didn’t break 300 yards passing for the first time this season, ending his streak of consecutive games going over 300 at eight. The star quarterback finished his day with 298 yards passing, one touchdown, and one interception.

The defensive coaching staff has been on the receiving end of a lot criticism this season for being unable to scheme against the pass, but they did an excellent job making adjustments to defend Oregon State’s run-heavy attack at halftime. The Husky defense only allowed 100 total yards in the second half.