When it all comes down to a five-point deficit and an onside kick, it hasn’t been a bad day. For Washington, it was a tale of two halves as they were defeated in Pasadena by a score of 28-23 to Ohio State.
The inconsistencies the Huskies have showed all season on offense were glaring during the first three quarter of the game, while the Husky secondary suffered from the loss of safety Taylor Rapp — who missed the game due to a hip flexor issue.
Washington couldn’t take advantage of several trips past midfield, but it took four quarters before the Huskies could get into the endzone. An early, first quarter field goal had given them the only points on the scoreboard heading into the last quarter, when Ohio State led 28-3.
But a wildcat, Myles Gaskin quick-toss to an open Drew Sample finally got the Huskies’ first touchdown of the game with 12:17 left in the game.
Washington would get back into the endzone again off the field of Gaskin with just 6:42 left, while the defense continued to hold and keep the Buckeyes’ offense off the field.
Gaskin would reach out his arm for the endzone pylon to bring the Huskies to within five with just :42 left to play.
So it came down to an onside kick, and Ohio State recovered the ball to end the game, 28-23.
The takeaway in this game is that Washington still held a very prolific Ohio State offense to under 400 total yards (they average over 500 per game).
The Huskies could have easily been blown out because Ohio State’s passing game was so in-sync for most of the game, but Washington didn’t allow this to happen. The defense responded to the offense’s getting uncorked late in the game by stopping the Bucks on just about every possession.
Statistically, Washington beat the Buckeyes in just about every category; total offense (444), time of possession, you name it — but they just came alive too late to win the game.
Washington will finish the 2018 season 10-4, with losses to Auburn, Oregon, Cal, and Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
The won the North Division, the Pac-12 Championship, and were in the Top 10 heading into the post-season.
Jake Browning finished the night with 313 passing yards, while Myles Gaskin played his last game as a Husky with 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
