This. Team. In front of an electric, near-capacity crowd at Husky Stadium, Kalen DeBoer’s squad didn’t disappoint. Michael Penix Jr. showed a national audience what he was capable of, and his squad walked away with a 39-28 victory over the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans.

“He’s just so calm and collected,” said DeBoer after the game. “He’s been in so many big-time games, he’s got a great supporting cast around him, and he just believes in himself and that’s all we can ask for.”

There were a lot of questions about what a fully healthy Penix would be able to achieve in DeBoer’s system after transferring over from Indiana, and he’s got some fans on Twitter clamoring for him to be on the Heisman watch list after his performance against the Spartans. He finished the day with 397 yards and four touchdowns.

 

“I know some people are going to try to make this about me, but it’s not about me,” Penix said following the victory. “No sacks,” he continued. “A lot of credit goes to my offensive line who kept me upright, and my receivers who kept making plays, those guys are why I came to Washington.”

The offense wasn’t the only story of the day though, the run defense was excellent, holding the Spartans to just 42 yards on the ground on Saturday. While there are still things to work on in the back end, the secondary showed up when it was needed most, with an interception from Julius Irvin, and he also recorded a pass breakup at a critical time in the fourth quarter.

It was a historic day for Ja’Lynn Polk, who recorded six catches for 153 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first Husky with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Dante Pettis did it back in 2017.

“[Polk] is one of our glue guys. He made some huge catches, and I’ve seen him improve so much over the last couple weeks because of his work ethic, and I’m just so happy for him,” DeBoer said.

The team also felt the crowd that was over 68,000 strong, and running back Wayne Taulapapa credited Husky Nation for a strong showing. “The fans were incredible,” he said. “To see the sea of purple out there was crazy, I’ve never been a part of something like that before, it was truly amazing.”

Game notes

Michigan State’s pass rush was invisible on Saturday. For the third straight week, Washington’s offensive line allowed zero sacks against a defensive line that was leading the country in sacks coming into the game.

Cam Bright was excellent in the middle of defense, totalling six tackles, including a sack. The Huskies recorded two sacks, with Voi Tunuufi getting the other, but Payton Thorne was under pressure all night.

Penix spread the ball around all night, completing passes to nine different receivers. Jalen McMillan finished with nine catches for 97 yards, and it shouldn’t even be a debate at this point that the Huskies have one of the best passing attacks in the country.