HOUSTON — What will make sleep harder to come by, what will occasionally haunt, is that the Huskies know they could have won that game. Despite Michigan's first-quarter onslaught, when the Wolverines racked up 174 rushing yards in those first 15 minutes, Washington had a shot to win the whole dang thing.
Its defense had adjusted — astonishingly so — and put on a master class in the second and third quarters, along with the early part of the fourth. But the Dawgs' most reliable asset — that tops-in-the-country aerial attack that vaulted them to 21 consecutive victories — simply never showed up Monday against Michigan in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
That's why they are not national champions.
It's hard to be too critical of a team that just put together one of the most exhilarating seasons in Seattle sports history. On their road to Monday's national title game, where Michigan handed them a 34-13-loss, the Huskies won 10 consecutive games by 10 points or fewer.
No squad in college football had shown more poise in the most pressure-filled situations. And more pertinent, no squad had tallied more passing yards this season, with UW averaging over 350 of them per game.
The primary mover in all this was quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the Heisman Trophy runner-up who had played the best game of his career one week earlier versus Texas. But majestic as he was in the Sugar Bowl, he was a mere mortal in the natty.
Example No. 1: With Washington trailing 17-3 early in the second quarter, Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer decided to go for it on fourth-and-7 from the Wolverines' 47-yard line. A touchdown likely would have ensued had Penix hit a wide open Rome Odunze, but he threw it well behind his target en route to an incompletion.
Example No. 2: With Washington trailing 17-10, Penix threw an interception on his 32-yard line on the first play of the second half. The turnover allowed Michigan to go up 10 points.
There were a couple of overthrows to Ja'Lynn Polk as well. And then an interception after Michigan had gone up by 14 late in the fourth. Before that, though, there were three consecutive drives in which Washington was forced to punt while trailing 20-13.
That key play — which the Huskies (14-1) have provided all season long — never came. And the quarterback knows it.
"On the offensive side of the ball, we missed a lot of opportunities where we needed to execute to put our team in a better position to win this game," said Penix, who finished 27 of 51 for 255 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. "We beat ourselves."
Three quick things. 1. Penix is a Husky legend. He might be the best player in program history, and there is no way his team would have reached this stage if he hadn't been consistently spectacular. 2. It did look as if he was playing hurt. 3. Monday's offensive shortcomings don't fall squarely on him.
There were some drops — including one by Will Nixon on a fourth-quarter third-and-4 that would have moved the chains for the Huskies. There were some demoralizing penalties — most notably an offensive-holding flag on right tackle Roger Rosengarten that brought back a 32-yard completion to Odunze in the fourth quarter when Washington trailed by seven.
And the fact that Washington had so many opportunities to tie the score throughout the night was borderline shocking based on what Michigan did early.
By the end of the first quarter, the Wolverines had 229 yards to Washington's 74. They had scored touchdowns on their first two drives, needing just 12 plays to do it. It had the look of a rout in the making — then Michigan went eight consecutive possessions without finding the end zone.
It was the defensive adjustment of the season for UW. The "O" just didn't follow suit.
"We couldn't get over the hump," said DeBoer, whose team had no gains over 20 yards until 6:04 remained. "We just couldn't make that one play here or there."
To be fair, Michigan (15-0) entered the game with the No. 1 defense in the country. The Wolverines pressured Penix in a way that no other Huskies opponent had all season.
But the Huskies didn't lose this game because the chances weren't there. They lost because they didn't take advantage of them.
All that said, you're not going to find many — if any — Washington fans lamenting this season. The Huskies were 4-8 two years ago, and on Monday night they played for the national title. A pair of three-point wins over archrival Oregon, a down-to-the-final-play victory over Texas in the semifinals, a Heisman campaign. It doesn't get much better.
But it could have been a little better.
UW had a shot Monday. It was a season of wonder for these Huskies, but they will also wonder what could have been.
