SEATTLE — At 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Washington sophomore Grady Gross slipped mid-swing on the opening kickoff, sending a football comically bouncing across the field.
That slip served as a satisfactory spoiler.
In No. 5 Washington’s 15-7 win over Arizona State, the blunders were abundant.
But the Sun Devils’ biggest blunder turned the tide.
Leading 7-6 with 8:26 left, Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham inexplicably opted to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the Husky 12-yard-line, instead of extending the advantage with a 29-yard field goal. Quarterback Trenton Bourguet promptly took a shotgun snap, looked right and ripped a pass that UW junior “husky” nickel Mishael Powell jumped — sprinting down the left sideline for an 89-yard pick-six.
It wasn’t Bourguet’s only brush with disaster. On ASU’s opening drive, the redshirt junior dropped back on third-and-8, surveyed the field and delivered a pass directly to UW edge Sekai Asoau-Afoa. But rather than returning his first career interception for a walk-in score, Asoau-Afoa couldn’t collect a game-opening gift.
Missed opportunities were a trend.
As were uncharacteristic mistakes.
UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr., for example, forced his second pass of the night into traffic — resulting in an interception for ASU cornerback Ro Torrence. It was the Sun Devil defense’s first interception of the season, and it came against the Heisman Trophy Front Runner.
But again, when it came to destructive blunders, UW wasn’t done.
On first-and-goal from the Sun Devil 7 early in the second quarter, a Penix pass was tipped high in the air and intercepted by ASU safety Shamari Simmons. UW’s following drive also abruptly ended, when a Penix handoff to tailback Dillon Johnson tumbled to the turf and was collected by Simmons as well. And trailing 7-3 entering the second half, Penix hit typically trustworthy wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk … who promptly fumbled into the open arms of Sun Devil defensive tackle C.J. Fite.
There was a tidal wave of turnovers, inducing a stunned silence inside Husky Stadium.
A week after earning its most impactful win in recent memory, UW nearly delivered the opposite.
Arizona State, meanwhile, successfully bucked several statistical trends. The Sun Devils had struggled to run all season, ranking 127th out of 133 teams nationally in yards per carry (2.76) and 128th in rushing offense (85.17 yards per game). On Saturday — against a UW defense missing starting defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa — they plowed forward for 138 rushing yards, 4.6 yards per carry and a 1-yard Cam Skattebo touchdown plunge, which gave ASU a 7-0 second-quarter lead.
The Sun Devils also surrendered 22 sacks in their 1-5 start, sitting 116 th in the nation. On Saturday, UW’s punchless pass rush didn’t manage a single sack.
Even so, the Husky pass defense largely did its part. Bourguet — who topped UW in Tempe, Arizona, last fall — completed just 26 of 47 passes for 196 yards and an interception. Sophomore cornerback Elijah Jackson blocked a 43-yard field goal attempt, while ASU’s Dario Longhetto sent an earlier 31-yard attempt clattering off the upright. Gross also connected on all three of his field goal attempts, including a career-long 47-yarder.
But the mighty Washington offense — which entered the week leading the nation in passing (424.7 yards per game), while ranking third in total offense (543.7 yards per game) and fifth in scoring (44.3 points per game) — was repeatedly unable to answer. Penix completed just 27 of 42 passes for 275 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions, the worst output of his Husky career.
UW rushed for just 15 yards and 1.3 yards per carry, a colossal cratering.
When UW sophomore Jack McCallister uncorked his third punt of the game with 2:12 left in the third quarter, boos cascaded from a baffled fan base. Just seven days earlier, they’d hugged and cheered and stormed the same field in celebration.
What a difference a week makes.
Or, a half-hour.
Because, while Powell sprinted down the sideline, Husky Stadium instantaneously erupted. A former walk-on from Seattle nearly single-handedly extended Washington’s 14-game winning streak.
With the lead and the ball, Dillingham blinked.
Powell seized on a titanic blunder.
