The Washington Huskies football program has been on a roll for the entirety of the CFB season thanks in large part to the elite play of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Heading into the College Football Playoff National Championship matchup against Michigan, the Huskies had gone undefeated with Penix throwing dots to his receivers on a game per game basis. Alas, it all went wrong for Penix during their 34-13 defeat to Michigan in the national title game.
Penix, who was extremely distraught after losing the biggest game of his football career to this point, had a blunt assessment of what ailed the Washington offense that's been humming all season long against a Michigan defense that had no intention of taking any prisoners (h/t Chris Fetters of 247Sports).
“They're a good team. We just didn't execute in the moments when we needed to. It's just about executing. I don't feel like they did anything — I feel like we beat ourselves. And there were times we definitely had opportunities to make big-time plays, to make the game a lot different. But it comes down to executing. They're a good team, but we had a lot of opportunities.”
To say that Michael Penix Jr. and Washington failed to execute may be the biggest understatement of the night. Penix, in particular, picked the absolute worst time to put up his worst game of the season. He completed just 27 of his 51 passing attempts, which is already rough. To compound matters, he then threw two interceptions, including a huge pick on fourth down with Washington down 27-13 to Michigan in the fourth quarter.
And the statistics don't show the entire story. Penix also missed plenty of throws that he would have made had he thrown them on another day. The Washington quarterback had plenty of open wide receivers, with one such pass to Rome Odunze, who was wide open on fourth down in the second quarter, going wide of the mark. That pass could have changed the momentum in the Huskies' favor, but it was not meant to be.
Now, Michael Penix Jr. will be off to the NFL in a few months' time, although it'll be a rough few weeks for the Washington alum now that he'll have to process suffering a defeat on the biggest collegiate football stage. For Washington, expect head coach Kalen DeBoer to continue cooking as the Huskies try to avenge this defeat.