Instant observations from Huskies’ bowl-clinching win over UCLA

SEATTLE – The UW Huskies pulled away in the second half and secured bowl eligibility with a 31-19 win over the UCLA Bruins on Friday night.

UW Huskies beat UCLA, secure bowl berth | Box score

The victory extended the Huskies’ home win streak to 20 games, which is their longest in more than a century. It capped a third consecutive perfect season at home for the Dawgs, who are 6-0 at Husky Stadium and 0-5 away from Montlake.

Most importantly, the victory guarantees Washington’s season will stretch into December for a bowl game. If the Huskies had lost, they would have needed to pull a massive upset over top-ranked Oregon in their Nov. 30 regular-season finale to qualify for a bowl.

Here’s what stood out from Washington’s bowl-clinching win:

• Williams makes the most of his opportunity: After starting quarterback Will Rogers threw interceptions on back-to-back possessions to open the second half, backup Demond Williams Jr. entered the game and played the rest of the way. Head coach Jedd Fisch has consistently sprinkled in the dual-threat Williams as a change-of-pace weapon at quarterback this season, and the four-star freshman played the entire second half of last week’s blowout loss to Penn State. But this was his first extended action in a tight game, and he rose to the occasion. With the Huskies clinging to a one-point lead late in the third quarter, Williams came in and guided Washington on an 11-play, 57-yard field-goal drive and an eight-play, 74-yard touchdown drive to give the Dawgs an 11-point cushion. Williams put his skill set on full display, completing 7 of 8 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, while also running for 31 yards on six carries. Williams’ most impressive sequence came on the TD drive, when on back-to-back plays he turned potential sacks into highlight-reel scrambles. Williams capped the touchdown march with a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Decker DeGraaf on third-and-goal.

Huskies extend the lead! 👏@UW_Football pic.twitter.com/5Fr8SLIR7C

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2024

• Davis highlights UW’s sack party: After missing the first eight games of the season with a lower-body injury, junior edge rusher and Arizona transfer Russell Davis II announced his presence to the Husky faithful with a massive performance Friday night. Davis exploded onto the scene with three sacks of UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers, highlighting a six-sack onslaught by the Washington defense. Davis’ biggest moment came on his strip-sack in the second quarter, when he swiped the ball from Garbers on a third down in the red zone and recovered his own forced fumble to stymie a UCLA scoring chance. Senior defensive lineman Sebastian Valdez, senior edge rusher Voi Tunuufi and senior linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala also had third-down sacks for the Huskies, who entered the night with just 14 sacks this season and none in their past three games.

WASHINGTON BALL!!@UW_Football recovers it! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/w3Vn6AVxqz

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2024

• Defense limits the damage: Washington’s defense has made a habit of holding strong in or near the red zone this year. On Friday night, the Huskies did so once again. Prior to a garbage-time touchdown in the closing moments, UCLA snapped the ball inside the Washington 30-yard line on six separate possessions. Over those six drives, the Bruins finished with a grand total of just 13 points. One of those prime scoring chances was erased by Davis’ strip-sack fumble. Another key moment came after Rogers’ first interception, when Tunuufi’s third-down sack limited the Bruins to just a field goal. Then after Rogers threw another pick just moments later, Washington freshman linebacker Khmori House knocked the ball free from tight end Jack Pedersen on a catch-and-run, and senior safety Kamren Fabiculanan recovered the fumble to stymie yet another UCLA scoring opportunity.

Ball comes out and @UW_Football is all over it! 😤 pic.twitter.com/F5LUNxdOTA

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2024

• Huskies find paydirt in red zone: The red zone has been a horror show this season for the Huskies, who entered the night with just 19 touchdowns in 38 red-zone trips. But on Friday night, they converted all four of their red-zone opportunities into touchdowns. In the first quarter, star running back Jonah Coleman took a halfback toss, raced through a wide-open lane and bulldozed through a defender for a 15-yard TD. In the second quarter, senior tight end Keleki Latu took a third-down screen pass and rumbled into the end zone for an 8-yard TD. In the fourth quarter, Williams found DeGraaf for a 1-yard TD pass on third-and-goal, giving the Huskies an 11-point lead with less than six minutes to play. And in the closing minutes, sophomore wide receiver Denzel Boston drew a fourth-down pass-interference penalty, and Coleman followed with a 2-yard scoring run to put the finishing touches on the win.

Latu with SIX for Washington 🔥 @UW_Football#B1GFootball on FOX 📺 pic.twitter.com/ZGATLnAx4Z

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 16, 2024

• Rogers has shaky night: Rogers had an ultra-efficient start to the season, throwing 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions through the first five games. But since then, it’s been rough sledding for the senior Mississippi State transfer. Rogers was picked off on back-to-back possessions to open the second half, bringing his totals to just four TD passes and seven interceptions over the past six games. On Rogers’ first pick, he tried to squeeze a third-down pass over the middle, but it was deflected by UCLA linebacker Kain Medrano and intercepted by defensive back Devin Kirkwood. On the ensuing series, Rogers didn’t appear to see Medrano, as he threw an interception over the middle that went directly to the UCLA linebacker. Rogers also threw an ill-advised interception into the end zone in the first half, but it was wiped away by a roughing-the-passer penalty. He finished 13-of-21 passing for 115 yards, one TD and two picks.

The Bruins come up with two INTS in back-to-back Husky drives 😱

Kain Medrano snags this one for @UCLAFootball 👏#B1GFootball on FOX 📺 pic.twitter.com/hfKx2XbUDM

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 16, 2024

More on UW Huskies football

• Caple: Ahead of home finale, what have UW Huskies’ seniors learned?
• Mid-November bowl projections for UW Huskies and WSU Cougars
• UW Huskies breaking out new twist with ‘blackout’ game uniforms
• Latest from UW Huskies’ Jedd Fisch: Is Will Rogers still the QB?

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