Washington becomes bowl eligible after a 42-25 win at home over 23rd-ranked Illinois. The Husky offense scored touchdowns on six of their seven drives, not including the final kneel-down drive at the end of the game. The defense held Luke Altmyer and the Illini under 200 yards passing and pulled down two interceptions. A key defensive stop in the game occurred early in the third quarter. It was fueled by the end-of-half touchdown drive by the Husky offense.
Washington Gains Bowl-Eligibility
Second Quarter
Illinois largely dominated the second quarter. But the way the quarter ended would make a significant difference in the outcome of the game. The Illini converted six of six third downs in the second quarter. It had two touchdowns and held the football for over 12 minutes of game time. Illinois ran 24 plays in the second quarter compared to Washington’s 14. The Huskies had the ball for just 2:31 in the second period.
When asked about responding to being on the field so much in the second quarter, Washington safety Alex McLaughlin said, “Just not trying to make the big plays. Just trying to make them earn their yards. We know we gotta get off the field on third down and stop them in the red zone and at least hold them to a field goal.”
Following the second Illini touchdown drive of the second quarter, Washington took possession with 1:55 to play. It went 11 plays in just 1:15, and regained the lead with a trick play touchdown. Williams’ backwards pass went to Denzel Boston on the near sideline, who threw it back across the field to a wide-open Jonah Coleman in the end zone.
“We came into the game with a lot of motivation just to do whatever it takes to get the W,” Dezmen Roebuck said about this touchdown drive after the game. “Whenever we have the ball, it’s going to be hard for us to get stopped, and we just drove the ball down the field and scored.” Following the touchdown, Illinois, somewhat surprisingly, took three timeouts into the half despite getting the ball back with 40 seconds to play with the ball at its own 34-yard line.
Second Half Momentum
The Huskies built off the end-of-half momentum to begin the third quarter. Illinois had scored on its first three possessions of the game and took its fourth into the half. But to open the third, Ryan Walters’ defense got its first stop and forced a punt. Washington’s offense then took the football 90 yards for a touchdown to begin the third quarter. Coleman recorded his first 15-plus-yard rush since the Rutgers game. Coleman also scored the touchdown, giving him his 13th rushing score of the season. The lead was stretched to 28-17.
“I think the biggest adjustment was on second down,” Fisch said after the game. “If we can continue to keep them in those third downs and six-pluses, I think it’s a lot harder to convert.” The Huskies allowed seven of eight third-down conversions in the first half. In the second half, it dropped to two of four. Illinois’ average distance to go in the second half 12.5 yards.
The defense also pulled down two interceptions in the second half, one by Rashawn Clark and the other by Tacario Davis. Washington caught four interceptions, but two of them were called back due to penalties on the Husky defense. McLaughlin and Xe’ree Alexander each finished with 12 tackles in the game.
First Quarter Points
Washington scored in the first quarter for the first time since week four against Washington State. The Huskies managed two touchdown drives in the first 15 minutes and overcame penalties to score on each. On their opening drive, the Husky offense reached the Illini 10-yard line in seven plays. On the very next play, a holding penalty backed the offense up 10 yards, and it had goal-to-go from the 20-yard line.
But three plays later, Demond Williams rolled out and found Roebuck short of the goal line. The freshman wide receiver fought through contact to reach the goal line and put the Huskies up 7-0. “When I caught the ball, and I turned my head, you know, I saw the end zone,” Roebuck said after the game. “Once I saw the end zone, I was going to do whatever it took to get in there.”
On its ensuing drive, Washington began with a setback. An illegal formation penalty caused Washington to start its second possession with first and 15. This time, Williams connected on four passes of 10-plus yards and again found Roebuck in the end zone to complete the drive. His second score of the day was a toe-tap touchdown on the far side while running at full speed. Roebuck showed excellent field awareness once again as his left foot landed on the edge of the purple end zone. “Yeah, we actually do, we practice [toe-tap catches] at practice with Coach Caleb [Wilson] every day,” Roebuck said afterwards. “So it just translates to the game.”
Washington now heads into its second bye week before its road trip to Wisconsin on November 8th.
Main Image: Dean Rutz/Seattle Times
