In Houston, Washington's dream season meets an unsatisfying conclusion

Michigan wins, 34-13, and the Huskies fall one win shy of a national title.

Dillon Johnson answers questions after Washington’s loss to Michigan in the national championship game. (Photo by Christian Caple/On Montlake)

HOUSTON — The strength coach made sure his players saw a friendly face as they disembarked this thrill ride and the confetti fell behind them for somebody else. Ron McKeefery stood just up the tunnel at NRG Stadium, offering encouragement to each Washington player who approached with bleary eyes. The longest hug went to senior linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio. He held himself together until McKeefery pulled him close.

Moments prior, Michael Penix Jr. had limped past, a black towel tucked under his helmet to shield his face, Kalen DeBoer walking alongside the superstar quarterback with the coach’s family not far behind.

These were the Washington Huskies like you’ve never seen them, at least not in 2023, a season so charmed that anything shy of victory in Monday’s national championship game seemed almost at odds with destiny. 

Instead, the Huskies met with this unsatisfying final chapter, a 34-13 defeat to No. 1 Michigan that spoiled their bid for an unbeaten season and the first outright national title in school history. It felt like Michigan put Washington in a box on Monday, dominating the line of scrimmage defensively, busting open a two-score lead in the first quarter and grounding a UW passing game that had brought the Huskies to college football’s most coveted doorstep.

“We just didn’t execute. It’s as simple as that,” left tackle Troy Fautanu said. “Props to Michigan. Props to the defensive coordinator. They brought everything at the right time, and we just couldn’t figure it out, as you can tell by the score.”

The game felt closer than the final score, yet beyond the Huskies’ grasp all the same. They trailed 17-3 early in the second quarter, Michigan’s tailbacks sprinting unabated, yet trailed by only a touchdown at halftime. Four of UW’s second-half possessions commenced with the Wolverines ahead by only seven points. 

None of those drives progressed beyond Washington’s own 37-yard line, though. Penix’s dynamic left arm found few open receivers, at least partially because Michigan’s pressure forced the Huskies into quicker throws and screen passes. He completed 27-of-51 for 255 yards, a mere 5.0 yards per attempt. Until Penix hit a 44-yard pass to Rome Odunze in the fourth quarter — after Michigan had taken a 27-13 lead — his longest completion of the night had been 16 yards.

“I think they were taking away some of our deep shots, bringing pressure along with that, just trying to disrupt Mike’s picture and allow him to feel a little uncomfortability back there, so that way, they had time to defend,” said Odunze, who caught five passes for 87 yards. “They weren’t protecting the short routes, I thought, as much, so we could have maybe (taken) advantage of that. But they had a good game plan, were playing hard and aggressive, and got after us.”

As their opponents have all season — Oregon’s missed field goal, Stanford’s dropped pass, Washington State’s fourth-and-one, Texas’ final series — the Huskies have their own what-ifs to ponder.

What if Penix had connected with Odunze on that wide-open, fourth-and-7 throw in the second quarter? It would have been a huge gain, and probably a touchdown, with Michigan leading 17-3.

“That was my fault,” Odunze said. “I should have broke out on that play. Selfishly, I had so much open space that I kind of had a mental lapse and just ran straight up the field, because I saw so much open space there. But the route design should have had me breaking out on that particular play.”

“It’s on me,” Penix said. “I’ve just got to make the throw. That’s it.”

What if Will Nixon hadn’t dropped Penix’s third-and-four pass early in the fourth quarter, with Michigan still leading by only a touchdown?

What if the officials hadn’t called Roger Rosengarten for holding on what would have been a 32-yard completion to Odunze on UW’s next possession, the Huskies still down only a score?

What if Penix hadn’t missed Odunze in the end zone on UW’s first drive, which ended in a field goal instead of a touchdown?

What if Penix hadn’t thrown an interception on the first play of the third quarter, after the Huskies had cut Michigan’s halftime lead to 17-10? Center Parker Brailsford was knocked backward and appeared to step on Penix’s right ankle, which forced the errant pass and required attention from trainers on the sideline afterward.

What if they hadn’t committed four false-start penalties?

“Honestly, we just couldn’t get into rhythm, man,” Fautanu said. “And it got really, really loud. Props to Michigan’s fans. They for sure brought the noise. It was just tough trying to hear, and finding ourselves behind the sticks, and it’s hard to convert when it’s third-and-20, third-and-15.”

Said Penix: “They’re a good team, but we had a lot of opportunities.”

Of course, there was the matter of Michigan’s dominant first quarter, a period that ended with 229 yards in the Wolverines’ column on just 13 plays, including rushes of 59 yards (by Blake Corum) and a pair of long touchdowns by Donovan Edwards (40 and 46 yards, respectively). Those runs yielded a two-touchdown lead, the largest deficit UW had faced this season, and a particularly daunting margin against a smashmouth team like Michigan.

“Just missed fits, to be honest with you,” Ulofoshio said of the big runs. “They went a couple gap schemes and we had one less guy. They had a really good scheme on the second touchdown because they went tackle over and the DBs were kind of situated. So, I mean, we have to correct it. But at the end of the day, in games like this, we can't make explosive mistakes like that. And ultimately it cost us.”

Give the Huskies’ defense credit. They clamped down after that, forcing Michigan to settle for two field goals across the second and third quarters, granting UW’s offense several opportunities to tie the score. 

But the Huskies were already playing shorthanded. Dillon Johnson vowed to play through injuries to his right foot and left knee, and he did. But the star tailback said he suffered a high left ankle sprain on the first play of the game. He continued to play, carrying 11 times for 33 yards, but knew he wasn’t himself.

“We just weren’t clicking. We just weren’t on the same page with some things,” he said. “I feel like a lot of it was due to me not being able to get those hard yards, and putting us in long situations. I wasn’t really able to move. It kind of hurt us.

“There’s only so much your body can do.”

There was no room to run; UW’s long rush was a 9-yard carry by receiver Jalen McMillan. Penix had little time to throw, rendering moot the fact that McMillan believed there were deep throws open. Michigan’s front proved far more troublesome than Texas in the Sugar Bowl, winning one-on-ones and forcing the Huskies to play on their heels — unfamiliar territory for an offense that grew accustomed to operating the way it wanted, to acting as the aggressor. 

“If it wasn’t one thing, it was another,” Odunze said. “Seems like we couldn’t all click on one play.”

Penix wasn’t just uncomfortable. By the fourth quarter, he was hurt. He clutched at his midsection after one hit, and looked battered as he navigated the concourse afterward.

“I'm not healthy, but I'll be there,” Penix said. “I'm good. It's nothing major. I know that for sure.”

The postgame locker room felt something like goodbye. Odunze went teammate to teammate offering hugs. So did Ja’Lynn Polk and McMillan, and Fautanu, and Devin Culp. Senior safety Asa Turner entered with his right arm around senior running back Richard Newton. Still in uniform, Polk spoke softly with reporters, a towel draped over his head. Earlier, he had sat down on the turf, watching Michigan celebrate. “That’s one of them moments that you don’t really get back,” Polk said. “You’ve got to remember times like that, let it sink in.”

McMillan peered through reddened eyes and channeled perspective.

“We said before the season that we wanted to win the national championship, and we came back and put our mind to it, and I wouldn’t trade anything for it,” McMillan said. “All the offseason workouts, all the accountability, all the early mornings — all of it. I’m so thankful for it all, and if it didn’t happen to us, we wouldn’t be here.”

Here. Close enough to picture what it might have been like to hoist that trophy, yet far enough to know, as Michigan tacked on two fourth-quarter scores, that their most ambitious aspirations would go unfulfilled.

“I’m sorry that they couldn’t realize a championship this year, because they made the sacrifices,” DeBoer said. “They made the commitments. The goals that they had, the work supported it. Just tonight, we couldn’t get over the hump.”

Finished with his press conference, DeBoer walked with his family back to UW’s locker room. His wife, Nicole, patted him on the back as his two daughters followed. Before the coach reached his destination, Mikey Sainristil, Michigan’s star defensive back who intercepted Penix in the fourth quarter, emerged from the field wearing sunglasses and a championship ballcap and a broad smile.

He passed DeBoer en route to whatever awaited the victors, a distinction Washington finally ceded for the first time in 21 games.

History will remember these Huskies as winners. Just not on Monday night in Houston.

“There's not a doubt in my mind that we have a good enough football team to go out there and win a national championship,” DeBoer said. “And (we’ve) just got to make a play here and there, get us over the hump, and it could have been a different outcome.”

— Christian Caple, On Montlake