No. 5 Washington survives second straight scare to stay undefeated and alive in College Football Playoff race

No. 5 Washington survived an disillusioned scare for a second consecutive week, conserving on for a 42-33 win at Stanford on Saturday to stay undefeated and stay in the search for a place in the College Football Playoff. The Cardinal got here inside of two issues of the Huskies on 3 separate events in the second part prior to a couple of turnovers on downs mixed with a Washington landing overdue in the sport allowed trainer Kalen DeBoer’s Huskies to win its fifteenth consecutive recreation, the second longest successful streak in the country.

The Huskies and Cardinal have been tied 7-7 early in the second quarter prior to Washington (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) used back-to-back landing passes from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to construct a 21-7 edge. The Huskies by no means trailed past that time as Penix — per week got rid of from being held with out a landing move towards Arizona State — went on to move for 369 yards and 4 touchdowns, two of them to extensive receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. However, the Cardinal refused to move down quietly. 

Stanford used two box targets overdue in the second quarter to make it 21-13 at halftime and then got here inside of two issues early in the 3rd quarter when quarterback Ashton Daniels hooked up with receiver Elic Ayomanor on a 39-yard landing move. The Cardinal tried to tie the sport on a two-point conversion after that landing, however have been unsuccessful. 

Stanford (2-6, 1-5) would have extra possibilities down the stretch — the Cardinal pressured two Washington turnovers later in the part — however was once not able to recover from the hump. Any likelihood of an disillusioned win ended when Stanford, trailing 35-33 with 3:20 to play, became the ball over on downs. Not lengthy after Washington took ownership of the ball, Huskies working again Dillon Johnson recorded a 13-yard landing, striking the sport out of succeed in. 

The Huskies’ victory was once their second straight in the Pac-12 sequence between the colleges, which is now set to move on hiatus as Washington and Stanford go away the league for different meetings in 2024. It additionally places the Huskies one step nearer to incomes a Pac-12 Championship Game berth, even though it is transparent Washington is a long way from a completed product after letting every other unranked opponent hang out longer than it will have most well-liked. 

Close calls proceed for Huskies

There was once a minimum of an issue to be had for Washington because the AP No. 1 group in the rustic after it recorded a signature 36-33 house win towards a top-10 Oregon group in Week 7. The Huskies have completed not anything in the 2 weeks since then to fortify that place, managing for a couple of unconvincing wins towards Arizona State and Stanford groups who’ve mixed for 4 wins overall in 2023.

While the victories towards the Sun Devils and Cardinal have been other in nature — Washington was once held with out an offensive landing in a 15-7 defensive combat towards Arizona State prior to the offense got here to existence at Stanford — each depart Huskies lovers asking critical questions coming into a brutal stretch of the time table. Washington starts the month of November with 3 consecutive ranked combatants. The Huskies move to No. 24 USC in Week 10, adopted by way of a house recreation towards No. 13 Utah and then a street shuttle to No. 11 Oregon State. 

Wrong time for a hunch 

Washington’s lackluster two-week stretch additionally comes at a quite inopportune time with the primary College Football Playoff Rankings to be launched Tuesday. While the undefeated Huskies will have to land in the highest 10, it stays to be observed how the choice committee perspectives them after appearing vulnerabilities towards groups that rank at or close to the ground of the Pac-12 Conference. No group from the convention has made the playoff since Washington cracked faculty soccer’s Final Four again in 2016, however the Huskies are the league’s highest hope at converting that this wintry weather.