SEATTLE — After missing last week’s game at Stanford with a shoulder injury, University of Washington quarterback Jake Browning was questionable to play in Saturday night’s game against Arizona.
It turned out he not only played, he dazzled.
Browning, a true freshman, tossed a career-best four touchdown passes and ran for another TD in guiding the Huskies to a 49-3 rout of the Wildcats on a windy but mostly dry night at Husky Stadium. It was Browning’s most complete game as a college quarterback, and showed the potential seen by Washington coaches during the recruiting process and in glimpses early in his UW career.
“He did a great job,” said Washington head coach Chris Petersen. “He played with toughness and made some plays. … I think he’s getting more confident each week. But I think that’s one of the things that we feel pretty good about. He has a really good command and a really good feel about what’s going on.”
Against the Wildcats, Browning was hardly the sole standout. Six different players scored touchdowns for the Huskies with running back Dwayne Washington scoring twice, once on the ground and once through the air. And the UW defense completely dominated an Arizona offense that has been one of the most prolific in the Pacific-12 Conference this season.
“We’ve been waiting for this one,” Petersen said. “It was kind of a complete performance. Our defense again was really, really good … and we finally got some things rolling on offense.
“I think our team kind of felt the urgency this week that we needed to get something done in a hurry. Everybody saw our schedule in October and all those really tough teams we were playing (USC, Oregon and Stanford the previous three games), so I think we’ve made some progress there. And like I said, it’s about time. This is what we’ve been waiting for … and hopefully we can build on this.”
Washington spotted the visitors an early field goal, but then made the game a blowout with seven unanswered touchdowns. Browning had three touchdown passes in the first half as the Huskies built a 21-3 halftime lead, and then threw his fourth TD on the team’s opening drive of the second half.
The UW defense certainly did its part, getting three first-half interceptions against an Arizona team that had just one interception in its first eight games. And after allowing the Wildcats to reach the Washington 10-yard line on the game’s first drive, resulting in a field goal, the Huskies kept the visitors outside the UW 15 the rest of the way.
“(Arizona) had put up a lot of points (this season) and that was obviously a big concern on our part,” said UW defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski. “But the guys really played well. … Three points, we’ll take that.”
The game was so one-sided, the Huskies put their defensive backups in to start the fourth quarter, with the offensive subs getting in minutes later.
“It feels good to see the guys have some success and really play at a higher level,” said UW offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith. “These guys deserve it. They’ve been working hard. And we’re still young, so it’s still a process. It’s week to week … but this was nice for those guys.”
Ahead for Washington is a game next Saturday against Utah, which will bring a 7-1 record into Husky Stadium. It will be another tough test, but one that certainly looks more winnable for an apparently resurgent UW team.
“We talk about trying to get better each game,” said Washington safety Budda Baker. “We had a couple of losses the last two weeks, so this week we had to make a statement that we were going to play as hard as we could. And it was a great game. Great defense, great offense, great special teams. Overall, a great game.”
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