Washington prevailed in a defensive battle, bested Utah 10-3, and will head to their first Rose bowl since 2000.
The Huskies and the Utes made history on Friday and were apart of the lowest scoring game in PAC-12 Championship history. Both offenses played awfully, failed to produce any touchdowns, and only led their team’s to one scoring drive each, which resulted in field goals for the two teams.
Washington’s Jake Browning threw 21/33 with 188 yards with one interception and no touchdowns. The Huskies also failed to establish offensive momentum on the ground and only obtained 120 yards on 40 total rushing attempts. While the offensive statistics for Washington were horrible, the Huskies did do a good job of slowly, and methodically extending drives in the second half, which kept the ball out of the hands of Jason Shelley, and the Utes offense.
The Utes matched Washington’s dominating defensive performance, held the Huskies to 3 points, no touchdowns, and forced a turnover. Unfortunately for Utah, their offense, like Washington’s, could not get anything going through the ground or through the air. Jason Shelley threw for an awful 17/27 with 137 yards, 3 interceptions, and no touchdowns. The Utes back’s did not help the offense either, and all 4 ball carriers cumulatively rushed for a pitiful 57 yards.
The difference maker in this game was Washington defensive back Byron Murphy and the Husky defense. Murphy had 2 interceptions, one being a pick six and the team’s only touchdown, the game ending deflection, and won the PAC-12 Championship MVP trophy.
