Inside The Huskies

As Far as Touchdowns Go Against UW, It's No Score in 2024

The Huskies have gone eight quarters without giving up a six-pointer.

Dan Raley

Deshawn Lynch (41) had one of the UW's seven sacks against Eastern Michigan/
Deshawn Lynch (41) had one of the UW's seven sacks against Eastern Michigan/ / Skylar Lin Visuals

Capping an easy two-play, eight-yard drive, set up by an 81-yard interception return, Michigan's Blake Corum bounced up the middle and into the end zone from the 1 in the College Football Playoff national championship game. With 3:37 remaining, he made a bad loss for the University of Washington look even worse by supplying the final points in a 34-13 drubbing.

This Corum score also was significant for another reason - it was the last touchdown permitted by the Huskies.

Nine months, a coaching change and two more Husky games later, the UW finds itself in a new season in which it has generously given up four field goals to Weber State and Eastern Michigan, but not a six-pointer.

While the opposition hasn't been necessarily Power 4 worthy, this might not be a coincidence that Steve Belichick is the new Husky defensive coordinator and his unit hasn't let anyone run or pass their way across his goal line so far.

"It got brought up in a team meeting and it was something that was not so much praising us but more challenging us," UW linebacker Carson Bruener said of no TDs allowed. "It's one of those things where we kind of look at it that the defense here hasn't done that in a while, but can we continue to do that?"

In fact, it's been 33 seasons since the Huskies went two consecutive games without giving up a touchdown, with the 1991 national championship team grinding out a 14-3 win over USC in Los Angeles and on the following weekend going to Corvallis and battering Oregon State 58-6.

It was field goals only back then, with TDs out of the question.

Ironically, Bruener's dad, Mark, was a freshman tight end for that extra stingy and unbeatable 1991 Husky crew that went 12-0, gave up 12 touchdowns all season and just 9.2 points per game.

According to research conducted by the always curious Tony Castricone, the Husky radio play-by-play broadcaster, the Huskies are one of five teams nationwide currently that haven't allowed a touchdown through two games, joining Georgia, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Missouri.

In eight quarters, this UW team has let just one opposing drive get inside the 10 and close enough to score, with Eastern Michigan taking advantage of a blocked punt on its opening drive to find itself staring at first-and goal at the Husky 6.

However, three Eagles rushing plays went 3, 0 and -1 yards and a pass fell incomplete when the Husky linebackers shut everything down.

Carson Bruener watches an Eastern Michigan play unfold.
Carson Bruener watches an Eastern Michigan play unfold. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Alphonzo Tuputala first stopped Eastern Michigan's Dontae McMillan, a Seattle native, for no gain on second-and-goal at the 3.

On fourth down at the same spot, Bruener went blitzing hard up the middle to put quarterback Cole Snyder on his back after Snyder let go of a fruitless pass that fell incomplete.

A potential six, deep-sixed.

The Huskies now turn their attention to Saturday's Apple Cup at Lumen Field and a high-scoring Washington State team averaging 53.5 points per game. Needless to say, these Cougars have scored seven touchdowns already this season and expect to get more this weekend.

"It's a cool stat for sure," Belichick cautioned of the zero TDs, "but it's not going to help us this week."

Bruener and his UW teammates will try to extend this no-touchdown streak as long as they can, but like their defensive coordinator they're realists, hoping for continued defensive prowess while knowing an enemy touchdown has to be right around the corner.

"That's something we're going to be really be preaching this whole entire week -- it's been two weeks," Bruener said of the TD ban. "It's going to be a long season, mistakes are going to happen and touchdowns will get scored on us eventually. But, really, it's just going out and focusing on our job as best we can."

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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