Huskies Lost But Odunze Won Over More Fans of His Game

The Husky pass-catcher has had consecutive highly productive outings.

Rome Odunze, unlike his University of Washington football team, was good from start to finish last Friday night against UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

He scored the Huskies' first touchdown on the initial drive of the game, getting behind Bruins cornerback Devin Kirkwood to haul in a wide-open 33-yard catch from Michael Penix Jr.

Odunze also scored on the UW's final offensive series of the game, pulling in a 9-yard Penix delivery with no one around him in the back of the end zone with 3:59 left in the game. 

Did we mention how clutch his performance was — on that first scoring pass, Odunze made it work on fourth-and-6 play and on the second one he put up points on a fourth-and-goal throw. 

While the Huskies lost a little team momentum with their first loss of the season, a 40-32 defeat, the 6-foot-3, 201-pound Odunze had his coming-out party in front of a live Los Angeles-area audience and an ESPN national broadcast.

He went about his business while used in a lead role in UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's wide-open attack.

"We give them certain looks and it's a great feeling," Odunze said of what he does before this game. "You're almost licking your chops when you step into that position and it's, oh yeah, that's right where I need them. Definitely it's fun to see it all work together and kudos to Grubb and all them for understanding what we're going to get and executing it."

People either didn't know about Odunze because he was hidden away in the UW's ill-fated pro-style offense of the Lake era, injured for last season's first three games or simply ignored when the analysts released their preseason lists of the nation's and even the Pac-12's top pass-catchers.

No more.

In four games, while missing the Portland State with an unspecified injury, Odunze totals 26 receptions for 409 yards and 4 touchdowns.

His 102.3 yards per game rank him second in the Pac-12 and 11th in the nation.

ROME MADE IN A PLAY :: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports

The Huskies' Rome Odunze lets the exultation of a 33-yard touchdown pass against UCLA on the game's first drive take over his body. The contest was just four and a half minutes old.

---

FRUSTRATION FLAPS UP :: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports

UCLA cornerback Devin Kirkwood raises his arms in consternation as Rome Odunze beats him on a 33-yard touchdown pass in UCLA's 40-32 victory at the Rose Bowl.

---

ALL EYES ON ODUNZE :: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports

Rome Odunze clutches the ball 10 plays and four and a half minutes into the UW-UCLA game at the Rose Bowl, scoring one of his two touchdowns on Friday night.

---

BLIP ON THE RADAR :: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports

Rome Odunze watches the ball into his hands coming from from Husky quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for a 33-yard touchdown strike on a fourth-and-6 play at the Rose Bowl.

---

THIS ONE'S MINE :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Rome Odunze fights off Stanford cornerback Jonathan McGill for a 30-yard touchdown catch in the Huskies' 40-22 victory, part of his career-best 161 yards receiving that night. 

---

NO. 1 IN YOUR PLAYBOOK :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Rome Odunze had an 8-catch, 161-yard and 1-TD outing against Stanford, matching or setting careers highs on all numbers in the 40-22 victory over the Cardinal at Husky Stadium.

---

CARDINAL ANGST :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

The look on Stanford coach David Shaw's face is priceless as Rome Odunze zips past him on one of the receiver's 8 catches on a productive Saturday night for the wide receiver at Husky Stadium.

---

ONE WAY :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

The always personable Rome Odunze signals a first down for the Huskies in the Stanford game. He was a big reason the UW won 40-22 over its Pac-12 rival at Husky Stadium. 

---

His four touchdown catches, even after sitting out that early game, rank him tied for fifth in the conference and tied for 31st nationally, and he shares his scoring notoriety with Husky teammates Jalen McMillan and Ja'Lynn Polk, who likewise have four TD receptions.

Against UCLA, Odunze caught a career-best-tying and team-high 8 passes for 116 yards and a personal-best 2 scores on 10 targets. The week before against Stanford, he had 8 catches for a career-best 161 yards and one score.

Over five games, McMillan tops the team with 27 catches, one more than Odunze, and 428 yards, 19 more than Rome, and he has his 4 TDs. In his five outings, Polk stacks up 14 receptions for 271 yards and 4 TDs. It's a tough crowd to hang with it.

"We all believe we're best in the room and that's how it should be," Odunze said. "We're happy to have everybody out there being talented and being able to make plays. That just makes it easier for us. 

"When the defense has to worry about so many people, we all get the ball and we all can see our brother eat."

Chances are, opposing defenses might begin worrying a little more about Odunze and wondering what he's chewing on.

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com

Follow Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @UWFanNation