Huskies Put Themselves in Position to Beat Tulsa Badly

The UW had to find another tailback, went without ZTF, lost Asa Turner early.

The University of Washington football team still can't keep a starting running back in the lineup for long, but everything else seems to be working well enough for the Huskies, who won their second game in as many outings by pummeling the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 43-10.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium, leave it to the UW to get real creative in replacing Dillon Johnson, their season-opening tailback and a Mississippi State transfer who's had knee issues and was unavailable.

The Huskies (2-0) came out for their first offensive play with wide receivers Jalen McMillan and Germie Bernard flanked on each side of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in a makeshift T formation — and McMillan immediately drifted left, caught a swing pass and went 35 yards with it to get things started.

Who needs a tailback, anyway? The Huskies found so many ways to go without one against the Golden Hurricane (1-1).

"We're just trying to throw a lot of stuff at people so they don't know what to plan for," UW coach Kalen DeBoer said. "People start chasing ghosts."

Sophomore Will Nixon, the one-time Nebraska transfer, came in on the second play to become the UW's third lead back in three weeks. He replaced Johnson, who watched the game in a bucket hat, jersey and shorts, and had been a replacement for junior Cam Davis, who went down with a season-ending knee injury in the final fall scrimmage.

The UW also played without starting senior edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui, who was in sweats and replaced by senior Sekai Asoau-Afoa, who made his first Husky start.

On the first defensive series, the Huskies even lost senior safety Asa Turner, already wearing a cast on his left hand, to some sort of injury after two snaps, requiring him to head to the locker room and he never played again.

Meantime, the UW had a game to play against Tulsa, an American Athletic Conference opponent it had never faced.  DeBoer's coaching staff was able to find more than enough bodies and clever ways to get the job done before heading to Big Ten country next week to face Michigan State in a non-conference game that precedes the Montlake crew in becoming a fellow member in 2024.

DeBoer said he was hopeful to have all of his dinged-up veteran players back for the trip to East Lansing, Michigan.

With its backfield shuffle in place, the Huskies needed just six plays and 2:41 to score on the visitors, with wide receiver Rome Odunze capping the opening 65-yard drive by catching a 2-yard touchdown lob from Penix.

The UW quarterback had another big numbers outing, completing 28 of 38 passes for 409 yards and 3 scores while helping his team generate 563 yards of total offense. He has 8 TD passes in two outings.

McMillan led the Huskies with 8 catches for 120 yards and a TD, while Odunze caught 7 passes for 107 yards and his six-pointer. Yet there was much more to the games of these two guys than receptions.

Michael Penix Jr. threw 3 more TD passes against Tulsa, giving him 8 in two games.  :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Following a 43-yard Tulsa field goal by Chase Meyer, the Huskies went 87 yards to put up a second touchdown that also came straight out of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's overly creative playbook.

This time, Penix turned and handed the ball to wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk, who came running left, hit the corner and picked up a large convoy of blockers that escorted him 27 yards to the end zone without anyone laying a hand on him. With 5:52 left in the half, the UW led 14-3 and in style points. 

"That's Grubb doing his little rocket science," McMilland said. "You know how he is in the lab. He likes putting us in different positions and I like how he uses us."

Wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk ran for a 27-yard touchdown against Tulsa :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

On this day, it seemed like everyone played out of position for the Huskies. On a first-and-10 play from the Tulsa 37, the Huskies lined up with regular offensive guard Parker Brailsford over the ball at center, tackle Roger Rosengarten at guard and tight end Jack Westover at tackle, with usual tackle Troy Fautanu going in motion as a tight end.

The play didn't work at all — Penix overthrew Odunze in the end zone and it was intercepted by Tulsa nickeback Jaise Oliver.

Late in the quarter, the UW padded its lead with an 80-yard drive capped off by a 9-yard scoring pass to McMillan, his fourth touchdown in two games. The six-pointer was conventional, but not the extra point.

Once more, Grubb dipped into his bag of tom-foolery and went for two in a way that only he would do it. The offensive coordinator had holder Dylan Morris throw the ball to a wide-open Jaden Green, the snapper who became an eligible receiver on the end of a lopsided line. At the 3:55 mark of the quarter, these improvisational Huskies were on top 22-3, which held up as the halftime score.

On its first possession of the second half, the UW drove for a basic score, moving 82 yards in seven plays for Bernard to easily beat a defender one-on-one on a 7-yard TD pass.

That's not to say the Huskies didn't try to shake things up along the way. McMillan actually lined up in the Wildcat during this series and tossed the ball back to Penix, who threw an incompletion.

Yet Tulsa was never permitted to get comfortable and play a football game by the book. Near the end of the quarter, Penix casually flipped the ball back to Odunze, who ran 15 yards around the left corner for a score, similar to what Polk did early in the game, and a 36-3 lead.

This marked the third time a UW wide receiver has rushed for a touchdown this season, with each of the starters in Odunze, McMillan and Polk getting one of these through the first seven quarters of play.

The Huskies picked up another score with Morris putting them in position with a 34-yard pass to Odunze and finally handing the ball to Arizona State transfer Daniyel Ngata for a 1-yard TD run with 3:00 left to play.

The UW, however, had a few issues coming down the stretch, with starting center Matteo Mele going out with what appeared to be an arm injury and place-kicker Grady Gross having his first career field-goal attempt bounce off the left upright.

As for that new tailback, Nixon led all Husky rushers, wide receivers included, with 30 yards on 6 carries.

"We have receivers who can run the football and running backs who can catch it and linemen who can play multiple positions," DeBoer said. "It's a lot of fun. We just trying to throw a lot of wrinkles."

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