Odunze Delivers When UW Needed It Most Against Oregon State

The Huskies won the key moments Saturday night at Reser Stadium to remain perfect in 11 games.

When Washington's offense needed to gain a last third-down conversion against the Beavers to hold on to a narrow 22-20 victory to remain unbeaten, wide receiver Rome Odunze delivered. 

Odunze, who finished with 7 receptions for 104 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns, hauled in a 19-yard catch on third and 3 from the OSU 40-yard line after being targeted just once prior in the final quarter. 

"We see that really about 90, 95 percent of the time in practice," UW coach Kalen DeBoer said after the win. "To me it's not a crapshoot whether you're going to make that play. It's just a big guy, with a big catch radius in Rome and Michael (Penix) knowing exactly where to put it." 

The Huskies (11-0 overall, 8-0 Pac-12) managed one conversion on third down in the second half — Odunze's final catch — after converting five of eight in the first half to enter halftime ahead 22-10. 

Two of the three UW touchdowns in the opening 30 minutes came via Odunze, the first a 12-yard score to cap off a 10-play drive on the opening series against OSU. 

On the final possession of the first half, Odunze hauled in his second touchdown, a 32-yard strike, to push the Huskies lead to 12 at intermission. 

Despite being targeted four times in the second half with only 2 receptions, Odunze made the plays when UW needed it most Saturday night in Corvallis, Oregon. 

With his pair of touchdown receptions against the Beavers the Biletnikoff Award hopeful has four multi-touchdown games this season, twice as many as Odunze had in 2022, with at least two more opportunities to add to that total against Washington State and whoever the Huskies face in the Pac-12 championship game. 

Odunze now has 22 career touchdown receptions, tied for fifth most with John Ross and Reggie Williams, but none more crucial than his two on Saturday night to clinch an appearance in the conference title game and keep UW's College Football Playoff hopes alive. 

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