For the first time in almost one full calendar year UW won a game away from Husky Stadium.
After a dismal first half that saw just six points scored by the Huskies offense – the first time all season the team failed to score a touchdown in the first 30 minutes – it came down to make-or-break fourth quarter Saturday night in Berkeley.
Michael Penix Jr. found sophomore wide receiver Jalen McMillan for a 13-yard score to give UW a seven-point lead with 13:49 remaining in the game.
Junior running back Richard Newton snuck out and tight-roped the sideline to score a 36-yard touchdown on the following drive to extend UW’s lead to 28-14 with just over 10 minutes left.
Cal wouldn’t go away quietly.
Jack Plummer capped off a 12-play, 80-yard drive on the ensuing Cal possession with an 8-yard strike to Mavin Anderson for his third touchdown pass of the game that cut the deficit to seven.
That would be as close as the Golden Bears got.
Sophomore Bralen Trice and junior Zion Tupuola-Fetui recorded the fourth and fifth sack of the night on Plummer to force a quick three-and-out with 2:21 remaining to seal the 28-21 victory.
Every win is huge. Winning a game on the road for the first time this year – big deal for us.
UW head coach Kalen DeBoer
The Huskies (6-2, 3-2) head into their bye week with a handful of players expected to get healthy for a big November push.
Sophomore cornerback Mishael Powell returned for Saturday after missing the previous four games with an injury and made a handful of key plays, primarily in run defense, that led to UW’s win.
Fellow sophomore Kamren Fabiculanan was out due to injury which led to junior Dominique Hampton getting the start at Husky against Cal. Hampton was called for defensive holding on the final series of the game, but the penalty ultimately didn’t hurt UW.
In the first half was held out of the end zone for the first time all season and ended a run of seven consecutive games scoring a touchdown on the opening series on offense.
Despite the lack of scoring Penix Jr. and Co. stayed on time and took what the Golden Bears’ defense gave, which was more run opportunities than expected. Four running backs combined for 104 yards on 24 carries with sophomore Cameron Davis leading the charge.
Davis finished with a team high 13 carries for 46 yards and a 6-yard score run with 4:48 remaining in the third quarter to give UW its first touchdown of the game and the lead back.
It’s the third straight game that Davis has found the end zone on the ground, the second time this season the sophomore has scored in three consecutive games. Prior to this season Davis had just two rushing touchdowns in his career.
Davis leads the Pac-12 Conference with 10 rushing touchdowns, three more than UCLA senior Zach Charbonnet, the next highest scoring rusher in the conference, and two more than Oregon quarterback Box Nix who has eight rushing touchdowns in 2022.
