#4 Washington Huskies are the PAC-12 Conference Champions

The Washington Huskies are the new Pac-12 Conference Champions, their first conference title since 2000. The Huskies crushed the Colorado Buffaloes 41-10 for the demolishing victory.

All glory and thanks mostly goes to the Huskies offensive line and rushing game. Washington had a total of 265 yards rushing on the night, majority from Lavon Coleman with 101 and Myles Gaskin with 159. Neither quarterbacks from either team had a superb night that was memorable. Washington coach Chris Petersen hoists the trophy and

Shocking as it may seem, Colorado was only down by seven at the half, but the Huskies bit a chunk out of the Buffaloes in the third quarter sealing the win and putting their bid into the College Football Playoffs.

Washington made a statement early after Colorado’s Tedric Thompson was flagged for a defensive pass interference giving the Huskies an extra 15 yards to the 50-yard line. Coleman rushed for 37 yards off two plays putting them in the red zone. Gaskin got in on the action for two carries off 11 yards bringing Washington to the one yard line. Coleman finished it off with one yard rushing touchdown.

Woes began early for the Colorado offense’s first drive. Sefo Liufau rushed for 25 yards for the first down before being sacked by Psalm Wooching for a loss of five yards. Liufau went down with an ankle injury and didn’t return until after the first half. Freshman Steven Montez replaced him and struggled as he only completed five passes for 60 yards. Two of those passes helped tie the game at seven. He found Kyle Evans and Shay Fields for a combined 34 yards. Phillip Lindsay picked up the slack with a three-yard run for the score.

The second half, well the third quarter, was when Colorado saw their chances slip past them. Liufau came back in the game after being deemed questionable with an ankle injury. First play of the drive, Liufau was intercepted by freshman Taylor Rapp for a pick six 35 yards out extending the lead 21-7.

“We’re obviously pretty upset. We didn’t put out a very good performance tonight,” Liufau said. “I didn’t do a good job of preparing us and being able to get us quality drives. We really left our defense and everybody else out to dry tonight. We’re going to bounce back. We’ve always been able to overcame adversity. It just cuts a little deeper this time.”

Rapp is the Pac-12 Defensive player of the year and he showed off as on the next drive for the Buffaloes, he intercepted Liufau again for 23 yards.

Washington went on to get a field goal attempt from 24 yards to adding to their lead. Colorado defense seemed to come through forcing the Huskies to punt, but their next drive just added salt to the wound. On the drive, Coleman rushed for 17 yards, then Jake Browning found Myles Gaskin for the 24-yard gain. Next play was unexpected as Browning was rushed by Jimmie Gilbert almost being sacked. As he attempts to throw it away, John Ross catches the throw away with one hand for the 19-yard touchdown reception.

The Buffaloes put their last score on the board with a 24-yard field goal after Washington scored 24 unanswered points.

The Huskies added another 10 points with a field goal and an eight yard rush by Chico McClatcher for the final score of 41-10.

MVP of the game was none other than Taylor Rapp with his two interceptions and one touchdown. Browning finished with nine completions and 118 yards and two passing touchdowns. Ross added four receptions for 51 yards and a score. Washington finished with 383 yards total.

Liufau had only three completions for 21 yards and 13 yards rushing. Lindsay had 19 carries for 53 yards and a rushing touchdown.

The Huskies currently have a spot in the College Football Playoffs, but it won’t fully be secure until the remaining conference championships finish especially teams in the Big Ten Conference.

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Diamond Holton
TENNIS BEAT WRITER
Diamond learned the essence of journalism attending PGCC and lastly Salisbury University...GO SEA GULLS! Her experience began in college writing for The Owl Newspaper at PGCC and The Flyer at Salisbury where she was able to cover Division III collegiate sports. She's even written for a local newspaper in the Delmarva region, The Salisbury Star. Diamond loves Serena Williams, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Wizards, and her beloved New England Patriots.