Down two touchdowns with under four minutes remaining, Washington found itself with an opportunity to win the Sun Bowl in regulation. Back-to-back touchdown drives of 97 and 62 yards pulled the Huskies within one point of the Louisville Cardinals. But the two-point try was unsuccessful, and Washington’s season finished with a 35-34 loss. Jedd Fisch’s first season at the helm ended with a 6-7 record following a thrilling final sequence in the Sun Bowl.
Sun Bowl Final Sequence
Jeremiah Hunter fielded the bouncing punt with a little over two minutes to play in the football game down seven points. His decision to pick up the football allowed him to advance it 13 yards on the far sideline. It gave Washington the football at its own 38 as opposed to its own 25. In four plays, Washington was down to the Louisville eight-yard line following an unbelievable play by true freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr.
Louisville brought pressure on second and 10, and the pocket began to collapse around Williams quickly. The quarterback felt the pressure and stepped up in the pocket, but had no room to escape. He bounced to his left where another defender was crashing in. Williams then spun away from the defender, re-set his feet, and somehow found Hunter wide open in the middle of the field. The senior wide receiver hauled it in for a 33-yard gain down to the Louisville eight.
Washington ran eight plays inside the eight-yard line to cap this drive, aided by a Louisville pass-interference penalty. On the eighth play, Williams found Giles Jackson for a touchdown on fourth and goal. That was the fourth touchdown connection between Williams and Jackson on the day. Fisch immediately signaled to go for two and for the win down by one following the touchdown. On the try, the protection was there and Hunter had a step to the corner of the end zone. But Antonio Watts made an athletic play, dropping back in coverage, and leaping to get his right hand on the pass. The ball fell incomplete. It was the play of the game defensively, and it all but secured the Louisville victory with nine seconds remaining.
Louisville’s Explosiveness
But before the thrilling late-game sequence, Louisville had found success running the football all afternoon. The Huskies’ run defense had been the weak point of the unit all season. It ranked outside the top 80 in yards allowed entering the Sun Bowl. Louisville’s tandem of Isaac Brown and Duke Watson had a quality day on the ground, particularly in finding explosive runs. Louisville had six runs that totaled 146 yards on the day. That included a 54-yard dash and two other runs of 20-plus yards. Brown led the team in attempts and yards with 18 and 99 respectively. Watson averaged 8.3 yards per attempt, including the long 54-yarder in the third quarter.
The run game was consistent in sustaining long drives for the Cardinal offense. Two of their four scoring drives spanned 79 or more yards. And Harrison Bailey was able to find the end zone three times. The senior quarterback attempted just two passes this season, but completed 16 of 25 in the Sun Bowl against Washington for 164 yards and three scores.
Freshman Moment
Williams had a freshman moment to begin Washington’s first offensive possession of the Sun Bowl. It was third and 12 at the Husky 21-yard line and Williams went to the air. Louisville disguised its coverage as the Washington wide receivers ran a mesh concept to the far side of the field. Denzel Boston had a step on his defender, but Tahveon Nicholson shed his man and stepped in front of the pass. He took it the other way for six points, quickly putting the Cardinals on the board first in the Sun Bowl.
But Williams touted his short-term memory two possessions later. On the ninth offensive play of the day, Williams took the shotgun snap and knew he had a window over the middle of the field. The slot receiver took the safety over the middle of the field, opening up Jackson on a post route. Jackson’s speed carried him past Nicholson at cornerback, and Williams placed the football in the middle of the end zone where the leaping Jackson hauled it in for six. That throw and catch was Williams’ longest passing play of the season to that point.
Senior Linebacker Creates Opportunity
In the last game of his Husky career, Carson Bruener made a tremendous defensive play on fourth and short in the second quarter. On fourth and one, Louisville handed the football to Watson near midfield. The senior linebacker diagnosed the play quickly and leaped over the pile, meeting Watson at the point of attack. Bruener’s momentum stopped the running back in his place, driving him to the turf behind the line. The Huskies were down by a touchdown at the time, and the stop gave them the football in plus territory. Washington would score on the very next offensive play to tie the game.
Demond Williams Jr. X-Factor
After bouncing back from the early interception, Williams would go on to have a tremendous day both athletically, and through the air. On the first offensive play following Bruener’s stop, Williams found Jackson a second time for a touchdown. There was a coverage bust in the defense and not one Cardinal defender was on the near side of the field. Williams placed the football in the hands of Jackson in stride. That 49-yard passing touchdown then became his new longest throw of the season.
In the fourth quarter, Williams and Jackson connected for a third touchdown. This one was a 31-yard touchdown with under four minutes to play. The score cut the Huskies’ deficit to one score. The duo’s third touchdown connection capped a 13-play, 97-yard drive that took 6:10 off of the clock. Washington was down two touchdowns when it began that drive and needed to make a lot happen to get back in the football game. This drive got it started, and the final sequence capped it off.
Williams was responsible for all five Washington touchdowns in the Sun Bowl against Louisville. All four of his passing scores went to Jackson. The senior wide receiver finished with 11 catches and 161 yards on 12 targets with those four touchdowns. Williams also led the team in rushing. He finished with 48 rushing yards on 20 attempts with one rushing score. After the early interception, the true freshman recovered like a veteran. His 26 completions on 32 attempts resulted in 374 passing yards and an 81% completion percentage. Despite the loss, Washington got a tremendous glimpse at the future of the offense with Williams under center.
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