Washington Huskies Comeback Falls Short in Narrow Loss to Penn State Nittany Lions

SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies football team were unable to make up the difference for a poor first half in a 28-25 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday at Husky Stadium.

Washington surrendered 28 points to Penn State in the first half while putting up only six of its own: a 29-yard field goal with eight minutes, 13 seconds left in the first quarter and a 31-yarder with 5:10 left in the first half, both by Tyler Robles.

Three of the four touchdowns surrendered by the UW defense were 24 yards or more.

The Huskies were forced into several third down situations and were unable to convert, leading to the run game being taken off the board for several drives. Third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and the wide receiver corps struggled to get much going against the Nittany Lions pass defense, which entered Saturday ranked the best in the Big Ten.

Williams finished the first half 6-for-15 for 36 yards through the air and ran three times for 11 yards. UW's leading receiver through the first 30 minutes was third-year tight end Decker DeGraaf, who had two catches for 11 yards.

"Really just not converting on third down," Williams said in a postgame news conference Saturday at Husky Stadium. "That starts with it and that's on me and the receivers to continue to work (on) that and continue to find ways to get first downs. Because once we get the ball moving, we look like a really explosive offense. We got to figure out how to start faster. We're finishing games really well, just not starting them well."

The defense and offense both came out of the gates looking much-improved in the second half.

Washington's defense forced a Penn State three-and-out on the opening drive of the second half. The offense narrowly missed a touchdown on its first series of the second half after a throw from Demond Williams to fourth-year wide receiver Rashid Williams slipped through the latter's hands in the end zone. Robles came on and made the 47-yard field goal to cut the Nittany Lions' lead to 28-9 with 10:27 left in the third quarter.

The Huskies' next drive began at their own 40-yard line after second-year cornerback Dylan Robinson made a shoestring open-field tackle on fourth down to get Penn State off the field.

Washington's drive ended with a 4-yard connection between Demond Williams and second-year tight end Baron Naone. Demond Williams found Rashid Williams on the two-point conversion to cut the Lions' lead to 28-17 with 3:55 left in the third. That score carried into the final 15 minutes.

The Huskies' final score came with 7:40 left in the game. Williams was able to connect with second-year wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck and, after a scramble play, found Naone for the two-point conversion for the eventual final of 28-25.

"The game was a tale of two halves in a lot of ways," UW head coach Jedd Fisch said after the game. "We did not play good football in the first half. We played much better football in the second half. It's unique to have a 28-6 halftime deficit and a 19-0 second half. ... I was convinced after we got the two-point play and it was 28-25 that we were gonna get a stop, get a score and win that football game."

One more defensive stop for Washington would have given the team the opportunity to either tie with a field goal and send it to overtime, or take the lead with its third touchdown of the half.

Instead, a series of errors made it possible for Penn State to put the game away without scoring.

Fifth-year Huskies linebacker Jacob Manu was tossed from the game after a targeting call, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from Nittany Lions wide receiver Chase Sowell led to the infractions offsetting. However, the the unsportsmanlike conduct resulted in a first down for Penn State regardless.

The Nittany Lions had a third-and-5 at Washington's 17-yard line. The Huskies called timeout before the play, but were flagged for 12 men on the field after failing to get the right personnel on the field in response to Penn State's substitutions.

"We were trying to get the attention of our players to send one guy off the field," Fisch said. "You could see everybody was jumping up and down on the sideline. But we were not heard and we missed it. We didn't get the communication right. Can't take back-to-back timeouts. It's the same penalty as having 12 guys on the field. So, very disappointing."

The Huskies had a chance to end the drive and have at least a chance of completing the comeback. But, on fourth-and-1 from UW's 3-yard line, Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht moved the chains on a sneak. Penn State was able to run out the clock from their and secure the win.

Williams finished the game 19-for-33 for 172 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He ran five times for 43 yards.

Washington is 5-4 on the season (2-4 in Big Ten play) and is yet to earn a win at home against a conference opponent this season.

The Huskies will next be in action against the Michigan State Spartans at 1:15 p.m. PT on Nov. 14 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich.