Washington rolls over Washington State to clinch spot in Pac-12 title game

PULLMAN, Wash. — Breaking down No. 5 Washington’s 45-17 win Friday vs. No. 23 Washington State in the 109th Apple Cup to clinch the Pac-12 North:

THE BIG PICTURE: In this strength-of-schedule, quality win-dominated era of college football, it can sometimes be difficult to discern whether it’s best to win, or win big. After all, the College Football Playoff selection committee insists it doesn’t factor margin of victory in its evaluations. And among those paid to render judgment on how good a team is, sometimes lopsided wins are considered more of a discredit to the quality of the losing team rather than a credit to the winner.

This has been the greatest concern about Washington as it has positioned itself as a contender for the Playoff. The Huskies are the best or one of the best in the FBS in pass efficiency, points per possession, turnover margin, opponent-adjusted offensive yards per play and opponent-adjusted defensive yards per play. Yet they also entered Friday’s game with the weakest strength of schedule of any Power Five team in the College Football Playoff Top 25.

So with only two opportunities left to make an impression — Friday’s game and the Pac-12 Championship on Dec. 2 — Washington gave them what they wanted: A dominant offensive start that saw the Huskies tie a school record with 28 points in the first quarter and a defensive performance that held the Cougars more than 25 points below their 42.5-points-per-game average.

HOW THEY HUSKIES WON: Washington scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and forced two turnovers and made a goal-line stand, all in the first half. Though Washington State dominated time of possession in the third quarter, it ended with the Cougars getting stuffed on fourth down at the Huskies’ 1-yard line for the second time in the game.

"It was awesome," Washington coach Chris Petersen said of his players' goal-line defense. "They were playing physical. You could hear it from the sideline. You kind of thought they would run it down there, which they should, and guys answered."

Washington’s offense, which had gone scoreless since the 3:21 mark of the first half at that point, then regained its stride with a 15-yard touchdown run by Lavon Coleman (his career-best second of the day) and a field goal by Cameron van Winkle. Those plays gave Washington its largest lead and final margin.

BREAKOUT PLAYER: When the Huskies lost starting linebacker and emotional spark Azeem Victor early in the loss to USC, an injury that came right after starting rush end Joe Mathis suffered a season-ending injury, it was fair to ask whether the Huskies could stay healthy enough for a legitimate Playoff run.

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But Washington is somewhat unique in that it makes wholesale defensive substitutions throughout the season, meaning many freshmen and sophomores see a lot of time, even if their names don’t appear in starting lineup graphics on TV.

Linebacker D.J. Beavers is one of those players. A redshirt freshman, Beavers has stepped into Victor’s starting spot and on Friday helped the Huskies get out to their early lead. After scoring on their first drive, Beavers got the ball back for the Huskies four plays later by forcing and recovering a fumble by Washington State running back Jamal Morrow. He also joined Benning Potoa'e in stuffing Washington State's first 4th-and-goal attempt at the 1.

Then, at the end of the half, Beavers again helped Washington maintain its lead intercepting a Luke Falk pass to the Huskies end zone with 14 seconds on the clock. It was one of three interceptions thrown Friday by Falk, who was tied for the FBS lead in in completion percentage entering the game.

"It was awesome to see him get that interception," Peterson said. "He plays hard, he practices hard, I think he's elevating his game and getting confidence. This is always a game of confidence. Azeem would play with so much confidence and take chances and blow things up and I think that's a good guy to model his game after. He's another guy that I'm anxious to watch his tape, because it seems like he played at a high level."

ODD STAT: In the first half each team twice incurred false start penalties to begin drives.

MILESTONE: Despite scoring a below-average 17 points, Washington State set single-season school records for points (484) and touchdowns (66) Friday.

THE TWEET: Jake Browning’s third touchdown pass of the first quarter put him in heady company.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 13