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SEATTLE — Saturday night’s matchup between No. 20 BYU and No. 11 Washington was billed as a top-20 matchup in a primetime spot in front of a nationally televised audience on Fox.
But the Huskies quickly turned it into a laugher.
Quarterback Jake Browning skewered BYU’s defense for 277 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-25 passing, and ran for another score to help the Huskies roll to a 35-7 win Saturday night at Husky Stadium in Seattle.
Myles Gaskin ran for 81 yards and a touchdown to pace Washington’s ground game, and Salvon Ahmed added 86 yards and two scores for the Huskies (4-1), who poured in nearly 500 yards of offense in the win. Aaron Fuller caught eight passes for 107 yards, and eight receivers were targeted by Browning, including former Provo High standout Ty Jones.
Washington piled up 464 yards of offense, while holding the Cougars to just 194 yards on the night — including a mere 34 on the ground.
“We didn’t play tough enough,” said BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum, who credited Washington’s athletic secondary and big, stout defensive line for stopping the run. “We weren’t able to execute the way that we wanted to.
“It’s a matter of execution, and they out-executed us tonight. We have to give credit where credit is due.”
The win snapped BYU's four-game road winning streak dating back to last year's victories at UNLV and Hawaii, and a 24-21 win over then-No. 6 Wisconsin two weeks ago.
It also helped rebuild the Huskies' College Football Playoff resume after an opening weekend loss to then-No. 9 Auburn.
Mangum completed 18-of-21 passes for 160 yards to lead BYU (3-2), and Lopini Katoa added 27 yards on the ground for the Cougars, including a 1-yard touchdown in the final minute to prevent the shutout.
But from the first quarter, the Cougars were out-matched by a team that ranked far ahead of it nationally and held several years of experience as one of the top programs in the country.
“We knew coming into this game that we would have to play as disciplined as we possibly could,” Sitake said. “But we didn’t even have a chance at that, because they are such a great team and when we made mistakes, they capitalized on it.”
The Huskies rode Gaskin through the first quarter, then gave the ball to Salvon Ahmed for a 5-yard touchdown scamper to go up 7-0 with 7:19 left in the first quarter.
The score was set up by Sione Takitaki’s horsecollar tackle, which gave Washington a short touchdown on the eight-play, 68-yard scoring drive.
BYU threatened to find the end zone twice, but the Cougars committed five penalties to end one promising drive and another ended in Skyler Southam’s 45-yard field goal miss with 13:42 remaining in the half.
Gaskin made them pay for it. The senior, who is on the verge of becoming Washington’s all-time leading rusher, lowered his shoulder with 11:05 left in the half and plunged into the end zone for a 6-yard score.
The Pac-12 North favorites piled up 261 yards of offense in the first half, including a 14-of-15 effort for 176 yards by Browning en route to a three-touchdown halftime lead thanks to the quarterback’s 9-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the half.
In the effort, Browning became the all-time leading passer in Washington history, surpassing Cody Pickett’s record of 10,220 yards set from 1999-2003.
BYU fumbled the ball three times (losing one), committed seven penalties for 50 yards in losses, and went 0-for-1 in the red zone — and (rightfully) trailed 21-0 at the break.
“They made the big play when it counted,” said BYU defensive end Corbin Kaufusi, who had two tackles and a sack. “We knew what we had to do, but we never quite got there. Hat’s off to them.”
The trend continued after halftime, when BYU opened the third quarter with a three-and-out and scarcely found any momentum until the Huskies began pulling their starters from the game.
Browning hit Drew Sample for a 15-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter, and the Huskies ended the frame with a 35-0 lead on Ahmed’s second touchdown run of the day.
Meanwhile, the Huskies defense held BYU to just 152 yards of offense through three quarters — including a paltry 36 yards on the ground.
Mitch Harris recovered a muffed punt late in the fourth quarter, and BYU punched in a 1-yard touchdown through Katoa in the final minute of the game — long after most of the sellout crowd of 70,155 had gone home amid a steady drizzle of rain.
To make matters worse, the Cougars may be without tight end Moroni Laulu-Pututau for an extended period of time. The former wide receiver who missed all of last season with a Lisfranc injury left the game in the first quarter with an apparent left leg injury, and did not return.
“That was really hard,” said Sitake, who added Laulu-Pututau will get more tests done in Provo. “He’s worked so hard, and has been battling injuries. I think he was starting to come along as one of our best tight ends. But we feel good about the depth there, and young guys. This will be their chance to step up.”
Next up
BYU hosts Utah State (3-1) at 7 p.m. MT Friday night.
