Penix-led Huskies again ‘prove everybody wrong’
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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
NEW ORLEANS — Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. turned in one of the most dominant performances in College Football Playoff history on Monday night. Yet there he stood on the sideline with one second remaining on the clock, watching as Texas stood 13 yards away from completing an improbable comeback.
Quinn Ewers took the fourth-down snap and threw the ball into the corner of the end zone for Adonai Mitchell. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Ewers threw to Mitchell at nearly the same spot for a 1-yard score. Washington’s Elijah Jackson was on the coverage for that touchdown.
He was on the coverage again with the game on the line. Jackson said he knew Ewers would look to Mitchell again. The cornerback was ready this time. Jackson leaped into the air to bat the ball away as time expired, sealing a wild 37-31 win for the Huskies in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Now, Washington will play Michigan in the CFP national title game on Jan. 8 in Houston for the Huskies’ first national championship opportunity since 1991. All Jackson could think after he made the play was, “Dang, we’re going to the national championship!” Then he went to find his mom in the stands.
“That’s the moment people dream of,” Jackson said. “Everybody wants the last play. Everybody wants the game on their shoulders.”
Though Penix threw for 430 yards — the fourth-best passing game in CFP history — Washington could never quite get complete control. Texas made it a one-score game twice in the final seven minutes as it attempted to erase a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit. After closing to 37-31 with 1:09 remaining, Texas attempted an onside kick, but Washington recovered.
After forcing a three-and-out, Texas got the ball back with 45 seconds left and the ball at its 31-yard line. Texas had four attempts to win the game from inside the Huskies’ 15-yard line. But Washington would prevail for its 21st consecutive victory.
“You love seeing a team come through and find a way to win,” Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer said. “The defense had to stay out there and play every down until the very end. So proud of the resiliency and finding another way to win a football game.”
When it was all said and done, Penix was 29-of-38 passing for 430 yards and two touchdowns. As a result, he became the first player with multiple 4,500-yard passing seasons in Pac-12 history.
The decision Penix made to come to Washington in 2022 has helped change the trajectory of the Huskies’ football program. But that all started with the hiring of DeBoer, an offensive mastermind who won three NAIA championships as head coach at the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota before working his way up the FBS ranks and landing at Washington.
One of DeBoer’s first phone calls after taking the job was to Penix, whom he had coached for one season as offensive coordinator at Indiana. Penix wanted to play for DeBoer, noting his comfort level, trust and belief in him not only as a coach but an offensive innovator. In their two years together, they have won 25 of 27 games and are on the precipice of accomplishing something much greater.
“He set the tone pretty quickly, just made all the throws,” DeBoer said. “This guy really all month was on another level as far as his mission to make sure that this happened, and I think you saw it all week in practice. There was just nothing he was going to let slide by where we would leave a doubt that we were going to find a way to win.”
The program has been more than just Penix, of course. While DeBoer has done an excellent job using the transfer portal, he also has nine sixth-year players who started their careers at Washington under a different coaching staff but were willing to buy in and believe in his message too.
There are other veteran seniors too, including wide receiver Rome Odunze and linebacker Bralen Trice, who have taken the lead in helping establish the culture DeBoer wanted to instill.
Despite everything this team has accomplished this season, Washington went into its semifinal against the Longhorns as the underdog — the second straight game where it was not favored to win. That irked the Huskies to the point where they used it as extra motivation.
Not long after the Huskies prevailed, they were already installed as underdogs … again. The Wolverines opened as 5-point favorites at sportsbook ESPN BET with the over/under total at 55.5.
“I just think we prove everybody wrong time and time again, and we’ll continue to do that,” Trice said. “You can overlook us all you want, but we go out there and we prove everybody wrong every time.”
Penix, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, took center stage from the start — dropping one pin-point pass after another to his deep and talented receiver group. There was a 77-yarder to Ja’Lynn Polk on the opening drive. Then a deep pass over the middle to Odunze. It went on like this the entire game, some beautiful rainbows, others darts — all of them landing where only his receivers could catch them.
Polk and Odunze each had 100 yard receiving games as a result. By the time the third quarter had ended, Penix had 372 yards passing, 2 touchdowns and just 4 incompletions as the Washington fans chanted, “Let’s go, Huskies!”
“I got the best playmakers on the outside. So they make it easy,” Penix said.
Though Washington threatened to blow the game open after going up 34-21 early in the fourth quarter, Texas hung around and its defense stepped up to keep the Longhorns in the game. After Jaydon Blue fumbled, Washington could not take advantage and was forced to punt.
On the ensuing drive, Ewers threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell, a transfer from Georgia, to make it 34-28. Mitchell is automatic in the CFP — with a touchdown reception in all five CFP games in which he has played.
“That’s the moment people dream of. Everybody wants the last play. Everybody wants the game on their shoulders.”
Washington CB Elijah Jackson
On the next possession, Penix did what was needed to move Washington down the field — including a 32-yard pass to Odunze down the left sideline that was enough to get into field goal range and make it a two-score game before Texas attempted one last comeback.
“The resiliency our team showed in that fourth quarter to find a way to have an opportunity to win the game, I think, is indicative of the character that we have on this team and the men that we have in that locker room,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Those guys are fighters. These fought together. As bleak as it looked there, they never gave up hope and they believed. And I think that’s how you give yourself a chance at the end.”
Ewers said on the final two plays — both passes — he was “just looking to give my guys an opportunity to go make a play. At the end of the day, that’s all you can really do.”
Ewers finished 24-of-43 for 318 yards and a score. Afterward, the emotions on his face were clear as he fought back tears when he entered the postgame news conference.
“It’s tough, especially losing a close game like this,” Ewers said. “But when you take a step back and you look back at the entire season, I’m proud of the way that we attacked each week. I know the whole team is beyond grateful for this opportunity that we had today, and I think we all played our hearts out.”
Texas just came up one play short. Instead, the spotlight belonged to Penix and the Huskies.
“The job’s not finished,” Penix said. “I feel like it’s definitely going to take more. I’m going to push myself to get this team more next week. And, man, we’re just super excited for the opportunity.”
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Greg Wyshynski
Winnipeg Jets forward Nik Ehlers could muster only one word to describe the feeling of their 4-3 double-overtime Game 7 victory that eliminated the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.
“Joy.”
Here’s another word: historic.
Captain Adam Lowry‘s goal at 16:10 of the second overtime closed out the series and advanced the Jets to face the Dallas Stars beginning Wednesday in Winnipeg. But overtime doesn’t happen without forward Cole Perfetti‘s goal with three seconds remaining in regulation, which established an NHL record.
Perfetti’s goal at 59:57 was the latest game-tying goal in a Game 7, topping the record set by Vancouver Canucks winger Matt Cooke (59:54) in the 2004 conference quarterfinals against Calgary. The Flames won the series in overtime. Perfetti also tied Washington’s Dale Hunter (1993) and Carolina’s Eric Staal (2006) for the second-latest game-tying goal in NHL playoff history. Cooke’s goal with two seconds left in a conference semifinal for Minnesota in 2003 is still the fastest.
Perfetti redirected a desperation Kyle Connor one-timer past St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington off a cross-ice pass from Nik Ehlers.
“I fanned on the first [shot], so I thought I’m not going to let that happen again. If we could get the goalie moving just a little bit, we might be able to create something,” Ehlers said of his pass.
“Sometimes, for whatever reason, if you look at the home teams in this series, the puck luck was incredible,” St. Louis Blues coach Jim Montgomery said.
Winnipeg didn’t have much luck to start the game. Jordan Kyrou gave the Blues a 1-0 lead just 1:10 into the game, as lackluster defense from Connor led to a 2-on-1 down low. Defenseman Colton Parayko found Kyrou for his third goal of the postseason. The Blues scored in the first period of every game of the series.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck allowed a questionable goal 6:16 later, as Mathieu Joseph wristed one past him from the top of the circle for a 2-0 lead. Hellebuyck finished the series with an .830 save percentage and a 3.85 goals-against average.
Winnipeg was 2-25 all time in the playoffs when trailing by multiple goals at any point in the game.
To make matters worse, defenseman Josh Morrissey left the game just four shifts into the first period because of an apparent shoulder injury. That meant Winnipeg played the majority of Game 7 without its top defenseman and second-leading scorer, as center Mark Scheifele missed Games 6 and 7 because of an upper-body injury suffered in Game 5.
This is the same scenario the Dallas Stars faced in winning Game 7 of their series against Colorado, playing without defenseman Miro Heiskanen and winger Jason Robertson. Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said he cited Dallas’s late-game comeback against Colorado on Saturday night to give the Jets hope for a rally.
The Jets chipped away at the lead in the second period on Perfetti’s power-play goal, but St. Louis’ fourth line — one of its best in this series — got it back with Radek Faksa‘s goal with 35 seconds left in the period.
“We obviously didn’t get the start that we wanted today,” Ehlers said. “They got another one at the end of the second period. But there was belief in this group. Nobody was hanging their heads. We looked at each other and said we’re not done playing hockey yet. It was special.”
Entering Sunday night, teams with a multigoal lead in the third period of a Game 7 were 119-4. Things were looking good for the Blues — until they weren’t.
Winnipeg pulled Hellebuyck with 3:14 left, leading to Vlad Namestnikov scoring with 1:56 left in regulation. Perfetti then scored with three seconds left.
The teams were scoreless in the first overtime, with Binnington (11 saves) busier than Hellebuyck (4 saves) in the opening extra session. Then, Lowery ended the series with his deflection of Neal Pionk‘s shot at 16:10 of the second overtime.
Lowry was born in St. Louis. His father, Adam Lowry, played five seasons with the Blues during his 19-year NHL career.
The Jets mobbed Lowry in celebration. For Hellebuyck, there was also a palpable sense of relief.
He’s considered the best goaltender in the world, expected to collect his third Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top netminder this season, giving him back-to-back Vezina wins. But Hellebuyck had been a playoff disappointment in the Jets’ first-round losses in 2023 and 2024, both in five games. He was disastrous against the Blues, especially on the road: getting pulled in three straight road games with a .758 save percentage and a 7.24 goals-against average.
The last time he was across the ice from Binnington in overtime was the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, when Binnington was brilliant in leading Canada to victory over Hellebuyck and the U.S.
This time, Hellebuyck was saving the day until his team could win the game in double overtime. He made 13 saves in the final three periods.
“Amazing. Absolutely amazing,” said Arniel, who won his first playoff series as an NHL head coach. “I’ve seen a lot of hockey games. I’ve been around a lot of hockey games. Man, it was thrilling.”
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Kristen Shilton
Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele did not play in Game 7 of the Jets’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday due to an undisclosed injury, coach Scott Arniel said.
Arniel ruled out Scheifele following the team’s morning skate. He was hurt in Game 5 — playing only 8:05 in the first period before exiting — and then did not travel with the Jets to St. Louis for Game 6. Arniel previously had said Scheifele was a game-time decision for Game 7.
Scheifele, 32, skated in a track suit Saturday, and Arniel told reporters the veteran was feeling better than he had the day before. Scheifele, however, was not able to participate in the Jets’ on-ice session by Sunday, quickly indicating he would not be available for the game.
Winnipeg held a 2-0 lead in the series over St. Louis before the Blues stormed back with a pair of wins to tie it, 2-2. The home team has won each game in the best-of-seven series so far.
The Jets’ challenge in closing out St. Louis only increases without Scheifele. Winnipeg already has been dealing with the uneven play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a significant storyline in the series to date. Hellebuyck was pulled in all three of his starts at St. Louis while giving up a combined 16 goals on 66 shots (.758 SV%). In Game 6, Hellebuyck allowed four goals in only 5 minutes, 23 seconds of the second period.
Hellebuyck was Winnipeg’s backbone during the regular season, earning a Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy nomination for his impeccable year (.925 SV%, 2.00 GAA).
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