No. 15 Washington pulls away late to top Colorado 27-13
Washington receiver Ty Jones is in position to make the catch in the end zone, but is fouled on the play, resulting in a 1st-and-goal on the Colorado 7 for the Huskies, setting up their first touchdown on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Washington won, 27-13. (Dean Rutz/Seattle Times/TNS)
SEATTLE (AP) — Jake Browning and Aaron Fuller saw the pressure Colorado was about to bring and the open field that awaited.
One quick slant connection between Browning and Fuller was finally enough for No. 15 Washington to shake the Buffaloes.
“They were bringing the house. Just had to hold on to it long enough for him to be able to work his move and get open,” Browning said.
Browning threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Fuller on fourth down with less than four minutes remaining, and the Huskies finally pulled away late to beat Colorado 27-13 on Saturday.
Washington’s four-year starting quarterback had an unremarkable game up until the Huskies (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) needed a big play. Leading 17-13, the Huskies kept their offense on the field facing fourth-and-5 rather than trying for a long field goal. Colorado blitzed, but Browning found Fuller open with nothing but the end zone ahead.
“When I saw it was cover zero I brought my best release because I knew I was the first read on that one,” Fuller said. “They were doing that a little bit when we got toward the red zone and things like that so when we saw that, it was wide open.”
Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said bringing the blitz wasn’t even a question.
“When we brought four, we never got to him. Not one time. He’d run around and make the plays. When we pressured him, we got him out sometimes, so that’s what we did,” MacIntyre said.
Salvon Ahmed and Kamari Pleasant both scored on touchdown runs in the first half for the Huskies, who played without starting running back Myles Gaskin due to a shoulder injury. Washington’s offense was far from its best but found enough running options in the backfield to control the game on the ground. The stable of Ahmed, Pleasant and Sean McGrew led the way as Washington rushed for a season-high 201 yards.
“It says a lot about our (offensive) line too that they’re able to continue to play at a high level and continue to get people covered up in the run game and drive off the ball,” Browning said.
Colorado quarterback Steven Montez threw for 144 yards, but the Buffaloes (5-2, 2-2) were shut out and held to 86 total yards of offense in the second half. Washington linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven had 15 tackles and intercepted Montez late in the fourth quarter.
Both teams were without an offensive star. Gaskin, who has been astonishingly durable, missed the first game of his career after aggravating his shoulder injury during a loss last week to Oregon.