The Greatest Setting in College Football is on Montlake. But the most grand? That’s in Pasadena, with a name equally as special: the Rose Bowl.
As Yogi Roth said during the NBC broadcast of Washington’s 48-14 thrashing of UCLA, not many would be opposed to the Rose Bowl hosting the National Championship Game every season. Why not? It is the NBA’s version of Madison Square Garden, the NFL’s Lambeau Field, the MLB’s Wrigley Field, or Fenway Park.
It is special—no other way to describe it. It has become clear in recent weeks that UCLA intends to depart from the Rose Bowl and play its home games at the expansive SoFi Stadium starting next season. Meaning Saturday’s bout with Washington could mark the final time it calls the venue home.
Washington has played in the Rose Bowl game 14 times. The latest trip was in 2018, a defeat to Ohio State in Jake Browning and Myles Gaskins’ finale. It beat UCLA on the road that season, marking what had been the most recent win for UW in Pasadena until tonight.
Tonight was about honoring the Rose Bowl. Washington did that in its own way, putting together a dominant performance in a venue that has created lifelong memories for the program and fanbase.
Demond Williams Jr. led the way offensively for the Huskies as he totaled four touchdowns. He threw two and rushed for the others, shaking off an early interception. He finished with 213 passing yards on 17-of-26 attempts and 56 yards on six carries. He was the clear winner in a duel between dual-threat quarterbacks. UW held Nico Iamaleava to just 69 yards on 16-of-26 attempts. His backup, Luke Duncan, replaced him after injury and threw for 81 yards and a touchdown while the game was well out of reach.
Huskies running back Adam Mohammed had the best game of his young career, rushing for 108 yards on 21 carries. He looked the part of a future star, as did Dezmen Roebuck, who continues to flourish. He hauled in seven passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. He also had a fumble returned for a touchdown on the punt return, helping UCLA tack on garbage time points.
Of the many chaotic plays Saturday saw, none were quite as terrible as UCLA’s fake field goal, where a no-look pitch went about as you would expect and was scooped by Alex McLaughlin, who returned it the other way for a score. It was the first of two fumble recoveries for the Dawgs, with Deshawn Lynch recovering the second later in the rout.
After an ugly Saturday on social media following the defeat to Wisconsin two weeks ago, Jedd Fisch’s Dawgs have scorched Purdue and UCLA in consecutive weeks.
Next up? Arch-rival #7 Oregon (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) travels to Husky Stadium for a 12:30 clash on CBS.