Huskies defeat #10 Michigan 27-17

People will tell you that regular season games no longer matter because of the expanded College Football Playoff. Tell them to watch the scenes at Husky Stadium after Washington toppled No. 10 Michigan to avenge its loss in last season's National Championship Game. The win will not earn Montlake the trophy. But the bliss throughout Seattle makes it easy to ignore.

After three quarters of the position battle, Washington slammed the door on Michigan, with the help of a Jonah Coleman touchdown, a Kamren Fabiculanan interception and Will Rogers, of all people, tackling Will Jonhson to force him into a massive defensive pass interference penalty while he held out Roughing the passerby flag.

Hey, Michael Penix Jr. has never lost a game at Husky Stadium and he was in attendance Saturday. So was there ever any doubt?

Don't answer that.

The Huskies took an early 7-0 lead when Will Rogers found Denzel Boston in the end zone. Rogers watched the National Championship Game from the sidelines last season after transferring to UW. He later gave the Dawgs a 14-7 lead on a 16-yard score with Giles Jackson.

Then Michigan started to find its rhythm.

The Wolverines turned to Jack Tuttle after a slow start from Alex Orji. Despite two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter, Michigan's offense was significantly better with him under center. Tuttle led consecutive scoring drives, cutting UW's lead to 14-10. Michigan's offense continued to roll early in the third quarter, and Tuttle capped a 75-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass.

Then the Huskies found him out. Michigan went scoreless the rest of the game and was unable to capitalize after intercepting Rogers, as Tuttle had the ball knocked out by the Dawg defense on the ensuing drive.

After the Huskies had excellent field position due to the turnover, they turned to Jonah Coleman, who single-handedly engineered a four-play, 32-yard scoring drive to take a 24-17 lead.

With Husky Stadium rocking and confidence growing, Kamren Fabiculanan made the play of the night, intercepting Tuttle to give the offense better field position. The Huskies leaned on Coleman again but trusted Will Rogers on a crucial third down. The result? A defensive pass interference by Will Rogers on Denzel Boston and a rough confrontation with the passer.

The Huskies left the ball on the ground and fed Grady Gross from 32 yards out. He capitalized, putting recent struggles behind him and creating a 10-point lead between the Dawgs and Wolverines.

A Saturday night clash with Michigan under the lights of Husky Stadium became one of many dream venues as Washington's move to the Big Ten became official. The result?

Everything UW hoped for.

With the win, Washington moved to 4-2 (2-1 Big Ten) and travels to Iowa next Saturday.