Will Rogers threw for 271 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns, Jonah Coleman’s 1-yard TD with 6:22 left gave Washington the lead, and the Huskies beat No. 10 Michigan 27-17 on Saturday night in a rematch of last season’s College Football Playoff championship game.
This time around was far more competitive than that night in Houston last January when Michigan romped to its first national title since 1997. It also had a different outcome as the Huskies (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) used an offensive outburst in the first half and two key turnovers in the fourth quarter to take down the Wolverines.
The loss snapped Michigan’s 24-game Big Ten regular season win streak.
Rogers threw touchdowns of 3 yards to Denzel Boston and 16 yards to Giles Jackson as the Huskies built a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. That lead evaporated as Michigan (4-2, 2-1) finally found some offensive rhythm going to backup quarterback Jack Tuttle after Alex Orji was ineffective early in the game.
But Tuttle committed two turnovers in the final 10 minutes and Washington capitalized.
Tuttle fumbled with 8:02 left after being hit by Von Tunuufi and Logan Sagapolu recovered at the Michigan 32. Coleman rumbled 27 yards on the first play and three plays later scored from the 1 to give Washington a 24-17 lead.
On Michigan’s next possession, Tuttle was intercepted by Kamren Fabiculanan, one of the few returnees for Washington from the team that lost in January, with 3:24 remaining. The Huskies got a key pass interference call against Michigan and Grady Gross hit a 32-yard field goal with 1:06 left to put the final touches on the victory.
Rogers finished 21-of-31 passing and threw his first interception in more than a calendar year early in the fourth quarter. Rogers had gone 269 consecutive pass attempts without a pick before being intercepted by Ernest Hausman.
Coleman added 80 yards rushing.
Donovan Edwards rushed for 95 yards and his 39-yard TD run looked reminiscent of his two long scoring sprints he had in the championship against Washington. But leading rusher Kaleel Mullings was held in check and finished with just 49 yards on 14 carries.
The Wolverines were going nowhere with Orji at quarterback and were being outgained 163-47 midway through the second quarter when Tuttle took over. He finished just 10-of-18 passing for 98 yards, but did throw an 8-yard TD pass to Colston Loveland on the opening drive of the second half that gave Michigan a 17-14 lead.
The Takeaway
Michigan: Is Tuttle finally the answer at quarterback for Michigan? Just the threat of the downfield passing game with the grad transfer under center opened up the offense for the Wolverines, but the two turnovers in the fourth quarter can’t be minimized.
Washington: Clock management continues to be an issue for the Huskies. It popped up late in their loss to rival Washington State in the Apple Cup and emerged again late in the first half against Michigan. Washington badly handled the final seconds of the first half that helped lead to a blocked field goal.
Up Next
Michigan: After an open weekend, the Wolverines are at Illinois on Oct. 19.
Washington: At Iowa next Saturday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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