After leading his team to an 11-0 record, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had a far less memorable outing in their 12th and final regular season game. It was so rough that he couldn’t bare to watch his team attempt a game-winning field goal.
Penix completed just 54.5-percent of his passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns with one interception against the Washington State Cougars today. He could have had two more if Washington State’s defenders had gotten better grips on the ball.
So when Washington lined up for a game-winning 42-yard field goal attempt with five seconds remaining, Penix was apparently too down on himself to even look at what was going on.
But Washington kicker Grady Goss nailed the kick to send the Huskies to 12-0 and into their final Pac-12 Championship Game with their best record in decades.
Michael Penix was too emotional to watch the game-winning kick – Washington win! pic.twitter.com/rBHPzGILDypic.twitter.com/KvabTAdVzh pic.twitter.com/4qFil1w1ij
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 26, 2023
The bad news for Penix is that his rough outing might very well have cost him the Heisman Trophy. His main competition for the prestigious award, Oregon QB Bo Nix, thoroughly dominated Oregon State and is widely seen as the frontrunner for the award ceremony next month.
But Penix can make one more push for the award when he takes on Nix and the Ducks next weekend in the Pac-12 title game.