Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies were so close to glory.
Not to take anything away from their 2023-24 season, but “so close” ended up being so far for the star quarterback and his team. Facing a determined Michigan Wolverines team potentially on its last gasp in a championship window, the Huskies fell to the Wolverines, 34-13.
It was a brutal loss, because Michigan not only dominated Washington, but the stingy Wolverines’ defense beat Penix Jr. up in a way that he hadn’t seen all season. He was hit hard multiple times, sacked once, and intercepted twice. He finished with a passer rating of 93.6, far below his average of 164.5 up to that point.
It was a brutal beatdown, but it sounds as if Penix Jr. suffered more emotionally from the loss than physically.
“I’ll be honest, it took me a few days,” Penix Jr. said at the Senior Bowl on Tuesday, sharing his thoughts on getting over the loss, per On3. “I said from the beginning I wanted to win a national championship. We fell just short. But I can’t be nothing but proud of my team and the coaches, for everybody in our room continuing to believe when everybody else on the outside didn’t believe in us.
Penix Jr. is right in saying that in all other aspects, the Huskies had an incredible season. They boasted regular season wins against No. 8 Oregon, No. 20 USC, No. 18 Utah and No. 11 Oregon State. They then beat Oregon again in the last-ever Pac-12 championship game before beating No. 3 Texas in the CFP Semifinal at the Sugar Bowl.
That’s an epic season. Unfortunately, Washington just couldn’t finish the run.
“We put in a whole bunch of work to be able to get to that point,” Penix Jr. explained. “I know me and the guys, it hurts that we fell short, but I’m proud of everybody and proud of what we were able to accomplish and proud of what I was able to accomplish with my team while I was at the University of Washington
