Michael Pennix Jr. made a statement Saturday night against No. 11 Michigan.
Pennix had some key moments during his Indiana days, but he also dealt with a string of serious injuries. Seeking new opportunities, Pennix moved to Washington and reunited with former offensive coordinator Karen DeBoer.
Through three games, that partnership has flourished in Seattle.
The Penix and Huskies won the Spartans 39-28, but weren’t as close as the final score would suggest.
Pennix, who threw for 397 yards and four touchdowns in the win, was locked from the start. He threw a touchdown on Washington’s first drive of the night and led the Huskies to another drive early in the second quarter. By halftime, Washington had built a 29–8 lead, with Pennix throwing three touchdown passes in the process.
That lead was too big to beat the Michigan offense. The Spartans put a ton on QB Payton Thorne’s shoulder and were unable to advance anything on the ground. Thorne played relatively well, but he was not very successful until MSU fell behind on multiple scores.
Penix, meanwhile, continued to split the underwhelmed MSU secondary. His fourth touchdown of the game was a beautiful 53-yard toss to Jalyn Polk who found himself wide open behind the Michigan defense.
Michigan State made the score respectable with two late touchdowns, but it came too late, too late, as Washington emerged with an impressive win.
UW has fallen dramatically in two seasons under Jimmy Lake, including last season’s 4-8 record. The offense has been particularly problematic in the last two seasons, but DeBoer has engineered a quick and impressive transformation. Adding a veteran quarterback like Pennix certainly fixed the problem, but Saturday night’s game showed that the offense has plenty of talent in skill positions as well.
Already 3-0, it looks like Washington will have a say in this year’s Pac-12 race. The Huskies Open Conference will take on Stanford at home next Saturday.
Michigan State University, meanwhile, showed a slight inflated ranking at number 11. MSU’s sudden emergence under Mel Tucker has been one of the stories of the 2021 season, but some of the problems that existed for the Spartans last fall came to the fore on Saturday. Secondary seemed to be leaking as well, even with the addition of transfers for .
The Spartans were able to make a number of explosive plays last year with running back Kenneth Walker III, but the transfers of Jalen Berger and Jarek Brazard have so far failed to replicate that kind of production. I could not do it. The absence of injured star receiver Jaden Reid was also felt in Saturday night’s loss.
MSU, currently 2-1, has a lot to clean up with undefeated Minnesota visiting East Lansing next weekend.