September 2, 2023 Week 1 · Regular Season Belt defended

Washington defends the belt, 56–19, at home over Boise State.

Home · Defending Holder

WashingtonAP No. 10 56

Away · Challenger

Boise State 19

AP poll, week 1: Boise State unranked at Washington No. 10 · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Washington came in 294 days into reign #321, which began with a win over Oregon, with 3 defenses already behind it; this was its 4th defense. Washington went on to defend it 13 more times before Michigan took it on January 8, 2024, 422 days after the reign began.

For Boise State this was its first shot at the belt; it had never held the belt. It still hasn’t; this remains its only belt game.

This is the only time Boise State and Washington have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Washington's defense and offense overwhelmed Boise State from start to finish in a dominant 56-19 belt-defense victory. After Boise State struck first with a 7-yard Ashton Jeanty touchdown run, the Huskies erupted behind Michael Penix Jr., who engineered a devastating passing attack that produced four touchdowns in the second quarter alone, including scoring strikes to Jalen McMillan (twice), Ja'Lynn Polk, and Jack Westover. Boise State managed a pair of field goals and a second-half touchdown pass from Taylen Green to Jeanty, but Washington's balanced assault—490 passing yards and relentless efficiency on third down—proved impossible to contain. The Huskies added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cruise to an easy conference road victory and maintain their grip on the lineal championship.

Michael Penix Jr. to Jalen McMillan 7-yard TD pass (Q2 14:09) — Washington's first score broke the ice after Boise State's opening drive touchdown
Penix to Ja'Lynn Polk 44-yard TD pass (Q2 5:06) — Part of Washington's devastating four-score second-quarter explosion that put the game out of reach
Taylen Green interception to Kamren Fabiculanan (Q2 2:10) — Turnover halted Boise State momentum and led directly to Washington's fourth touchdown drive
Ashton Jeanty 50-yard TD reception from Green (Q3 12:49) — Boise State's only second-half touchdown, but too little too late as Washington had already built a commanding lead

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

WashingtonBoise State

Total yards568402

Rushing yards78138

Passing yards490264

First downs2221

3rd down conv.4/106/17

Turnovers02

Penalties–yards5–603–29

Time of possession29:4830:12

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 15:00	Boise State	+51 yd	Jonah Dalmas kickoff for 65 yds , Germie Bernard return for 51 yds to the BOIS 49
Q1 6:24	Boise State	+40 yd	Taylen Green pass complete to Stefan Cobbs for 40 yds to the WASH 39 for a 1ST down
Q1 2:42	Boise State	+7 yd	Ashton Jeanty 7 Yd Run (Jonah Dalmas PAT failed)
Q2 14:09	Washington	+7 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Jalen McMillan for 7 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q1 1:58	Washington	+35 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Jalen McMillan for 35 yds to the BOIS 34 for a 1ST down
Q1 0:57	Washington	+26 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 26 yds to the BOIS 8 for a 1ST down
Q2 13:49	Boise State	+48 yd	Taylen Green pass complete to Ashton Jeanty for 48 yds to the WASH 27 for a 1ST down
Q2 12:06	Boise State	+39 yd	Jonah Dalmas 39 yd FG GOOD
Q2 11:19	Washington	+21 yd	Will Nixon run for 21 yds to the BOIS 43 for a 1ST down
Q2 8:43	Washington	+20 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Dillon Johnson for 20 yds to the BOIS 38 for a 1ST down
Q2 7:52	Washington	+38 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Jalen McMillan for 38 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q2 5:06	Washington	+44 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 44 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q2 5:15	Washington	+29 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 29 yds to the BOIS 44 for a 1ST down
Q2 5:00	Washington	+21 yd	Grady Gross kickoff for 63 yds , Kaden Dudley return for 21 yds to the BOIS 23
Q2 2:10	Boise State	+0 yd	Taylen Green pass intercepted Kamren Fabiculanan return for no gain to the BOIS 40
Q2 2:01	Washington	+20 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 20 yds to the BOIS 20 for a 1ST down
Q2 1:27	Washington	+20 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Jack Westover for 20 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q2 1:21	Washington	+20 yd	Grady Gross kickoff for 60 yds , Kaden Dudley return for 20 yds to the BOIS 25
Q2 0:02	Boise State	+34 yd	Jonah Dalmas 34 yd FG GOOD
Q3 12:49	Boise State	+50 yd	Taylen Green pass complete to Ashton Jeanty for 50 yds for a TD (Jonah Dalmas KICK)
Q3 10:38	Washington	+50 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 50 yds to the BOIS 5 for a 1ST down
Q3 10:38	Washington	+5 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 5 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q4 14:54	Washington	+19 yd	Jalen McMillan run for 19 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q3 2:20	Washington	+24 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 24 yds Rome Odunze fumbled, forced by Jaylen Clark, recovered by WASH Rome Odunze for a 1ST down
Q4 6:57	Washington	+1 yd	Dillon Johnson run for 1 yd for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q4 11:48	Washington	+27 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Germie Bernard for 27 yds to the BOIS 40 for a 1ST down
Q4 4:47	Boise State	+33 yd	Taylen Green pass intercepted Carson Bruener return for 33 yds to the BOIS 36
Q4 4:03	Washington	+31 yd	Dylan Morris pass complete to Josh Cuevas for 31 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Washington

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	QBR
Michael Penix Jr.	29/40	450	11.3	5	92.7
Dylan Morris	1/1	31	31.0	1	100.0
Jalen McMillan	1/1	9	9.0	0	88.2

Boise State

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Taylen Green	19/39	244	6.3	1	2	43.8
Maddux Madsen	3/7	20	2.9	0	0	31.9
Team	0/1	0	0.0	0	0	--

Rushing

Washington

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Will Nixon	6	48	8.0	0	21
Jalen McMillan	1	19	19.0	1	19
Dillon Johnson	7	12	1.7	1	4
Daniyel Ngata	1	5	5.0	0	5
Team	1	-1	-1.0	0	0
Michael Penix Jr.	2	-2	-1.0	0	4
Sam Adams II	1	-3	-3.0	0	0

Boise State

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
George Holani	10	51	5.1	0	11
Ashton Jeanty	10	44	4.4	1	9
Taylen Green	5	31	6.2	0	13
Maddux Madsen	3	12	4.0	0	5

Receiving

Washington

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Rome Odunze	7	132	18.9	1	29
Ja'Lynn Polk	3	101	33.7	1	50
Jalen McMillan	8	95	11.9	2	38
Jack Westover	5	59	11.8	1	20
Germie Bernard	3	47	15.7	0	27
Josh Cuevas	1	31	31.0	1	31
Dillon Johnson	3	20	6.7	0	20
Devin Culp	1	5	5.0	0	5

Boise State

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Ashton Jeanty	4	109	27.3	1	50
Eric McAlister	7	69	9.9	0	19
Stefan Cobbs	6	56	9.3	0	40
Billy Bowens	3	23	7.7	0	11
George Holani	2	7	3.5	0	6

Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

Washington

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD
Dominique Hampton	7	4	0	0	0
Edefuan Ulofoshio	6	5	1	1	0
Asa Turner	5	4	0	2	0
Elijah Jackson	4	4	0	0	0
Deven Bryant	4	4	0	0	0
Ralen Goforth	4	0	0	0	0
Bralen Trice	3	2	0	0	0
Carson Bruener	3	2	0	0	0
Alphonzo Tuputala	3	1	0	0	0
Jacob Bandes	2	2	0	0	0
Kamren Fabiculanan	2	2	0	0	0
Darren Barkins	2	2	0	0	0
Lance Holtzclaw	2	2	0	0	0
Zion Tupuola-Fetui	2	0	0	0	0
Davon Banks	2	0	0	0	4
Drew Fowler	1	1	0	0	0
Jabbar Muhammad	1	1	0	0	1
Dyson Mccutcheon	1	1	0	0	0
Maurice Heims	1	1	0	0	0
Tristan Dunn	1	1	0	0	0
Tuli Letuligasenoa	1	0	0	0	0
Mishael Powell	0	0	0	0	1

Boise State

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD
Alexander Teubner	11	8	0	0	1
DJ Schramm	7	4	0	1	0
Jaylen Clark	6	5	0	2	0
Kaonohi Kaniho	4	3	0	0	0
Andrew Simpson	4	2	1	1	0
Rodney Robinson	4	1	0	0	0
Demitri Washington	3	2	0	0	0
Seyi Oladipo	3	2	0	1	1
Jake Ripp	3	2	0	0	0
Jayden Virgin	3	1	0	0	0
Zion Washington	2	2	0	0	0
Ty Benefield	2	2	0	0	0
Herbert Gums Jr.	2	1	0	0.5	0
Ahmed Hassanein	2	0	0	0.5	0
Taylen Green	1	1	0	0	0
Sheldon Newton	1	1	0	0	0
A'Marion McCoy	1	1	0	0	0
Marco Notarainni	1	0	0	0	0

Fumbles

Washington

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Team	1	0	0
Rome Odunze	1	0	0

Boise State

No recorded stats in this category.

Interceptions

Washington

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Carson Bruener	1	33	0
Kamren Fabiculanan	1	0	0

Boise State

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

Washington

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Germie Bernard	2	63	31.5	51
Richard Newton	2	20	10.0	16
Jack Westover	1	15	15.0	15

Boise State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Kaden Dudley	3	56	18.7	21	0
Cole Wright	1	9	9.0	9	0

Kicking

Washington

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Grady Gross	0/0	0.0	0	8/8	8

Boise State

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Jonah Dalmas	2/2	100.0	39	1/2	7

Punt Returns

Washington

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jalen McMillan	2	6	3.0	5	0
Rome Odunze	1	4	4.0	4	0

Boise State

No recorded stats in this category.

Punting

Washington

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jack McCallister	5	209	41.8	0	3	48

Boise State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
James Ferguson-Reynolds	7	365	52.1	1	1	62

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 401523997) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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