September 30, 2023 Week 5 · Regular Season Belt defended

Washington defends the belt, 31–24, on the road at Arizona.

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Arizona 24

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Washington 31

AI-Written

Recap

Washington's defense and balanced offensive attack proved too much for Arizona in this Pac-12 battle, as the Huskies held onto the College Football Belt with a 31-24 road victory. Washington jumped out to an early lead with two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter from Dillon Johnson and Germie Bernard, then added another TD run from Will Nixon in the second quarter to build a commanding advantage. Arizona mounted a second-half comeback led by Noah Fifita's passing, with Tetairoa McMillan catching two touchdown passes to pull within striking distance, but Washington's offense kept pace with a 57-yard pass to Josh Cuevas and additional field goals to seal the win. The Huskies' ability to establish the run game early and Michael Penix Jr.'s efficient passing kept Arizona's defense off-balance throughout the contest.

Germie Bernard's 3-yard TD run in Q1 established early Washington momentum and helped build a first-half lead
Josh Cuevas' 57-yard reception in Q3 kept Washington's offense moving and prevented Arizona from fully capitalizing on their comeback
Tetairoa McMillan's two TD receptions (Q3 and Q4) brought Arizona within reach but came too late to overcome the early deficit
Will Nixon's 5-yard TD run in Q2 gave Washington critical separation that ultimately made the difference in a close contest

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

ArizonaWashington

Total yards342474

Rushing yards110111

Passing yards232363

First downs2726

3rd down conv.5/136/10

Turnovers11

Penalties–yards8–6012–125

Time of possession30:0929:51

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 6:02	Washington	+4 yd	Dillon Johnson 4 Yd Run (Grady Gross Kick)
Q1 0:38	Washington	+3 yd	Germie Bernard run for 3 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q2 9:31	Arizona	+8 yd	Noah Fifita pass complete to Jacob Cowing for 8 yds for a TD Washington Penalty, Roughing the Passer on POWELL, Mishael of (Mishael Powell) to the WASH 0 (Tyler Loop KICK)
Q2 4:36	Washington	+7 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Jack Westover for 7 yds Jack Westover fumbled, recovered by WASH for a 1ST down
Q2 3:31	Washington	+5 yd	Will Nixon run for 5 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q2 0:23	Arizona	+30 yd	Tyler Loop 30 yd FG GOOD
Q2 0:09	Washington	+23 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Germie Bernard for 23 yds to the ARIZ 39 for a 1ST down
Q3 9:05	Washington	+57 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Josh Cuevas for 57 yds to the ARIZ 16 for a 1ST down
Q3 6:42	Washington	+4 yd	Dillon Johnson run for 4 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q3 6:41	Arizona	+33 yd	Noah Fifita pass complete to Jonah Coleman for 33 yds to the WASH 42 for a 1ST down
Q3 3:03	Arizona	+1 yd	Noah Fifita pass complete to Tetairoa McMillan for 1 yd for a TD (Tyler Loop KICK)
Q3 1:19	Washington	+24 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Germie Bernard for 24 yds to the ARIZ 15 for a 1ST down
Q4 13:24	Washington	+37 yd	Grady Gross 37 yd FG GOOD
Q4 11:46	Arizona	+0 yd	Noah Fifita pass intercepted
Q4 10:06	Washington	+0 yd	Germie Bernard run for no gain to the ARIZ 5 Germie Bernard fumbled, recovered by ARIZ Tyler Manoa
Q4 11:39	Washington	+28 yd	Dillon Johnson run for 28 yds to the ARIZ 16 for a 1ST down
Q4 1:08	Arizona	+10 yd	Noah Fifita pass complete to Tetairoa McMillan for 10 yds for a TD (Tyler Loop 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

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Noah FifitaArizona	27/39	232	5.9	3	1	73.9
Michael Penix Jr.Washington	30/40	363	9.1	0	0	84.1

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Jonah ColemanArizona	12	44	3.7	0	12
D.J. WilliamsArizona	10	43	4.3	0	13
Noah FifitaArizona	6	19	3.2	0	8
Rayshon LukeArizona	3	4	1.3	0	3
Dillon JohnsonWashington	16	91	5.7	2	28
Germie BernardWashington	5	12	2.4	1	11
Will NixonWashington	2	8	4.0	1	5
Tybo RogersWashington	1	5	5.0	0	5
Michael Penix Jr.Washington	2	-5	-2.5	0	0

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Jacob CowingArizona	8	61	7.6	1	13
Jonah ColemanArizona	3	51	17.0	0	33
Tanner McLachlanArizona	6	51	8.5	0	17
Tetairoa McmillanArizona	6	45	7.5	2	19
Montana Lemonious-CraigArizona	3	14	4.7	0	9
Kevin Green Jr.Arizona	1	10	10.0	0	10
Germie BernardWashington	8	98	12.3	0	24
Rome OdunzeWashington	5	64	12.8	0	18
Josh CuevasWashington	1	57	57.0	0	57
Dillon JohnsonWashington	5	48	9.6	0	18
Ja'Lynn PolkWashington	5	41	8.2	0	15
Devin CulpWashington	2	32	16.0	0	18
Will NixonWashington	1	16	16.0	0	16
Jack WestoverWashington	2	11	5.5	0	7
Tybo RogersWashington	1	-4	-4.0	0	0

Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Dalton JohnsonArizona	10	5	0	0	0	0
Jacob ManuArizona	9	3	0	0	0	0
Ephesians PrysockArizona	6	4	0	0	0	0
Daniel HeimuliArizona	6	2	0	1.5	0	0
Genesis SmithArizona	5	4	0	0	0	0
Gunner MaldonadoArizona	5	3	0	0	0	0
Treydan StukesArizona	4	2	0	0	2	0
Tacario DavisArizona	4	2	0	0	1	0
Tiaoalil SaveaArizona	3	2	1	2	0	0
Isaiah TaylorArizona	2	2	0	0	0	0
Taylor UpshawArizona	2	1	1	1	0	1
Tyler ManoaArizona	2	0	0	0	0	0
Bill NortonArizona	2	0	0	0.5	0	1
Dylan WyattArizona	1	1	0	0	0	0
Tanner McLachlanArizona	1	1	0	0	0	0
Isaiah WardArizona	1	1	0	0	0	0
Justin FloweArizona	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jeremy MercierArizona	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ta'ita'i UiagaleleiArizona	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kamuela Ka'aihueArizona	1	0	0	0	0	0
Dominique HamptonWashington	12	5	0	0	0	0
Edefuan UlofoshioWashington	6	4	0	0	0	0
Elijah JacksonWashington	6	4	0	0	0	0
Kamren FabiculananWashington	6	3	0	0	0	0
Vincent NunleyWashington	6	3	0	0	0	0
Ralen GoforthWashington	5	2	0	0	0	0
Carson BruenerWashington	5	0	0	0	0	0
Alphonzo TuputalaWashington	4	2	0	0	0	0
Jabbar MuhammadWashington	3	2	0	1	0	0
Thaddeus DixonWashington	3	2	0	1	2	0
Bralen TriceWashington	3	1	1	1	0	0
M.J. AleWashington	3	1	0	1	0	0
Mishael PowellWashington	3	1	0	0	1	0
Zion Tupuola-FetuiWashington	2	1	0	0	0	0
Tuli LetuligasenoaWashington	1	1	0	1	0	0
Lance HoltzclawWashington	1	1	0	0	0	0
Leroy BryantWashington	1	1	0	0	0	0
Jacob BandesWashington	1	0	0	0	0	0
Sekai Asoau-AfoaWashington	1	0	0	0	0	0
Voi TunuufiWashington	1	0	0	0	1	0
Tristan DunnWashington	1	0	0	0	0	0

Fumbles

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Rayshon LukeArizona	1	0	0
Tyler ManoaArizona	0	0	1
Germie BernardWashington	1	1	0
Jack WestoverWashington	1	0	0

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Vincent NunleyWashington	1	1	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Rayshon LukeArizona	1	-1	-1.0	-1	0
Josh CuevasWashington	1	1	1.0	1	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Tyler LoopArizona	1/1	100.0	30	3/3	6
Grady GrossWashington	1/1	100.0	37	4/4	7

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jacob CowingArizona	1	-1	-1.0	-1	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Kyle OstendorpArizona	3	140	46.7	0	2	69
Jack McCallisterWashington	2	85	42.5	0	0	48

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

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