November 11, 2023 Week 11 · Regular Season Belt defended

Washington defends the belt, 35–28, at home over Utah.

Home · Defending Holder

WashingtonAP No. 5 35

Away · Challenger

UtahAP No. 13 28

AP poll, week 11: Utah No. 13 at Washington No. 5 · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Washington came in 364 days into reign #321, which began with a win over Oregon, with 12 defenses already behind it; this was its 13th defense. Washington went on to defend it 4 more times before Michigan took it on January 8, 2024, 422 days after the reign began.

For Utah this was its 3rd shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.

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

AI-Written

Recap

Washington's defense held up when it mattered most to preserve the belt with a 35-28 victory over Utah in a high-scoring affair. The Huskies and Utes traded touchdowns throughout, with Michael Penix Jr. leading Washington's aerial attack and connecting repeatedly with Rome Odunze for three scores. Utah kept pace behind Bryson Barnes and a pair of touchdown runs from Ja'Quinden Jackson, but Washington's balanced approach—including Dillon Johnson's two rushing touchdowns and three field goals from Grady Gross—proved decisive. The game featured several momentum swings, including a chaotic third-quarter interception by Alphonzo Tuputala that he fumbled back to Utah, but Washington weathered Utah's late pushes to maintain control of the belt.

Rome Odunze's 34-yard touchdown reception in Q2 gave Washington a crucial lead while Utah was surging
Dillon Johnson's 5-yard rushing touchdown in Q2 extended Washington's lead to double digits late in the half
Ja'Quinden Jackson's second rushing touchdown with 0:57 left in Q2 kept Utah within striking distance heading into halftime
Rome Odunze's 33-yard touchdown reception in Q3 gave Washington breathing room despite the failed two-point conversion

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

WashingtonUtah

Total yards457382

Rushing yards125115

Passing yards332267

First downs2617

3rd down conv.5/145/11

Turnovers12

Penalties–yards11–1008–97

Time of possession34:5825:02

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 9:01	Washington	+22 yd	Tybo Rogers run for 22 yds to the UTAH 37 for a 1ST down
Q1 6:06	Washington	+2 yd	Michael Penix Jr. run for 2 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q1 4:48	Utah	+41 yd	Bryson Barnes pass complete to Devaughn Vele for 41 yds to the WASH 22 for a 1ST down
Q1 3:37	Utah	+2 yd	Ja'Quinden Jackson run for 2 yds for a TD (Cole Becker KICK)
Q1 0:19	Washington	+41 yd	Grady Gross 41 yd FG GOOD
Q1 3:11	Washington	+30 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 30 yds to the UTAH 45 for a 1ST down
Q2 10:52	Utah	+8 yd	Bryson Barnes pass complete to Sione Vaki for 8 yds Sione Vaki fumbled, recovered by UTAH Sione Vaki (11:32) Shotgun Barnes,Bryson pass complete short left to Vaki,Sione for 8 yards to the WASH29 fumbled by Vaki,Sione at WASH29 forced by Jackson,Elijah recovered by UTAH Vaki,Sione at WASH29, End Of Play.
Q2 9:00	Utah	+6 yd	Bryson Barnes pass complete to Miki Suguturaga for 6 yds for a TD (Cole Becker KICK)
Q2 7:49	Washington	+28 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Jack Westover for 28 yds to the UTAH 29 for a 1ST down
Q2 6:59	Washington	+34 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 34 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q2 5:59	Utah	+53 yd	Bryson Barnes pass complete to Sione Vaki for 53 yds for a TD (Cole Becker KICK)
Q2 5:50	Utah	+41 yd	Cole Becker kickoff for 62 yds , Daniyel Ngata return for 41 yds to the WASH 44
Q2 5:34	Washington	+28 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Germie Bernard for 28 yds to the UTAH 28 for a 1ST down
Q2 3:17	Washington	+5 yd	Dillon Johnson run for 5 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Q2 1:09	Utah	+68 yd	Bryson Barnes pass complete to Devaughn Vele for 68 yds to the WASH 7 for a 1ST down
Q2 0:57	Utah	+7 yd	Ja'Quinden Jackson run for 7 yds for a TD (Cole Becker KICK)
Q2 0:48	Utah	+31 yd	Cole Becker kickoff for 60 yds , Daniyel Ngata return for 31 yds to the WASH 36
Q3 14:54	Utah	+32 yd	Cole Becker kickoff for 65 yds , Daniyel Ngata return for 32 yds to the WASH 33 Washington Penalty, Offensive Holding (Makell Esteen) to the WASH 14
Q3 14:46	Washington	+28 yd	Dillon Johnson run for 28 yds to the WASH 42 for a 1ST down
Q3 8:02	Washington	+38 yd	Grady Gross 38 yd FG GOOD
Q3 9:57	Washington	+44 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 44 yds to the UTAH 21 for a 1ST down Utah Penalty, Defensive Holding (Levani Damuni) declined for a 1ST down
Q3 4:09	Washington	+33 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 33 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)
Q3 0:30	Utah	+0 yd	Bryson Barnes pass intercepted Alphonzo Tuputala fumbled, recovered by UTAH Michael Mokofisi (00:46) Shotgun Barnes,Bryson pass intercepted by Tuputala,Alphonzo at WASH23 Tuputala,Alphonzo return 76 yards to the UTAH01 fumbled by Tuputala,Alphonzo at UTAH01 recovered by UTAH Mokofisi,Michael at UTAH01, End Of Play. The previous play is under review. The ruling on the field is confirmed.
Q3 0:24	Utah	+1 yd	Ja'Quinden Jackson run for 1 yd for a SAFETY
Q4 1:38	Washington	+2 yd	Grady Gross 32 yd FG BLOCKED blocked by Connor O'Toole (01:46) Gross,Grady field goal attempt from 32 yards NO GOOD blocked by O'Toole,Connor (H: McCallister,Jack, LS: Green,Jaden), clock 01:38 recovered by UTAH Fotu,Tevita at UTAH16 Fotu,Tevita return 2 yards to the UTAH18 (Green,Jaden). , Tevita Fotu return for 2 yds to the UTAH 18
Q4 0:44	Utah	+0 yd	Bryson Barnes pass intercepted
Q4 0:44	Utah	+0 yd	Bryson Barnes pass intercepted

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	INT	QBR
Michael Penix Jr.	24/42	332	7.9	2	0	88.6

Utah

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Bryson Barnes	17/30	267	8.9	2	2	77.2

Rushing

Washington

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Dillon Johnson	23	104	4.5	1	28
Tybo Rogers	2	24	12.0	0	22
Will Nixon	1	13	13.0	0	13
Team	2	-2	-1.0	0	0
Michael Penix Jr.	5	-14	-2.8	1	3

Utah

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Bryson Barnes	6	39	6.5	0	12
Jaylon Glover	8	37	4.6	0	14
Ja'Quinden Jackson	10	29	2.9	2	7
Money Parks	1	15	15.0	0	15
Team	1	-1	-1.0	0	0
Sione Vaki	1	-4	-4.0	0	0

Receiving

Washington

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Rome Odunze	3	111	37.0	2	44
Jack Westover	7	64	9.1	0	28
Germie Bernard	6	63	10.5	0	28
Ja'Lynn Polk	4	55	13.8	0	30
Dillon Johnson	2	28	14.0	0	15
Devin Culp	2	11	5.5	0	8

Utah

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Devaughn Vele	5	145	29.0	0	68
Sione Vaki	4	67	16.8	1	53
Landen King	2	20	10.0	0	15
Money Parks	2	17	8.5	0	11
Ja'Quinden Jackson	2	8	4.0	0	8
Miki Suguturaga	1	6	6.0	1	6
Munir McClain	1	4	4.0	0	4

Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

Washington

Player	TOT	SOLO	TFL	PD
Edefuan Ulofoshio	6	3	1	0
Dominique Hampton	5	4	0	1
Vincent Nunley	5	3	0	1
Carson Bruener	5	2	0.5	0
Elijah Jackson	4	4	0	0
Alphonzo Tuputala	4	3	0	0
Jabbar Muhammad	4	3	0	0
Tuli Letuligasenoa	3	1	0.5	0
Bralen Trice	2	2	1	0
Thaddeus Dixon	2	2	0	0
M.J. Ale	2	1	0	0
Mishael Powell	2	1	1	0
Zion Tupuola-Fetui	2	0	0	0
Faatui Tuitele	1	1	0	0
Jaden Green	1	1	0	0
Voi Tunuufi	1	1	0	0
Drew Fowler	1	0	0	0
Ralen Goforth	1	0	0	0
Jacob Lane	1	0	0	0

Utah

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD
Levani Damuni	12	9	0	0	0
Karene Reid	9	5	0	1	0
Cole Bishop	7	3	0	0	0
Miles Battle	6	5	0	0	0
Zemaiah Vaughn	6	5	0	1	0
Sione Vaki	4	4	1	1	1
JaTravis Broughton	3	3	0	0	0
Connor O'Toole	3	1	0	0	0
Jonah Elliss	2	2	0	0	0
Nate Ritchie	2	1	0	0	0
Tao Johnson	2	1	0	0	0
Luca Caldarella	2	1	0	0	0
Justin Medlock	1	1	0	0	0
Simonte Pepa	1	1	0	0	0
Smith Snowden	1	1	0	0	0
Dijon Stanley	1	1	0	0	0
Junior Tafuna	1	0	0	0	0
Keanu Tanuvasa	1	0	0	0	0

Fumbles

Washington

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Alphonzo Tuputala	1	1	0
Team	1	0	0

Utah

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Sione Vaki	1	0	0
Michael Mokofisi	0	0	1

Interceptions

Washington

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Alphonzo Tuputala	1	76	0
Dominique Hampton	1	0	0

Utah

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

Washington

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Daniyel Ngata	3	96	32.0	41	0
Rome Odunze	1	18	18.0	18	0

Utah

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Mikey Matthews	3	43	14.3	17	0
Levani Damuni	1	12	12.0	12	0

Kicking

Washington

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Grady Gross	2/3	66.7	41	3/3	9

Utah

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Cole Becker	0/0	0.0	0	4/4	4

Punt Returns

Washington

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Denzel Boston	2	4	2.0	2	0

Utah

No recorded stats in this category.

Punting

Washington

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jack McCallister	4	162	40.5	1	1	44

Utah

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jack Bouwmeester	5	206	41.2	0	0	51

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 401524056) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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