January 1, 2024 Postseason Neutral site Belt defended

Washington defends the belt, 37–31, at a neutral site over Texas.

Home · Defending Holder

WashingtonAP No. 2 37

Away · Challenger

TexasAP No. 3 31

AP poll, week 15: Texas No. 3 at Washington No. 2 · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Washington came in 415 days into reign #321, which began with a win over Oregon, with 16 defenses already behind it; this was its 17th defense. It was the last defense: Michigan took the belt in the very next belt game, on January 8, 2024.

For Texas this was its 11th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 4 times before.

It was the 2nd of 2 belt games between the two; going in, Washington led the belt series 1–0; all-time Washington leads 2–0.

AI-Written

Recap

Washington's high-powered passing attack, led by Michael Penix Jr. and receivers Rome Odunze and Ja'Lynn Polk, overwhelmed Texas early to build a commanding lead. After Polk's 77-yard reception set up a touchdown in the first quarter and consecutive scoring drives in the second quarter extended Washington's advantage to 24-7, the Huskies appeared in control despite a sluggish ground game. Texas clawed back in the second half with two touchdown drives, including a 21-yard scramble by Quinn Ewers that set up a short-yardage score to make it 24-17, but Washington's balanced attack and Texas's two critical turnovers proved decisive. The Huskies sealed the win with a late Odunze reception to reach the Texas 10-yard line, allowing them to run down the clock and preserve the belt with a 37-31 victory.

Polk's 77-yard reception in Q1 that led to Washington's opening touchdown and established early offensive dominance
Washington's second-quarter touchdown pass to Polk (29 yards) that built a 24-7 lead before Texas mounted its comeback
CJ Baxter's fumble in Q3, recovered by Washington, that halted a Texas drive and prevented a closer score
Penix Jr.'s 32-yard pass to Odunze in Q4 that sealed field position for Washington to run down the clock

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

WashingtonTexas

Total yards532498

Rushing yards102180

Passing yards430318

First downs2523

3rd down conv.3/114/11

Turnovers12

Penalties–yards5–3910–66

Time of possession36:2023:40

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	Washington	+31 yd	Grady Gross kickoff for 62 yds , Jaydon Blue return for 31 yds to the TEX 34
Q1 11:25	Washington	+77 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 77 yds to the TEX 2 for a 1ST down
Q1 11:04	Washington	+2 yd	Dillon Johnson 2 Yd Run (Grady Gross Kick)
Q1 11:01	Washington	+22 yd	Grady Gross kickoff for 62 yds , Jaydon Blue return for 22 yds to the TEX 25
Q1 9:45	Texas	+31 yd	Quinn Ewers pass complete to CJ Baxter for 31 yds to the WASH 36 for a 1ST down
Q1 7:06	Texas	+5 yd	Jaydon Blue 5 Yd Run (Bert Auburn Kick)
Q1 1:30	Washington	+29 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Germie Bernard for 29 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Q1 0:30	Washington	+24 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 24 yds to the TEX 26 for a 1ST down
Q2 13:08	Washington	+1 yd	Dillon Johnson 1 Yd Run (Grady Gross Kick)
Q2 10:08	Texas	+1 yd	Byron Murphy II 1 Yd Run (Bert Auburn Kick)
Q2 9:31	Washington	+52 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 52 yds to the TEX 23 for a 1ST down
Q2 1:27	Washington	+29 yd	Ja'Lynn Polk 29 Yd pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Grady Gross Kick)
Q2 1:27	Washington	+27 yd	Grady Gross kickoff for 64 yds , Jaydon Blue return for 27 yds to the TEX 28
Q2 0:20	Texas	+25 yd	Quinn Ewers run for 21 yds to the WASH 7 for a 1ST down Washington Penalty, Personal Foul (Asa Turner) to the WASH 3 for a 1ST down
Q2 0:17	Texas	+3 yd	CJ Baxter 3 Yd Run (Bert Auburn Kick)
Q3 15:00	Texas	+60 yd	Will Stone kickoff for 65 yds for a touchback Texas Penalty, Defensive Offside (-5 Yards)
Q3 10:30	Washington	+19 yd	Jalen McMillan 19 Yd pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Grady Gross Kick)
Q3 10:14	Texas	+8 yd	CJ Baxter run for 8 yds to the TEX 33 CJ Baxter fumbled, forced by Bralen Trice, recovered by WASH Asa Turner
Q3 7:44	Washington	+26 yd	Grady Gross 26 Yd Field Goal
Q4 14:51	Washington	+40 yd	Grady Gross 40 Yd Field Goal
Q4 13:15	Texas	+21 yd	Quinn Ewers pass complete to Ja'Tavion Sanders for 21 yds to the WASH 43 for a 1ST down
Q4 12:47	Texas	+19 yd	Quinn Ewers pass complete to Jaydon Blue for 19 yds Jaydon Blue fumbled, recovered by WASH Ralen Goforth
Q4 9:03	Texas	+38 yd	Quinn Ewers pass complete to Xavier Worthy for 38 yds to the WASH 16 for a 1ST down
Q4 7:23	Texas	+1 yd	Adonai Mitchell 1 Yd pass from Quinn Ewers (Bert Auburn Kick)
Q4 3:48	Washington	+32 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 32 yds to the TEX 10 for a 1ST down
Q4 2:40	Washington	+27 yd	Grady Gross 27 Yd Field Goal
Q4 1:40	Texas	+20 yd	Quinn Ewers pass complete to Ja'Tavion Sanders for 20 yds to the WASH 31 for a 1ST down
Q4 1:09	Texas	+25 yd	Bert Auburn 25 Yd Field Goal
Q4 0:28	Texas	+41 yd	Quinn Ewers pass complete to Jordan Whittington for 41 yds to the WASH 28 for a 1ST down
Q1 10:14	Michigan	+41 yd	Donovan Edwards 41 Yd Run (James Turner Kick)
Q1 3:56	Washington	+25 yd	Grady Gross 25 Yd Field Goal
Q1 3:00	Michigan	+37 yd	J.J. McCarthy pass complete to Roman Wilson for 37 yds to the WASH 46 for a 1ST down
Q1 2:23	Michigan	+46 yd	Donovan Edwards 46 Yd Run (James Turner Kick)
Q1 0:01	Michigan	+59 yd	Blake Corum run for 59 yds to the WASH 20 for a 1ST down
Q2 13:28	Michigan	+31 yd	James Turner 31 Yd Field Goal
Q2 0:42	Washington	+3 yd	Jalen McMillan 3 Yd pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Grady Gross Kick)
Q3 14:55	Washington	+0 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass intercepted Will Johnson return for no gain to the WASH 32
Q3 11:55	Michigan	+38 yd	James Turner 38 Yd Field Goal
Q3 8:58	Washington	+45 yd	Grady Gross 45 Yd Field Goal
Q3 10:38	Washington	+29 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Devin Culp for 14 yds to the MICH 49 for a 1ST down. Michigan Penalty, Unnecessary Roughness (Makari Paige) to the MICH 34 for a 1ST down
Q3 3:33	Michigan	+22 yd	J.J. McCarthy run for 22 yds to the MICH 31 for a 1ST down
Q4 9:15	Michigan	+41 yd	J.J. McCarthy pass complete to Colston Loveland for 41 yds to the WASH 30 for a 1ST down
Q4 7:09	Michigan	+12 yd	Blake Corum 12 Yd Run (James Turner Kick)
Q4 6:04	Washington	+44 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Rome Odunze for 44 yds to the MICH 27 for a 1ST down
Q4 4:29	Washington	+81 yd	Michael Penix Jr. pass intercepted Mike Sainristil return for 81 yds to the WASH 8
Q4 3:37	Michigan	+1 yd	Blake Corum 1 Yd Run (James Turner 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	INT	QBR
Michael Penix Jr.	29/38	430	11.3	2	0	97.7
Jalen McMillan	0/1	0	0.0	0	0	6.5

Texas

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Quinn Ewers	24/43	318	7.4	1	0	72.1

Rushing

Washington

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Dillon Johnson	21	49	2.3	2	7
Michael Penix Jr.	3	31	10.3	0	13
Tybo Rogers	5	19	3.8	0	17
Germie Bernard	1	4	4.0	0	4
Team	1	-1	-1.0	0	0

Texas

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
CJ Baxter Jr.	9	64	7.1	1	16
Jaydon Blue	9	59	6.6	1	16
Quinn Ewers	8	54	6.8	0	21
Jordan Whittington	1	2	2.0	0	2
Byron Murphy II	1	1	1.0	1	1

Receiving

Washington

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Rome Odunze	6	125	20.8	0	52
Ja'Lynn Polk	5	122	24.4	1	77
Jack Westover	6	59	9.8	0	19
Jalen McMillan	5	58	11.6	1	19
Germie Bernard	3	48	16.0	0	29
Dillon Johnson	3	18	6.0	0	13
Tybo Rogers	1	0	0.0	0	0

Texas

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Ja'Tavion Sanders	6	75	12.5	0	21
Jordan Whittington	4	70	17.5	0	41
Xavier Worthy	2	45	22.5	0	38
Jaydon Blue	4	45	11.3	0	19
CJ Baxter Jr.	2	39	19.5	0	31
Adonai Mitchell	4	32	8.0	1	15
Malik Agbo	1	6	6.0	0	6
Gunnar Helm	1	6	6.0	0	6

Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

Washington

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Edefuan Ulofoshio	7	5	0	2	0	0
Dominique Hampton	6	4	0	0	1	0
Bralen Trice	5	4	2	3	0	1
Alphonzo Tuputala	5	2	0	0	1	0
Asa Turner	5	2	0	0	0	0
Carson Bruener	5	1	0	0	0	1
Elijah Jackson	4	2	0	0	0	0
Richard Newton	2	2	0	0	0	0
Ralen Goforth	2	2	0	0	0	0
Jabbar Muhammad	2	2	0	0	3	0
Jaivion Green	2	2	0	0	0	0
Thaddeus Dixon	2	2	0	0	0	0
Voi Tunuufi	2	1	0	0	0	0
Tristan Dunn	2	1	0	0	0	0
Kamren Fabiculanan	2	0	0	0	0	0
Zion Tupuola-Fetui	1	1	0	0	0	0
Maurice Heims	1	1	0	0	0	0
Josh Cuevas	1	1	0	0	0	0
Tuli Letuligasenoa	1	0	0	0	1	0
Jacob Bandes	1	0	0	0	0	0
Makell Esteen	1	0	0	0	1	0
Faatui Tuitele	0	0	0	0	1	0
Mishael Powell	0	0	0	0	0	1

Texas

Player	TOT	SOLO	TFL	PD
Jaylan Ford	10	6	0	0
Ryan Watts	6	5	0	0
Ethan Burke	6	4	0.5	0
Jahdae Barron	5	3	0	0
Michael Taaffe	5	3	0.5	1
Alfred Collins	4	2	0	0
Anthony Hill Jr.	4	2	0.5	0
Terrance Brooks	3	3	0	0
Jerrin Thompson	3	2	0	0
Malik Muhammad	3	2	0	0
T'Vondre Sweat	3	1	0	0
Byron Murphy II	3	1	0.5	0
Justice Finkley	3	1	0	0
Derek Williams Jr.	3	1	1	0
Barryn Sorrell	3	0	0	0
David Gbenda	1	1	0	0

Fumbles

Washington

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Germie Bernard	1	1	0
Ralen Goforth	0	0	1
Asa Turner	0	0	1

Texas

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Keilan Robinson	2	0	0
Jaydon Blue	1	1	0
CJ Baxter Jr.	1	1	0
Morice Blackwell Jr.	0	0	1

Kick Returns

Washington

No recorded stats in this category.

Texas

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Jaydon Blue	3	80	26.7	31
Keilan Robinson	5	38	7.6	19
Jordan Whittington	1	14	14.0	14

Kicking

Washington

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Grady Gross	3/3	100.0	40	4/4	13

Texas

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Bert Auburn	1/1	100.0	25	4/4	7

Punt Returns

Washington

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Germie Bernard	1	0	0.0	0	0

Texas

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Xavier Worthy	2	13	6.5	8	0

Punting

Washington

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jack McCallister	3	108	36.0	0	0	41

Texas

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Ryan Sanborn	5	237	47.4	0	2	55

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 401551788) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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