January 1, 2024 Postseason Neutral site Belt defended

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

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Washington 37

Away · Challenger

Texas 31

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

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	QBR
Michael Penix Jr.Washington	29/38	430	11.3	2	97.7
Jalen McMillanWashington	0/1	0	0.0	0	6.5
Quinn EwersTexas	24/43	318	7.4	1	72.1

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Dillon JohnsonWashington	21	49	2.3	2	7
Michael Penix Jr.Washington	3	31	10.3	0	13
Tybo RogersWashington	5	19	3.8	0	17
Germie BernardWashington	1	4	4.0	0	4
TeamWashington	1	-1	-1.0	0	0
CJ Baxter Jr.Texas	9	64	7.1	1	16
Jaydon BlueTexas	9	59	6.6	1	16
Quinn EwersTexas	8	54	6.8	0	21
Jordan WhittingtonTexas	1	2	2.0	0	2
Byron Murphy IITexas	1	1	1.0	1	1

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Rome OdunzeWashington	6	125	20.8	0	52
Ja'Lynn PolkWashington	5	122	24.4	1	77
Jack WestoverWashington	6	59	9.8	0	19
Jalen McMillanWashington	5	58	11.6	1	19
Germie BernardWashington	3	48	16.0	0	29
Dillon JohnsonWashington	3	18	6.0	0	13
Tybo RogersWashington	1	0	0.0	0	0
Ja'Tavion SandersTexas	6	75	12.5	0	21
Jordan WhittingtonTexas	4	70	17.5	0	41
Xavier WorthyTexas	2	45	22.5	0	38
Jaydon BlueTexas	4	45	11.3	0	19
CJ Baxter Jr.Texas	2	39	19.5	0	31
Adonai MitchellTexas	4	32	8.0	1	15
Malik AgboTexas	1	6	6.0	0	6
Gunnar HelmTexas	1	6	6.0	0	6

Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Edefuan UlofoshioWashington	7	5	0	2	0	0
Dominique HamptonWashington	6	4	0	0	1	0
Bralen TriceWashington	5	4	2	3	0	1
Alphonzo TuputalaWashington	5	2	0	0	1	0
Asa TurnerWashington	5	2	0	0	0	0
Carson BruenerWashington	5	1	0	0	0	1
Elijah JacksonWashington	4	2	0	0	0	0
Richard NewtonWashington	2	2	0	0	0	0
Ralen GoforthWashington	2	2	0	0	0	0
Jabbar MuhammadWashington	2	2	0	0	3	0
Jaivion GreenWashington	2	2	0	0	0	0
Thaddeus DixonWashington	2	2	0	0	0	0
Voi TunuufiWashington	2	1	0	0	0	0
Tristan DunnWashington	2	1	0	0	0	0
Kamren FabiculananWashington	2	0	0	0	0	0
Zion Tupuola-FetuiWashington	1	1	0	0	0	0
Maurice HeimsWashington	1	1	0	0	0	0
Josh CuevasWashington	1	1	0	0	0	0
Tuli LetuligasenoaWashington	1	0	0	0	1	0
Jacob BandesWashington	1	0	0	0	0	0
Makell EsteenWashington	1	0	0	0	1	0
Faatui TuiteleWashington	0	0	0	0	1	0
Mishael PowellWashington	0	0	0	0	0	1
Jaylan FordTexas	10	6	0	0	0	0
Ryan WattsTexas	6	5	0	0	0	0
Ethan BurkeTexas	6	4	0	0.5	0	0
Jahdae BarronTexas	5	3	0	0	0	0
Michael TaaffeTexas	5	3	0	0.5	1	0
Alfred CollinsTexas	4	2	0	0	0	0
Anthony Hill Jr.Texas	4	2	0	0.5	0	0
Terrance BrooksTexas	3	3	0	0	0	0
Jerrin ThompsonTexas	3	2	0	0	0	0
Malik MuhammadTexas	3	2	0	0	0	0
T'Vondre SweatTexas	3	1	0	0	0	0
Byron Murphy IITexas	3	1	0	0.5	0	0
Justice FinkleyTexas	3	1	0	0	0	0
Derek Williams Jr.Texas	3	1	0	1	0	0
Barryn SorrellTexas	3	0	0	0	0	0
David GbendaTexas	1	1	0	0	0	0

Fumbles

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Germie BernardWashington	1	1	0
Ralen GoforthWashington	0	0	1
Asa TurnerWashington	0	0	1
Keilan RobinsonTexas	2	0	0
Jaydon BlueTexas	1	1	0
CJ Baxter Jr.Texas	1	1	0
Morice Blackwell Jr.Texas	0	0	1

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Jaydon BlueTexas	3	80	26.7	31
Keilan RobinsonTexas	5	38	7.6	19
Jordan WhittingtonTexas	1	14	14.0	14

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Grady GrossWashington	3/3	100.0	40	4/4	13
Bert AuburnTexas	1/1	100.0	25	4/4	7

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Germie BernardWashington	1	0	0.0	0	0
Xavier WorthyTexas	2	13	6.5	8	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jack McCallisterWashington	3	108	36.0	0	0	41
Ryan SanbornTexas	5	237	47.4	0	2	55

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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