Seattle, WA – The Washington Huskies ran a master class on offense, sustaining drives all day, and their defense shut down the Vikings as UW defeated underdog Portland State, 52-6, at Husky Stadium.
 
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had a big first half and the Washington running game controlled the second half as the Huskies cruised to the win. Washington amassed 617 yards of total offense compared to 131 for the Vikings.
 
"When we play these games up at the FBS levels there are two tiers "up", said Viking Coach Bruce Barnum, "and Washington is in the top tier. Their defense was stout and they showed it. The speed of their defensive ends, we will not see that for the rest of the year."
 
"They have a system going on offense and how Penix sits back there, he is accurate and has a big arm, and their O-line is an impressive group."
 
Penix completed 20-27 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. The backfield of Wayne Tualapapa and Cameron Davis combined on 22 carries for 164 yards and three scores before resting a good portion of the second half.
 
On the Viking side, quarterback Dante Chachere was under pressure much of the afternoon, completing only 6-17 passes for 50 yards. Sophomore running back Jalynnee McGee had the best performance on offense with 12 carries for 58 yards.
 
"This week it affected us protecting the pass as well as the run," said Barnum. "We made some mistakes early, but once we settled down, it was just the University of Washington's front seven doing a hell of a job on Dante. They got after us up front."
 
Portland State dropped to 0-2 on the season following its two games with FBS opponents. The Vikings begin Big Sky Conference play on Sept. 24 at third-ranked Montana.
 
Washington went to 2-0 on the season with a pair of home wins, scoring 97 total points.
 
Washington had a pair of 10-play scoring drives in the first quarter. The first went for 77 yards and the second was 74 yards. The Huskies led 14-0 after one.
 
Portland State finally drove into Huskies' territory early in the second quarter. However, Chachere was sacked on successive plays and the Vikings were forced to punt.
 
Washington started the next series at its own one-yard line. It didn't take long to score though. Penix Jr. hit Jalen McMillan on the biggest play of the game, an 84-yard scoring pass down the left sideline. That made it 21-0 with 9:51 left in the half.
 
The Vikings then put together their best sustained drive of the half. They went 12 plays, 69 yards, with the help of a couple of Huskies penalties. Washington finally stalled the Vikings at fourth-and-four at the UW 6. Sophomore kicker Gianni Smith booted a 23-yard field goal and PSU was on the board.
 
Washington continued to impress offensively, rolling 72 yards before halftime to go ahead 28-3. The Huskies first four drives of the half, all scores, went 77, 74, 99 and 72 yards.
 
Sophomore roverback Tyreese Shakir intercepted a Penix pass late in the half to thwart one drive, but the Huskies tacked on a 32-yard field on the final play to go into the locker room leading, 31-3.
 
Penix threw for 248 yards in the first half as the Viking defense could not get pressure to the quarterback like they had at San Jose State in game one.
 
Washington opened the second half with an 80-yard drive for a touchdown. Leading the game 38-3 they had it well in hand at that point.
 
Smith drilled another field goal for the Vikings midway through the third quarter, making the score 38-6.
 
The Huskies added two touchdowns late in the game for the final 52-6 score.
 
Defensively, Xavier Bell had seven tackles to lead the Vikings. Parker McKenna and Day Day Bright each made six stops in the game. EJ Ane had five tackles and the Vikings' lone sack.
 

GAME NOTES

• With two receptions in the game, senior wide receiver Beau Kelly now has 126 in his career. That is good for 10^th all-time at Portland State.
• Tyreese Shakir's interception was the third in his 13-game PSU career and fifth career takeaway.
• Gianni Smith is 3-3 on field goals this season and 8-11 in his PSU career.
• George Triplett averaged 47.1 yards on seven punts.
• Nate Bennett led the Vikings with three receptions for 25 yards.
• Portland State is now 4-44 all-time against FBS-level programs.
• Portland State has a bye on Sept. 17, then opens Big Sky Conference play on Sept. 24 at Montana. "Once we get to the Big Sky things will slow down a little. We played San Jose State, then Washington, and the biggest thing is speed. The teams we see in the Big Sky won't be as fast," said Barnum.