Huskies fall apart in second half in 33-28 loss to No. 9 Utah
SEATTLE – Jacob Eason did it all on Saturday.
And that wasn’t always a good thing.
In a 33-28 loss to No. 9 Utah, the 6-foot-6, 227-pound junior quarterback completed 29 of 52 passes for 316 yards and four scores. He lofted picturesque passes into tight windows. He delivered a pair of beauties to junior tight end Hunter Bryant for 34- and 40yard scores. He made NFL throws.
And amateur mistakes. Eason – who threw three interceptions in his first eight games – surrendered two of them in the third quarter alone. The first, which was lofted into triple coverage, ended a promising drive at the Utah 23-yard line. The second was returned down the sideline by cornerback Jaylon Johnson for a 39-yard score.
UW led 21-13 with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter on Saturday, before Utah responded with 20 consecutive points to hand Washington its fourth Pac-12 loss (and third at home).
Washington’s offense wasted little time on Saturday afternoon. In the Huskies’ opening drive, Eason and Co. traveled 70 grinding yards in 13 plays, using 5:56. They converted three separate third downs – including an Eason laser on a crossing route to redshirt freshman receiver Marquis Spiker for 21 yards on third-and-17. The physically gifted quarterback rifled a five-yard pass to Terrell Bynum on fourth-and-3. And on first-and-10 from the Utah 11, he found Jordan Chin on a slant for the junior wideout’s second touchdown in his last two games.
But Eason wasn’t done. Early in the second quarter, he floated a rainbow into the waiting arms of Bryant for a 34-yard score.
The only significant firsthalf blemish for UW’S highly touted signal caller came on UW’S second offensive drive. On third-and-4, Eason attempted to scramble for a first down and fumbled instead, leading to a 31-yard Utah field goal that got the Utes on the board.