No. 5 Washington Huskies cruise past Cal 66-27: Instant Reactions

Chris Petersen saw the College Football Playoff Rankings and disagreed. He decided to make a point by playing his offensive starters into the fourth quarter of a game that didn’t need the fourth quarter to be decided. The fifth-ranked Huskies eventually walked away from Cal with an easy 66-27 win.

It was a showcase of John Ross to start and Dante Pettis as the game wore on. The duo evenly split six touchdowns, though Ross doubled Pettis in yards 208 to 104. Distributing the ball to them, as always, was Heisman candidate Jake Browning. Browning finished with an okay stat line himself: 19-of-28 for 378 yards and six six-pointers. According to ESPN after the game he is the only player in all of FBS to do that twice this season.

Browning wasn’t the most efficient passer in the game, however. Normally on the other end of passing scores, Pettis completed a double pass to Darrell Daniels for 39 yards and a score. His passer efficiency rating that I have no idea how it is calculated was a robust 757.6.

Cal has what is commonly known as a wet paper bag for a defense. Washington dropping 66 points and 704 yards is evident of that. The Bear Raid offense, however, is usually potent enough to keep the game interesting.

Quarterback Davis Webb threw three interceptions, two by Sidney Jones. and a third from Ben Burr-Kirven. He completed less than half of his passes and threw a single touchdown, though he did run for another score.

Look for the Husky Highlights tomorrow to see John Ross with what might be the most impressive catch-and-run of his career.

Some quick Dots:

• The rankings for the Playoff really don’t matter right now. What we know is that if the Huskies run the table then they will be in the playoff. Four games to go before that decision is made. Win and they’re in.
• John Ross is electric. Seriously, come back for the Husky Highlights.
• Myles Gaskin is dinged up again. He had been struggling with some sort of lower leg injury earlier in the year. His play improved as he got healthier, and he struggled, relatively, as he limped around the field. 16 carries for 74 yards.
• Lamar Jackson is the only thing standing between Browning and a Heisman trophy. Lamar Jackson accounted for seven more touchdowns today.