Michael Penix Jr leads Washington to Pac-12 glory with thrilling win over Oregon before teammates chant ‘Heisman! Heisman!’ as Huskies QB is named MVP after 34-31 victory

The No 3 Washington Huskies won the Pac-12 Championship in a 34-31 thriller against the No 5 Oregon Ducks as quarterback Michael Penix Jr put in a statement performance in the race for this year’s Heisman Trophy.

Penix Jr was named the game’s MVP after what might prove to be the last ever Pac-12 title game. He ended the night with 319 passing yards and a touchdown.

During the trophy celebration Penix Jr stole a line from Seattle Seahawks quaterback Geno Smith when he said: ‘They tried to write us off, but we ain’t write back!’ 

Penix Jr’s teammates then serenaded their quarterback with chants of ‘Heisman! Heisman!’

One of Penix’s most pivotal throws of the game came on a 25-yard completion to talented wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk, who made an acrobatic one-handed grab in the face of his defender.

Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr was named MVP after throwing for more than 300 yards

Polk was not the only member of the Huskies WR room to stand out during the evening as Jalen McMillan had nine receptions for 131 yards and Biletnikoff Award finalist Rome Odunze had eight catches for 102.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix entered the game as favorite the Heisman Trophy and he put on a strong showing of his own in defeat, passing for 239 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 69 yards. 

The Huskies, who entered the game as underdogs, scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take a 34-24 lead. 

Oregon (11-2) scored a late touchdown for the final score, but failed to recover the onside kick, ending the Ducks’ six-game winning streak.

If it was indeed the final title game for the conference, it was quite a way to go as Oregon and Washington again played a high-scoring game with big plays throughout. The Huskies won their regular-season meeting 36-33 in Seattle.

Washington took a 20-3 lead before the Ducks scored a touchdown with nine seconds left to get to within 10 points.

Oregon QB Bo Nix also put in a strong performance with 239 yards passing and three TDs

Penix Jr and Nix are considered among the top candidates to win the Heisman Trophy this year

That score got Oregon going. The Ducks converted two fourth downs on the opening drive of the second, including a 2-yard touchdown from Nix to tight end Terrance Ferguson to get within three points.  

Oregon took the lead at 24-20 with 1:51 left in the third quarter on Jordan James’ 6-yard TD run. The lead didn’t last long as Washington scored on its next drive to take the lead for good.

This is the second time both teams have been ranked in the top 10 when they have played each other. The other time was the first meeting this season.

Washington improved to 3-0 in the Pac-12 Championship; Oregon is 4-2.