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Patrick O'Brien threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Colorado State to its first victory of the season, 34-24 over Wyoming on Thursday night. The victory was the first for Steve Addazio as the Rams' head coach after a combined nine seasons as a head coach at Boston College and Temple. The win also snapped a four-game losing streak to Wyoming. O'Brien threw for 255 yards, tossing touchdown passes of 29 and 38 yards to Trey McBride. The first touchdown pass made it 14-0 and came on the first play following a strip-sack of Levi Williams by Dequan Jackson. The second TD to McBride gave CSU (1-1, 1-1 Mountain West) a 31-17 lead late in the third quarter.

Williams scored on a short run to get Wyoming within seven with 8:18 remaining but CSU used a 5 1/2-minute drive that ended with Robert Liss' 48-yard field goal. Dante Wright led the Rams with 146 yards receiving on 10 catches. McBride added 90 yards. Marshaun Cameron scored CSU's first touchdown with a 30-yard interception return. Xazavian Valladay rushed for 147 yards on 28 carries with a TD - his 10th career 100-yard game - and became the 12th player in Wyoming (1-2, 1-2) history to rush for 2,000 career yards. Williams threw for 321 yards with an interception. - AP College Football

(DS#31 QB) rSr/2022

QB Patrick OBrien, Washington
News Source: AP College Football
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11/05/20 - Michael Penix Jr., rSr/2024, Washington, 6-2, 216 (DS#5 QB) + More +

Sophomore quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made sure there was no letdown for Indiana on Saturday at Rutgers. Penix passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, allowing the No. 17 Hoosiers to pull away in the second half and beat the Scarlet Knights 37-21 at SHI Stadium. Coming off its 36-35 upset of then-No. 8 Penn State last week, Indiana (2-0) found itself in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten East before Penn State's kickoff against Ohio State later Saturday night. IU also is off to a 2-0 start in Big Ten play for the first time since 1991. "To start the season 2-0 is huge for our program," Indiana coach Tom Allen said. Penix, who started the game 3-of-10, completed 14 of his final 16 attempts. He connected with tight end Peyton Hendershot on a pair of second-half touchdowns and found senior receiver Whop Philyor five times for 137 yards. "Those two guys found a way to get open today," Penix said. "They made spectacular catches. They were consistent. And that's just all it was, simple execution." - Herald Bulletin

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2024

QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
News Source: Herald Bulletin
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11/03/20 - Michael Penix Jr., rSr/2024, Washington, 6-2, 216 (DS#5 QB) + More +

The secondary as a unit performed best, but it's hard to overlook Penix. He accounted for four touchdowns, misfired on just one pass in the second half and, by the end of the game, looked like he was beginning to hit full stride. No player or coach lost more to the disrupted offseason than the time Penix and Sheridan didn't get to spend building their rapport as quarterback and play caller. Allen did what he could to structure his preseason in a way that mitigated some of that, but it was never going to make up for all lost time. Some of that would have to happen in games, and we've seen the growing pains over the last two weeks. Saturday, we also saw the potential. Penix's second half was outstanding. - Indianapolis Star/News

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2024

QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
News Source: Indianapolis Star/News
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10/31/20 - Michael Penix Jr., rSr/2024, Washington, 6-2, 216 (DS#5 QB) + More +

Michael Penix Jr. threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score as No. 17 Indiana beat mistake-prone Rutgers 37-21 on Saturday in a game that almost included a crazy TD. Penix had touchdown tosses of 15, 2 and 1 yard. He also scored on a quarterback sneak as the Hoosiers (2-0, 2-0 Big Ten) followed up their stunning win over then-No. 8 Penn State last week. The wacky play came with less than two minutes to go when Rutgers seemed to score on a 55-yard play that involved at least seven laterals. After a review, however, it was ruled that receiver Shameen Jones' pitch was an illegal forward pass, spoiling a wild celebration for the Scarlet Knights.

Ty Fryfogel caught the 15-yard TD pass just 1:43 after Penix scored, giving the Hoosier a 20-7 halftime lead. Tight end Peyton Hendershot caught the short TD flips in the second half and Charles Campbell added three field goals. Noah Vedral threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Bo Melton and Kay'Ron Adams scored on a 37-yard run for Rutgers (1-1, 1-1). The game was Greg Schiano's at home since starting his second stint as coach with a win at Michigan State last week. Vedral also threw three interceptions. - Indiana/AP College Football

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2024

QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
News Source: Indiana/AP College Football
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10/25/20 - Michael Penix Jr., rSr/2024, Washington, 6-2, 216 (DS#5 QB) + More +

Michael Penix Jr. and Tom Allen have received their mentions, but not enough credit. Penix was lousy for most of the game - well, he was - but when it mattered most he was sensational. At one point late in the fourth quarter, Penix was 12-for-29 for 111 yards. But then he caught fire, completing his last seven passes, including a back-shoulder dart to Whop Philyor for the touchdown in overtime.

Penix also was super with his legs. After driving the Hoosiers 75 yards late in regulation, he scored on a 1-yard sneak with 27 seconds left and then scored on the two-point conversion - juking the Penn State blitz and running into the end zone - to tie the score at 28. Then he hit Philyor for the TD and scored the two-point conversion in overtime, racing Brisker to the pylon, diving for it, stretching his arm. Slow-motion replays show every bit of the 6-3, 218 Penix hovering inches above the ground, parallel to the turf, defying Jaquan Brisker and Isaac Newton to plunk the ball onto the pylon for the win. - Indianapolis Star/News

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2024

QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
News Source: Indianapolis Star/News
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10/25/20 - Michael Penix Jr., rSr/2024, Washington, 6-2, 216 (DS#5 QB) + More +

Flushed to his stronger side, Michael Penix sprinted toward history. Rarely can a college football player know in the moment that he is living his legacy, acting out what might well be the signature moment of his career. Even more rarely does IU football defeat a top-10 team. At 7:35 p.m. Saturday, it had been 33 years since that happened. By 7:45, it hadn't been five minutes. Penix's full-stretch lunge on a gutsy 2-point conversion call made the pylon, handing Indiana a 36-35 win against No. 7 Penn State to open the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Officials immediately signaled Penix in, then reviewed replay footage for nearly five minutes before deciding the call on the field had to stand. A few millimeters of air wrapped around 100 years of misfortune handed IU a generational victory. "All I saw," Penix said later, "was opportunity." The moment capped a manic game, Penn State held the ball more than twice as long as Indiana, outgained the Hoosiers 488-211, turned the ball over three times to IU's two and led, trailed, then led what looked like for good until the simplest trick gave IU one last chance. - Indianapolis Star/News

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2024

QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
News Source: Indianapolis Star/News
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10/25/20 - Michael Penix Jr., rSr/2024, Washington, 6-2, 216 (DS#5 QB) + More +

Indiana jumped into The Associated Press college football poll Sunday after pulling off the weekend's most dramatic upset and Ohio State moved up to No. 3 following a dominant season debut. Clemson remained a rock-solid No. 1 and Alabama was No. 2. The Tigers received 52 first-place votes and the Crimson Tide got the remaining 10. Ohio State leaped two spots after easily dispatching Nebraska as the Big Ten Conference kicked off its pandemic-delayed and abbreviated season. No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Georgia each slipped a spot behind the Buckeyes. Indiana pulled off a stunner in overtime to jump into the rankings, beating then-No. 8 Penn State to earn the program's first victory against a team ranked in the AP top 10 since 1987. The Hoosiers snapped a 25-year absence from the poll last season but stayed there only one week. Indiana has its best ranking since 1993, when it also reached No. 17. With Rutgers coming up next week, the Hoosiers might see a longer stay in the poll than last year. Then again, the Scarlet Knights won their opener, too. Penn State slipped 10 spots to No. 18 after losing to the Hoosiers for just the second time in 24 meetings since joining the Big Ten. - AP College Football

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2024

QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
News Source: AP College Football
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10/24/20 - Michael Penix Jr., rSr/2024, Washington, 6-2, 216 (DS#5 QB) + More +

Michael Penix forced overtime with a 2-point conversion run with 22 seconds left, then scored on a diving 2-point conversion to give Indiana a season-opening 36-35 upset victory over No. 8 Penn State - ending the Big Ten's longest streak of consecutive losses to Top 10 teams at 42. The winning play went to a replay review before the officials announced the initial call stood. Indiana beat the Nittany Lions for the second time in 24 matchups, and beat a Top 10 foe for the first time since a 31-10 victory at Ohio State on Oct. 10, 1987. And it took every trick in the book to get it done. "All I'd seen was an opportunity, an opportunity to go out and show the world what the Indiana Hoosiers are all about," Penix said. "They were playing man, so we've got to score to win the game and I wasn't going to let my team down, so I went out and gave it my all."

After Indiana failed to gain a first down after Sean Clifford threw a go-ahead 60-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson with 2:30 left, coach Tom Allen instructed his defense to let Penn State score. Devyn Ford obliged with a 14-yard run with 1:42 to go. Penix then took the Hoosiers down the field, scored on a 1-yard TD run with 22 seconds to go, added the 2-point conversion and eventually wound up in overtime after Jordan Stout's 57-yard field goal came up short with 3 seconds left in regulation." Penn State made it 35-28 when Clifford hooked up with Parker Washington in overtime, but Whop Philyor caught a 9-yard TD pass for the Hoosiers and Penix won it when he dove for the goal line and the ball hit the pylon. - Indiana/AP College Football

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2024

QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
News Source: Indiana/AP College Football
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10/23/20 - *Trent McDuffie, rSo/2022, Washington, 5-11, 193 (DS#3 CB) + More +

Trent McDuffie does not fit the mold. Kevin King is the mold. Sidney Jones is the mold. Keith Taylor, Dominique Hampton, Asa Turner, Jacobe Covington, Julius Irvin, Makell Esteen, Elijah Jackson: they are the mold. UW head coach Jimmy Lake even acknowledged it last week, saying "you see the DBs. We always like long guys, bigger guys." McDuffie is not one of those guys. And yet, when it's all said and done, he may be the guy in the Huskies' secondary. The statistics say the same. In a phenomenal freshman season, McDuffie - all 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds of him - started the last 11 games and totaled 45 tackles, three passes defended, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and an interception. He was also credited with just one missed tackle and surrendered a measly six passes of 15-plus yards on 421 coverage snaps.

The former St. John Bosco High School standout was ranked as the 12th-most valuable corner in all of FBS as a true freshman. And it's not because he has long arms or a physically formidable frame. It's because of everything else. "I think I'm just technique-sound," McDuffie said on Sunday. "Every day I work on it like it's a religion out there - making sure my footwork, my technique, my eyes are all as good as they can be. I'm a big perfectionist, so I'm always making sure everything is correct. "And I'm a big track guy from high school, so I like to use my speed a lot when I'm out there. It's my extra hand when I'm out there, so I'm able to make plays on the ball." - Seattle Times

(DS#3 CB) rSo/2022

CB *Trent McDuffie, Washington
News Source: Seattle Times
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10/23/20 - Michael Penix Jr., rSr/2024, Washington, 6-2, 216 (DS#5 QB) + More +

Allen said he has confidence redshirt sophomore quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will respond well in his first career start against the Nittany Lions. The goal for Penix is to hold up for the full season after missing six games with myriad injuries last season. Penix didn't play for the Hoosiers in three of the four losses against ranked teams, missing games against Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. "He's played some big games for us for sure," Allen said. "Not as many as he will before it's all said and done, but he has a natural poise to him that is extremely evident when you put him in these environments, and it never seems to be too big for him, so I suspect he'll rise up and play at a high level on Saturday. That's my expectation for him. I know that's his expectation for himself." The last time IU opened against a Big Ten opponent was in 2017, Allen's first official game as the Hoosiers head coach (he was the interim coach in the bowl game the season before). The Hoosiers suffered a 49-21 loss to No. 2 Ohio State, but IU gave the Buckeyes some jitters early, leading 14-13 at halftime. - Herald Bulletin

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2024

QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
News Source: Herald Bulletin
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10/20/20 - Will Rogers, rSr/2025, Washington, 6-2, 207 (DS#17 QB) + More +

Amid a whole lot of nothingness after a third consecutive loss, this one, a 28-14 defeat to No. 11 Texas A&M, that sure seems like something. The spark, Leach said, is true freshman quarterback Will Rogers. "That drive that Will had, when you consider the quality of team (Texas) A&M has, that drive Will had was maybe as good as I've had a freshman, especially a true freshman at his age, have before," Leach said. It was a drive that looked a lot like the ones Leach roamed the sidelines for and monitored in Lubbock, Texas and Pullman, Washington. It was a drive quarterbacked by a player who's never started a college game but in that moment looked like someone who has started plenty. Think Graham Harrell. Gardner Minshew. But only for 13 plays and 89 yards. Only for the 32-yard sideline scoring sling to junior wide receiver Malik Heath.

Rogers is nowhere near the player Harrell and Minshew were for Leach in this offense, but he showed flashes that maybe one day he could consistently be just that. He showed quite the spark, after all. "I look at Will as a young guy who has a lot of leadership in him," senior linebacker Erroll Thompson said. "He's a great player. I expect that from him." Rogers was 8-of-10 for 85 yards on the drive. He completed passes to six different receivers. He moved the Mississippi State offense down the field the way it's supposed to go. With quick passes to a variety of targets until ultimately taking the top off the defense with a pass beyond the sticks. Rogers operated the way Harrell and Minshew and so many who have come before him in Leach's Air Raid have in that moment. Not the way senior quarterback K.J. Costello has since he set the SEC passing record with 623 yards against LSU in Week 1. - The Clarion Ledger

(DS#17 QB) rSr/2025

QB Will Rogers, Washington
News Source: The Clarion Ledger
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10/20/20 - Will Rogers, rSr/2025, Washington, 6-2, 207 (DS#17 QB) + More +

Will Rogers entered the game at quarterback for Mississippi State for the second consecutive week. Rogers, the true freshman from Brandon, relieved starter K.J. Costello in the third quarter against Texas A&M after the transfer from Stanford struggled again. Costello went 15-of-22 for 99 yards and an interception while being constantly hounded by the Aggies pass rush. Mississippi State was trailing 28-7 when Rogers entered, with the lone points coming on an interception return. Rogers did orchestrate a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that culminated in a 32-yard touchdown pass to Malik Heath, and finished 15-of-18 for 120 yards and the score. MSU coach Mike Leach said postgame that the starting quarterback position would be "re-evaluated" during the bye week. Last week, Rogers was 9-of-15 for 43 yards and two interceptions after making his debut late in MSU's loss to Kentucky. - The Clarion Ledger

(DS#17 QB) rSr/2025

QB Will Rogers, Washington
News Source: The Clarion Ledger
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10/16/20 - Ryan Bowman, rSr/2022, Washington, 6-0, 277 (DS#43 DE) + More +

In an undeniably young room, Bowman is the elder statesman (and a guaranteed starter). The former UW walk-on produced a quietly prolific 2019 season - stacking up 34 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception in 13 games. And he did it while also shifting inside on passing downs. "I'm just a defensive lineman, honestly," Bowman said, when asked to define his role. "I play any position on the line and always try to make things happen and always try to be explosive wherever I'm at. You can literally put me anywhere."

In a shortened senior season, the Huskies might take him up on that offer. At 280 pounds, Bowman is quick enough to rush the passer and strong enough to stuff the run. And nasty enough to portray the attitude Kwiatkowski wants from his outside linebackers. "The legacy I want to leave is that we're the most physical dudes on the team," Bowman said. "We want to be real hard-nosed, bad, nasty dudes. That's just how we're all going to be in that room. Under Coach K, it's easy to be like that, because that's the mentality that he brings, and we manifest off that energy and all our dudes are like that. "That's the legacy I'd like to leave for the outside backers, and just as a leader, be nasty as hell." - Seattle Times

(DS#43 DE) rSr/2022

DE Ryan Bowman, Washington
News Source: Seattle Times
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10/02/20 - Michael Penix Jr., rSr/2024, Washington, 6-2, 216 (DS#5 QB) + More +

Sheridan said Penix's football IQ has made it a smooth transition so far. "Michael is obviously a very talented player," Sheridan said. "I think one of Michael's biggest strengths as a player is the game is slow for Mike. He makes quick decisions. He's able to see the field. It doesn't take him long to grasp concepts, and I credit his upbringing, the people that have helped him along the way, you know, coaches, trainers, parents. He just always has seen the game very naturally." The new dynamic in the Sheridan-Penix relationship will come with play calling and execution when IU's season starts Oct. 23 or 24 against No. 10 Penn State. As a graduate assistant coach at Tennessee, Sheridan learned the importance of a quarterback understanding intention when an offensive coordinator calls plays.

"It's different in college football than the NFL," Sheridan said. "Like, in the NFL, the head coach gets to tell the quarterback in a Walkie Talkie, throw it to the flat, or throw it away, click. We don't get to do that in college football, so it's important that that communication is at an extremely high level throughout the week, throughout your prep, so that when you call a play the quarterback knows what you are thinking whether it be taking a shot, whether it be get an easy completion or whether it be you know, check the ball (down)." Penix is looking to build upon a season in which he passed for 1,394 yards with 10 TDs and four interceptions in six games. - Herald Bulletin

(DS#5 QB) rSr/2024

QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
News Source: Herald Bulletin
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10/02/20 - Elijah Molden, Sr/2021, Washington, 5-10, 192 (DS#9 CB) + More +

Elijah Molden had two fundamental reasons to return for his senior season. Of course, Molden - a 2019 first-team All-Pac-12 performer and Walter Camp first-team preseason All-American - could have just as easily opted out, turning his focus instead to the NFL draft. He could have followed fellow Washington defensive standouts Levi Onwuzurike and Joe Tryon out the door. He could have prioritized a professional future, citing the rampant uncertainty surrounding the sport. Instead, when the Pac-12 announced a seven-game fall football season last week, Molden tweeted, "See ya'll Nov. 6." And local media members actually saw him much sooner. In a Zoom call following his team's second fall practice Tuesday, Molden explained why he chose to remain on Montlake.

"From the very beginning when it was declared that we weren't going to have a season, I think the name of the game was patience. And naturally, I'm not a very patient person," he said. "So that was something that was difficult for me. But right now I think it was a very valuable lesson, just because you don't know what the future's going to look like. I don't want to make an emotional decision, when I want to play football. "Everyone like Levi, Joe - everyone who has opted out - had their own personal reasons, and I've heard from those guys. They have very valid reasons for opting out. But for me, I think I just love the game so much that I wouldn't be able to sit out any longer knowing that I could have played. So that was my motivation for coming back. Especially with a new (head) coach in Coach (Jimmy) Lake, I believe in him entirely and I feel like it's my last year at UW, but it's his first (as head coach). I wanted to start him off on a good note." - Seattle Times

(DS#9 CB) Sr/2021

CB Elijah Molden, Washington
News Source: Seattle Times
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