Washington snags five picks, pummels Boise State in LA Bowl
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- Washington dismantled Boise State 38-10 in the LA Bowl finale, with its dominant defense intercepting five passes and stifling the Broncos offense.
- Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. led the Huskies with four touchdown passes while Boise State could muster only three points through the third quarter.
- Saturday’s decisive victory marked the final game in the LA Bowl’s short history as a college football postseason matchup.
Washington and Boise State were locked in a defensive stalemate for the first 15 minutes of the LA Bowl on Saturday at SoFi Stadium, in perhaps the last game of the bowl’s short history. Each offense was held to less than 60 yards, scoring its only points off of field goals.
But the moment Washington forced an error by the Broncos’ defense, the Huskies called checkmate.
During Washington’s second drive, sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. threw down the middle to Denzel Boston. The receiver turned the catch into a 78-yard touchdown, the first big spark during a 38-10 Washington win over Boise State.
“I was just trying to make sure I made it as catchable as possible, so he can go and score,” Williams said.
The Huskies kept piling on points and limited the Broncos to three points until late in the fourth quarter.
The LA Bowl is expected to fold after Saturday’s game, with the bowl’s six-year contract coming to an end amid difficulty filling bowl slots.
“They treated the game as we asked them to, which was a championship game, championship opportunity,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. “As we’re sitting here with nine wins — I’m really proud of our players and tonight was a great football game.”
Fisch and Washington defensive coordinator Ryan Walters directed an attack that stifled a Mountain West-champion Boise State team that was averaging 30 points per game. The Huskies intercepted the ball five times. Meanwhile, Williams completed 15 of 24 passes for 214 yards and four touchdowns.
“When you have an elite quarterback, you have a great opportunity to win a lot of games,” Fisch said.
Boise State extended its recent futility against Power Four teams, dropping its 10th consecutive game. The Broncos’ last win against a team from a major conference came in 2019 when they defeated Florida State.
Their attack was no match for the Huskies’ defense, converting four times on third down and twice on fourth down.
Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen, who missed a month because of a leg injury, was taken out of the game after the first half and wore a protective boot as he watched the second half from the sideline.
“I’m just so proud of these seniors,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “They are leaving Boise State better than they found it — three straight conference championships. I don’t know how many teams in the country can say that.”
The chances to score did not come often for the Broncos. With an opportunity in the fourth quarter, Boise State’s Max Cutforth threw a pass intended for Chase Penry, who was waiting in the end zone. The ball, however, was intercepted by Washington’s Leroy Bryant.
Boise State’s drought ended when Cutforth threw an eight-yard touchdown pass with 1:18 left in the game. It was a little too late for most Broncos fans to see it happen.
Williams earned offensive most valuable player honors, while Xe’ree Alexander took the defensive MVP award after recording seven tackles and one interception.
“Defense dominated, we did our job,” Alexander said. “It’s just amazing to win.”
Williams attributed his dominance on the field to being comfortable with his voice as a leader of the team.
“I feel like it’s easy for a team to let one loss affect the next game and for our team, I feel like we had a great mindset this whole year of just bouncing back from adversity,” Williams said.
When Fisch was asked about his interest in the Michigan coaching vacancy, he responded: “I’m fully focused on our team. That’s all I would say on that.”
