Kalen DeBoer explains how Washington can carry momentum into the second half of national championship

It wasn’t a great start for Washington in the national championship against Michigan, but the Huskies ended the first half on a strong note. After falling behind two touchdowns, they managed to score a touchdown with less than a minute remaining to cut the deficit to 17-10 at halftime.

Going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Michael Penix Jr. found Jalen McMillan on a slant route for Washington’s first TD of the evening. That put the Huskies right back in the game as they are set to receive the ball to begin the third quarter.

Speaking with ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath, Washington coach Kalen DeBoer explained how his team managed the early storm to keep itself in striking distance.

“It’s just doing what we’ve done all year,” he said. “We took some of their best punches early. Now we’ve kind of settled in and the defense has kind of got things figured out. Great drive by our offense there and we get the ball to start the third quarter. So in a great spot.”

Washington allowed Michigan to score on its first three drives of the game as it fell behind early. However, the Huskies defense tightened up after that an even forced a turnover on downs late in the second quarter.

The offense struggled early as well and ended the first half with just 32 yards rushing as Dillon Johnson battles with injury. Penix and the passing game stepped up on the touchdown drive to provide some life, but will need to continue to carry the load in the second half. He finished 13-of-21 passing for 128 yards and the touchdown in the first two quarters.

There’s still plenty of adjustments to be made, as Washington surrendered 209 yards rushing to the Wolverines in the opening half. But the game is still well within reach for the Huskies if they can stay focused and play the way they did to close the second quarter.

Ultimately, it didn’t work out that way as Penix threw an interception on the first play of the second half. The Wolverines managed to capitalize with a field goal on the next drive to increase their advantage to 20-10.

There’s a lot of football left to be played and things certainly aren’t over yet for the Huskies, but it was far from the start to the third quarter that they would have liked to see.