Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made his bid for the Heisman Trophy, too, Saturday night right after Oregon’s Bo Nix and LSU’s Jayden Daniels.

Penix fought off hard rain most of the night and an inspired No. 11-ranked Oregon State team to complete 13 of 28 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns as No. 5 Washington held on for a 22-20 win.

His statistics were not as voluminous as that of Nix and Daniels, but his competition was much better than Arizona State and Georgia State, which Oregon and LSU beat handily, respectively. And there was all that rain.

“The weather played a little bit of a factor, but we found a way to win,” Penix said.

Michael Penix Jr. completed a critical 3rd-and-3 pass for 19 yards to Rome Odunze in the final moments to keep the ball away from Oregon State and run the clock out. Penix mimicked firing a bow and arrow after that. It wasn’t a Heisman pose, but it was close.

“Shout out to my offensive line,” he said. “I ain’t got touched all day.”

Washington Huskies In Position To Move Up In CFP Rankings

The victory moved Washington to 11-0 on the season and earned it a berth in the Pac-12 championship game at 8-0 in the league. Considering the quality of its opponent, the College Football Playoff selection committee may move them up in the rankings on Tuesday. No. 3 Michigan (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) struggled for a 31-24 win against unranked Maryland (6-5, 3-5 Big Ten). Oregon State fell to 8-3 and 5-3.

Huskies Have Better Strength of Schedule Than Michigan

Michigan’s strength of schedule is very weak overall as well as it has played only one ranked opponent all season, which was in a 24-15 win over No. 10 Penn State last week.

No. 4 Florida State (11-0, 6-0 ACC) had no trouble with North Alabama in a 58-13 win, but the Seminoles lost starting quarterback Jordan Travis for the year due to a serious leg injury.