No. 4 Washington stays undefeated with last-second 24-21 victory over rival Washington State

No. 4 Washington closed out an undefeated regular season in dramatic fashion.

In the final Pac-12 edition of the Apple Cup, the Huskies used a last-second 42-yard field goal by Grady Gross to stun rival Washington State 24-21 and go to the Pac-12 title game with a perfect 12-0 record.

It was an incredibly clutch kick by Gross, but the victory will be remembered more for a gutsy play call by Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer. With the game tied at 21-21, the Huskies had fourth-and-1 at their own 29-yard line with 1:11 to play.

DeBoer first tried to draw the Cougars offside. When that didn’t work, he sent Michael Penix and the offense back onto the field and called a misdirection play.

Penix, one of the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy, faked a handoff to Dillon Johnson and then flipped the ball to star receiver Rome Odunze on a reverse. Washington State’s defense had fought valiantly all afternoon, but did not account for Odunze on this play.

Odunze received the ball with a full head of steam and took off for a 23-yard gain out to midfield.

Later in the drive, a roughing the passer penalty and a few short gains put the Huskies into range for Gross. He had missed a few kicks lately, but this time he drilled it to wrap up the second undefeated regular season in Washington program history.

A loss would have been a significant blow for Washington’s College Football Playoff hopes. Now the Huskies will enter next weekend’s Pac-12 title game vs. Oregon as one of the few remaining undefeated teams in the country.

Washington beat Oregon 36-33 back on Oct. 14. It was the Ducks’ only loss of the season, and now they will be out for revenge next weekend in Las Vegas.

Washington is now a perfect 6-0 in one-score games this season. UW’s last three victories have been decided by a total of 12 points.