Michael Penix Jr. stats today: Washington QB posts eye-popping numbers in Huskies' CFP win vs. Texas

Edward Sutelan

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Michael Penix Jr. stats today: Washington QB posts eye-popping numbers in Huskies' CFP win vs. Texas image

Michael Penix Jr. has been on a tear all season. And his elite passing has now propelled an undefeated Washington to the national championship game.

The Huskies put on an offensive display against No. 3 Texas, led by their quarterback who seemed to always drop a pass into the perfect spot at any given moment, en route to winning 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl.

It has been an impressive season all year for Penix. He came into the game having led the nation in passing yards with 4,218 and tossed 33 touchdowns to just nine interceptions in a campaign that earned him second place in the 2023 Heisman Trophy voting.

MORE: Washington survives late Texas push to move to national championship

How did Penix perform on Monday? Here's what you need to know.

Michael Penix Jr. stats today

  • 29-38 (76.3%), 430 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 3 rush attempts, 31 rushing yards

There might not be a better deep-ball passer in college football in the 2023 season, and Penix was putting that ability on display throughout the game. He averaged a whopping 11.3 yards per attempt on Monday, which was his third-best rate this season.

In total, his 430 passing yards ranked fourth for a College Football Playoff game, trailing only LSU's Joe Burrow in the 2019 Peach Bowl (493), Mac Jones in the 2021 national championship (464) and Burrow in the 2020 national championship (463).

Throughout the game, the offense was put on Penix's shoulders. On the Huskies' first drive, he connected with Ja'Lynn Polk on an explosive 77-yard pass to set the Huskies up at the Texas 2, which set up a touchdown to give Washington its first lead of the game.

Two drives later, he had two passes for 24-plus yards, including one in which he danced around in the pocket before flipping a perfect pass to Rome Odunze over the middle, to help lead Washington to another touchdown that put the Huskies up 14-7.

And on Washington's final drive of the first half, he rifled a pass that tipped off the fingers of a Texas defender and into the hands of Polk for his first passing touchdown of the game.

Washington's first drive of the second half was nearly all Penix, who completed all six pass attempts for 56 yards, and added a rush for 12 yards. The drive was capped off by this rifle through traffic to Jalen McMillan.

The next drive, though it ended only in a field goal, started with this unbelievable 19-yard pass to tight end Jack Westover.

On Washington's penultimate drive, with the Huskies looking to push their lead out to a full two scores, the Huskies kept their trust in Penix. Though they could have run out the clock, the Huskies kept the ball in Penix's hands, with him completing passes on the first four plays before finally running the ball. Then, Penix dropped a perfect pass to Odunze for 32 yards that vaulted Washington down to the Texas 10, helping to set up the field goal to push the lead to 37-28.

BENDER: Why Michigan will upend Washington in the College Football Playoff championship

Michael Penix Jr. career stats

Penix is in his sixth and final year in college football. Prior to 2022, he had spent four years at Indiana with the Hoosiers.

Year Team Grade G Cmp-Att (Cmp%) Pass Yds Pass TDs Ints Rush Atts Rush Yds Rush TDs
2018 Indiana FR 3 21-34 (61.8%) 219 1 0 7 45 0
2019 Indiana FR 7 110-160 (68.8%) 1394 10 4 22 119 2
2020 Indiana SO 6 124-220 (56.4%) 1645 14 4 18 25 2
2021 Indiana JR 5 87-162 (53.7%) 939 4 7 17 -24 2
2022 Washington JR 13 362-554 (65.3%) 4641 31 8 35 92 4
2023 Washington SR 13 307-466 (65.9%) 4218 33 9 29 -18 3
Career Overall -- 47 1011-1596 (63.3%) 13056 93 32 128 239 13

Edward Sutelan

Edward Sutelan Photo

Edward Sutelan joined The Sporting News in 2021 after covering high school sports for PennLive. Edward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019, where he gained experience covering the baseball, football and basketball teams. Edward also spent time working for The Columbus Dispatch and Cape Cod Times.