Penn State football (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) clawed through Washington (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) 28-25 on Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium.

Penn State’s offense exploded in the first half, racking up 28 points on 303 yards. After halftime, momentum shifted to the Huskies, who scored 19 unanswered points. Still, the Nittany Lions made enough plays to hold onto their second Big Ten win of the season.

How It Happened

Washington won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, which it muffed, but still returned to the 24.

Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. flipped a quick bubble screen out to Chris Lawson, who turned upfield for 8 yards. Jayden Limar took the shotgun handoff for another 15.

After Daryus Dixson forced a second-down incompletion, Williams floated in the pocket unpressured before scrambling up the gut to move the chains. Then, Limar picked up chunks of 5, 8, and 7 yards, as the Huskies trotted into the red zone.

Two incompletions from Williams sandwiched a short run by Limar, forcing Tyler Robles to kick a field goal to cap off Washington’s 14-play opening drive.

Rocco Becht and the offense threatened to go three-and-out after a fumbled snap went for -7 yards on first down, but No. 3 stayed patient and found Andrew Rappleyea over the middle to move the chains.

Carson Hansen took his first carry for 20 yards and likely would have gone for more if his lead blocker, Becht, had been able to put pads on pads. Becht kept the drive chugging forward with quick completions for 13 yards to Benjamin Brahmer and 12 to Chase Sowell.

Now inside the red zone, Hansen showed extreme patience in the backfield by waiting for a hole to open and sneaking through for a 12-yard touchdown. Ryan Barker nailed the extra point to give Penn State a 7-3 lead with 4:39 in the first quarter.

Penn State’s defense tightened up on its second stand, forcing a three-and-out to regain possession at its own 32.

After Cam Wallace carried for a yard, Becht went deep over the middle to Amarion Jackson, but it was broken up.

On 3rd-and-11, Becht scrambled for 10 yards, setting up a 4th-and-short. Campbell kept his offense out, as Becht trudged forward on a speed option for the first down right as the opening quarter ended.

Just outside the red zone, Becht tossed two incompletions, bringing up another third down, but No. 3 delivered a 24-yard strike to Zay Robinson over the middle to make it 14-3 after the Barker extra point.

Zay Robinson putting the Husky heads on a swivel pic.twitter.com/VCqEHOM3R8

— Onward State (@OnwardState) November 7, 2026

Tony Rojas slithered past a blocker to tackle Trey Cooley and force a third down, where Jahmir Joseph blanketed his receiver to force another punt.

Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser drew up a flashy double reverse end-around that ended in a 16-yard gain by Brett Eskildsen, but the drive quickly sputtered, sending out Nathan Tiyce to punt. He pinned the Huskies at their own 2-yard line with the help of a facemask penalty by the returning team.

Williams passed three times for a whopping zero yards, including a controversial third-down play that was ruled an incompletion rather than a fumble or sack for a safety or touchdown. Instead, the Huskies punted to Robinson, who danced around to Penn State’s 45.

Hansen kicked off the drive with a 10-yard carry. Then, Becht unloaded a deep ball to Sowell, who fought back to the ball and bounced into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown catch. Penn State went up 21-3 after Barker’s extra point.

Good to have you back, Chase Sowell! pic.twitter.com/phVb9nJalZ

— Onward State (@OnwardState) November 7, 2026

Trailing by three scores with 10 minutes left in the second quarter, the Husky offense finally kicked into gear as Limar broke off runs for 11 and 27 yards.

Penn State’s defense dug in near the red zone to force a 3rd-and-5, where Ty Blanding sacked Williams. Robles booted a 31-yard field goal to make it 21-6.

After a short run and an incompletion, Becht once again battled through third down with a 24-yard strike to Brahmer downfield.

Then, Wallace exploded down the sideline for a 46-yard touchdown. Barker’s leg made it 28-6.

CAM WALLACE HOUSE CALL pic.twitter.com/uNVLPcAZ0W

— Onward State (@OnwardState) November 7, 2026

Washington again couldn’t scrounge up 10 yards for a fresh set of downs, punting back to Robinson, who fair-caught it at his own 15 with 1:54 left in the half.

Penn State opted to bleed the clock rather than drive for more points, going into the locker room up 28-6.

The Nittany Lions opened the second half with two dangerously close tipped balls, but both hit the turf, avoiding turnovers. Tiyce punted to Washington’s 33.

Williams found a rhythm, rushing for 9 yards and then finding completions for 9, 8, and 11. On 3rd-and-8, Washington’s Rashid Williams caught Collins in a double move, but the pass was overthrown, setting up Robles’ third field goal of the day from 47 yards out.

Becht and the offense found themselves behind the chains again, but a deep ball to Sowell for 34 yards solved that issue for the moment. Still, three plays later, Campbell faced a 4th-and-7. Mouser dialed up a hook-and-ladder play from Becht to Brahmer to Martin, but the running back was tackled short of the sticks, resulting in a turnover on downs.

The Huskies crept into the red zone after Williams flicked a quick pass to Lawson, who picked up major yardage after the catch. Three plays later, Williams found Baron Naone for a 4-yard touchdown. Washington’s offense stayed on the field and converted the two-point conversion to make it 28-17.

Momentum began to drain from the Nittany Lions after their offense went three-and-out and punted back to Washington.

After Tony Rojas drew a holding penalty by coming free on a blitz, Williams forced a throw downfield on 3rd-and-14, which Ibn McDaniels intercepted.

Becht and the offense set up at their own 25, but on the first play of the drive, Hansen nearly fumbled. The call was reviewed, but upheld. Hansen then totted for four and three yards to move the chains.

The passive Penn State offense ran for two yards on first and second down. Then, Becht was sacked on 3rd-and-6, forcing another Tiyce punt.

Washington wasted no time making this game too close for comfort.

The Huskies executed a six-play, 69-yard drive that resulted in Williams finding Dezmen Roebuck in the end zone for the touchdown.

Jedd Fisch elected to go for two to make it a three-point game. After being chased in the backfield, Williams managed to float it to his tight end Naone, who made the toe-tap catch to cap off the successful try.

The conversion brought the score to 28-25 with just under eight minutes remaining in regulation.

Penn State faced a 3rd-and-6 after a Rocco Becht deep ball on second down went through the arms of Sowell. On that third down, Becht kept it himself, as a Hansen block paved the way for his quarterback to move the chains.

After the play, Sowell was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but a late review on Jacob Manu’s hit on Becht resulted in targeting, canceling out the penalty yardage. Manu was ejected from the game.

The Nittany Lions continued to march down the field, as a 36-yard dash from Hansen put Penn State deep in Husky territory.

With the offense stalled, Penn State faced a critical red zone 3rd-and-5, but caught a break when Washington was called for 12 men on defense.

The blue and white didn’t make it easy on themselves, but a quarterback sneak on 4th-and-1 from the 2-yard line gave Penn State the first down it needed to seal the deal.

Becht took three snaps out of victory formation, securing a 28-25 win and a 5-4 record.

Takeaways

• Coming into Saturday, it was imperative that Penn State’s run defense did not allow Washington, the Big Ten’s worst rushing attack, to generate success on the ground. Still, the Huskies totaled 134 yards on the ground.
• The Nittany Lion offense was exceptional on third down in the first half, going 4-6. Their consistent conversions sustained touchdown drives and controlled the time-of-possession battle 31:14-28:46.
• After missing the Purdue game, Chase Sowell returned and immediately picked up where he left off in Ann Arbor. Sowell caught 4 of 6 targets for 125 yards and a touchdown.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions return to Beaver Stadium to face Minnesota on Saturday, November 14. Kickoff will be at either 7 or 7:30 p.m.

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