Sep 24, 2016; Tucson, AZ, USA; Washington Huskies wide receiver Dante Pettis (8) scores the game winning touchdown during overtime against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Washington won 35-28 in overtime. Photo Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
TUCSON, Ariz. — Washington wide receiver Dante Pettis caught a 4-yard touchdown pass in overtime, running back Lavon Coleman ran for a career-high 181 yards, and the No. 9 Huskies beat Arizona 35-28 in the Pac-12 opener for both teams at Arizona Stadium on Saturday night.
Washington (4-0) scored on the opening possession of overtime, aided by Coleman’s 24-yard run on the first play.
Arizona (2-2) reached the 11 on its possession, but a bad snap on fourth-and-10 threw off the timing of the play and quarterback Brandon Dawkins threw incomplete into the end zone.
Coleman, a junior, carried only 11 times, while Myles Gaskins had 24 carries for 85 yards.
Arizona tied the game at 21 with 4:45 to go on Dawkins’ 2-yard keeper, but Coleman put the Huskies up with a 55-yard touchdown burst through the left side with 3:25 left.
Dawkins, who earlier had runs of 79 and 56 yards and finished with 176 on the ground and two touchdowns, kept Arizona alive by escaping a sack and firing a 54-yard pass down field to receiver Shun Brown. The Wildcats converted on fourth-and-3 at the 7 and Dawkins hit tight end Josh Kern for a 3-yard touchdown with 17 seconds to go for a tie game.
Washington receiver John Ross scored on a 32-yard end-around and a 12-yard pass in the first half as the Huskies won their seventh consecutive game.
Washington quarterback Jake Browning broke a 14-14 tie in the third quarter with a 3-yard run, but the Huskies squandered chances to pad the advantage.
They turned the ball over on downs at the Arizona 28, Browning was picked off by cornerback Dane Cruikshank at the Arizona 1, and Cameron Van Winkle missed a 40-yard field goal, his second miss of the night.
Dawkins completed 19 of 31 passes for 167 yards, with one touchdown and an interception.
Browning was 14 of 21 for 160 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
Arizona scored on the opening possession, driving 75 yards on 15 plays. The Wildcats converted fourth-and-1 at the Washington 24, and scored two plays later on running back J.J. Taylor’s 4-yard run.
That marked the first touchdown allowed this season by Washington’s first-string defense.
Arizona attacked again on its second possession, but the Huskies’ defense avoided harm when the Wildcats came up a yard short on Taylor’s fourth-and-goal run from the 2.
That seemed to fuel the Huskies, who struck for a 37-yard completion to receiver Chico McClatcher to help set up an 32-yard end-around for a touchdown by Ross, who was sprung by a crack-back block by Browning.
Dawkins responded with a 79-yard touchdown on a zone-read run. He slipped a tackle in the backfield, sped through traffic to the right and raced down the sideline untouched for a 14-7 lead with 9:06 to go in the half.
Washington continued its big plays, with Coleman’s 38-yard run setting up a 12-yard scoring pass over the middle to Ross.
The Huskies had the last good scoring chance of the half after Arizona punt returner Nate Phillips mishandled a bouncing punt, with Washington recovering at the Arizona 31. That resulted in a 45-yard field goal try by Van Winkle, who missed off the left upright as time expired.
The quarterbacks combined to complete their first 18 passes, 11 by Dawkins. There wasn’t an incompletion until 4:56 was left before halftime.
NOTES: Arizona starting QB Anu Solomon did not dress. He missed his third consecutive game because of a knee injury suffered in practice after the season-opener. … Arizona starting RB Nick Wilson (ankle) and OLB DeAndre’ Miller (ankle) did not play because of injuries suffered last week against Hawaii. … Scouts from the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars were at the game. … The home team had won the previous eight meetings. … Washington WR Brayden Lenius, who was suspended for the first three games because of an unspecified violation of team rules, did not make the trip. He caught 26 passes last season. … Washington had scored at least 41 points in its previous six games.
