Demond Williams passed for four touchdowns, Denzel Boston caught a score and passed for another, and the Washington Huskies rolled to a 42-25 win over No. 23 Illinois on Saturday in Seattle.
The Huskies (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten Conference) jumped ahead with a pair of time-consuming touchdown drives in the first quarter, going 75 yards in 5:23 and 67 yards in 4:12, each culminating in 13-yard Williams scoring strikes to Dezmen Roebuck.
Washington’s early 14-3 lead as a result of the two scores faded in the second quarter when Illinois (5-3, 2-3) scored on a pair of Luke Altmyer touchdown passes.
The Illini quarterback found Collin Dixon for a goal-line score midway through the second quarter, then hit Tanner Arkin for a five-yard touchdown just moments after a would-be Tacario Davis interception was negated for pass interference.
Davis made good on another pick-off opportunity in the third quarter, however.
With Washington back in the lead, 28-17, but Illinois driving into Huskies territory, linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale rocked Illinois wide receiver Hank Beatty just as Beatty pulled in a long reception. Davis was on the spot to snag the carom and return the interception into Illini territory.
Williams cashed in the ensuing possession when, rolling out of the pocket, he fired a pass on the move to a sliding Boston. The resulting five-yard grab marked the culmination of 21 straight Washington points after a pair of Jonah Coleman touchdowns.
Coleman ran for a seven-yard score midway through the third quarter and caught another just before halftime. Washington ran a trick, double-pass with Williams throwing to Boston wide on the left side, then Boston lobbing a 12-yard rainbow to a wide-open Coleman for the score.
Boston’s two-way scoring performance highlighted a 10-reception, 153-yard game. Coleman caught four passes for 32 yards and rushed 14 times for 75 yards.
Illinois’ Jordan Anderson finished a 75-yard Illini drive with a goal-line touchdown run in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. Washington tacked on one more score when Williams threw a two-yard score to Decker DeGraaf, then the Huskies successfully snuffed out any hope of an Illinois rally thanks to a running-into-the-kicker penalty on a late punt.
Williams went 26-of-33 for 280 yards and ran for another 66 yards on 10 carries. Altmyer went 22-of-34 for 199 yards for Illinois, and his 48 rushing yards led the Illini.
