SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 28, 2013
Washington 31, BYU 16: Bishop Sankey rushed for 96 yards and a pair of 11-yard touchdowns to power the Huskies past the Cougars in the Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins hauled in a touchdown pass for Washington (9-4), which finished with nine wins for the first time since interim coach Marques Tuiasosopo led the Huskies to an 11-1 record as the starting quarterback in 2000. Former Boise State coach Chris Petersen will assume control of the program from Tuiasosopo, who filled the void left behind by Steve Sarkisian after he departed for USC.
Taysom Hill threw for 288 yards and ran for another 143 for BYU (8-5), which saw its school-record four-game bowl winning streak snapped and lost to the Washington for the first time in the last four meetings. Cody Hoffman recorded a season highs in catches (12) and receiving yards (167) to lead the Cougars’ receiving attack.
Sankey – the nation’s third-leading rusher – finished off the Huskies’ opening drive for the only score of the first quarter before Hill responded with a 1-yard run during the second quarter, which saw the two schools combine for 30 points. John Ross returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a score, giving Washington a lead it would not relinquish.
Justin Sorensen drilled a pair of field goals to cut BYU’s deficit to 14-13 and added a third second-quarter field goal as time expired in the first half after Sankey scored for the second time with 2:36 left before intermission. However, the Cougars could not sustain a drive in the second half – after stringing together four of at least 10 plays to close the first half – after Keith Price connected with Seferian-Jenkins on a 16-yard TD early in the third quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Price, who went 16-of-21 for a season-low 112 yards in his final college game, was replaced by Cyler Miles after leaving the game with a rib injury prior to the start of the fourth quarter and did not return. … BYU fell to 6-3 in bowl games under Bronco Mendenhall. … The Cougars outgained the Huskies 473-316, but did not help themselves by going 7-for-20 on third down.