The Huskies won two of their first three games, and then faced a gauntlet of four nationally ranked teams in a five-week span. Washington won two of the five, knocking off Stanford and Oregon State. The Huskies then had a four-game winning streak to become bowl eligible, but ended the regular season with a thud by blowing an 18-point lead and losing the Apple Cup to Washington State 31-28 in overtime. Washington will be making its third consecutive bowl appearance under head coach Steve Sarkisian.
University of Washington 2012 Schedule/Results
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/1/12 | vs. SD State | — | — | W | 21-12 | 1-0 |
| 9/8/12 | at LSU | — | 3 | L | 41-3 | 1-1 |
| 9/15/12 | vs. Port. State | — | — | W | 52-13 | 2-1 |
| 9/27/12 | vs. Stanford | — | 18 | W | 17-13 | 3-1 |
| 10/6/12 | at Oregon | 23 | 2 | L | 52-21 | 3-2 |
| 10/13/12 | vs. USC | — | 11 | L | 24-14 | 3-3 |
| 10/20/12 | at Arizona | — | — | L | 52-17 | 3-4 |
| 10/27/12 | vs. OSU | — | 7 | W | 20-17 | 4-4 |
| 11/2/12 | at California | — | — | W | 21-13 | 5-4 |
| 11/10/12 | vs. Utah | — | — | W | 34-15 | 6-4 |
| 11/17/12 | at Colorado | — | — | W | 38-3 | 7-4 |
| 11/23/12 | at WSU | — | — | L | 31-28 | 7-5 |
| 12/22/12 | vs. Boise St. | — | — | — | —– | — |
2012 RECAPS
UW 21, San Diego State 12 (Sept. 1): Keith Price completed 25 of 35 passes for 222 yards and an eight-yard TD to Kasen Williams, and Will Shamburger returned a fumble 44 yards for a touchdown. The UW defense, maligned throughout the 2011 season, gave up 199 rushing yards but just 128 passing yards, recovered two fumbles, had three sacks and an interception.
LSU 41, Washington 3 (Sept. 8): No. 3 LSU sacked Price four times, hit him an additional dozen times and romped easily to victory in the Huskies’ first trip to the Southeastern Conference since 1983. LSU outgained Washington 437 yards to 170 and held Price to 157 passing yards with one interception.
UW 52, Portland State 13 (Sept. 15): Price threw three touchdown passes in the first 23 minutes, Bishop Sankey ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns, Shaq Thompson blocked a field goal that Tre Watson returned 79 yards for a touchdown, and the Huskies massacred the Vikings at CenturyLink Field. It marked the Huskies’ biggest win since a 53-3 win over Idaho in 2001.
UW 17, Stanford 13 (Sept. 27): Price threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Williams late in the fourth quarter and Desmond Trufant made a game-sealing interception as Washington shocked No. 8 Stanford at CenturyLink Field. One year after UW lost to Stanford by 44 points and a week after the Cardinal defeated national title contender USC, Washington used a stifling defense to upset Stanford, holding the Cardinal to just 235 yards and no offensive touchdowns. Sankey ran for 144 yards and scored on a 61-yard run on the last play of the third quarter, sparking Washington’s stagnant offense.
Oregon 52, UW 21 (Oct. 6): Oregon freshman Marcus Mariota passed for four touchdowns and the No. 2 Ducks recorded their ninth consecutive victory over UW in Eugene. The 23rd-ranked Huskies aided the Oregon cause with a series of mistakes, including three personal fouls. Price completed 19 of 31 for 145 yards and two interceptions. Sankey scored on a pair of short runs and Eric Wilson added a TD with 32 seconds to play.
USC 24, UW 14 (Oct. 13): Anthony Brown blocked a punt and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown, Jawanza Starling forced a key fourth-quarter fumble, and No. 11 USC used big plays from its defense and special teams to overcome an inconsistent offense. The Huskies held the Trojans (5-1, 3-1 Pac-12) scoreless in the second half but got help from a defense that sacked Price five times and forced four turnovers to give USC its third straight win. The Huskies’ points were on a 17-yard TD pass from Price to Williams and a two-yard pass from Price to Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
Arizona 52, UW 17 (Oct. 20): Matt Scott threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns, Ka’Deem Carey ran for 172 yards and Arizona raced out of its bye week with a rout. The Wildcats had their way with Washington’s defense from the opening drive, eclipsing 500 total yards (533) for the sixth time this season. Washington (3-4, 1-3) had no chance against Arizona’s fast-paced offense. Price had another so-so game in the Huskies’ third straight loss. Price matched Scott with 256 yards passing, but his line didn’t look quite as good, needing 52 attempts to get there, and with two interceptions to offset his one touchdown.
UW 20, Oregon State 17 (Oct. 27): The Huskies stemmed a season spiraling downward and ended No. 7 Oregon State’s shot at the first 7-0 start in school history at CenturyLink Field. Sankey ran for 92 yards and two touchdowns, Travis Coons kicked a 30-yard field goal with 1:20 left and Washington took advantage of four interceptions from Oregon State’s Sean Mannion. OSU became the second AP Top 10 team to be upset by the Huskies at home this season. Washington knocked off then-No. 8 Stanford in late September. Price, who committed 10 turnovers in the previous three games, started Washington’s decisive drive hitting Seferian-Jenkins for 20 yards, just his third catch of the night. On third-and-7, Williams made a juggling catch along the sideline for 19 yards and an additional 15 yards was tacked on for a personal foul against Oregon State to move the ball to the Beavers’ 18 to set up Coons’ game-winner.
UW 21, California 13 (Nov. 2): Sankey ran for 189 yards and two touchdowns and Seferian-Jenkins caught eight passes for 152 yards and a touchdown, which snapped the Huskies’ six-game road losing streak. The UW won despite four turnovers and 12 penalties for 108 yards.
UW 34, Utah 15 (Nov. 10): Price finally broke out, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another. Washington became the last BCS conference team to top 21 points against an FBS opponent when Sankey scored on a two-yard toss sweep late in the third quarter for a 27-15 lead. Sankey finished with 162 yards on 36 carries and became the 11th 1,000-yard rusher in Washington history. Price threw touchdowns to Williams and DiAndre Campbell and ran for a four-yard TD, his first rushing touchdown this season.
UW 38, Colorado 3 (Nov. 17): Price tied a school record by throwing touchdown passes to five different receivers as the Huskies improved to 7-4. The Huskies also had a 139-yard rushing performance from Sankey while holding the Buffaloes to just 141 offensive yards.
WSU 31, UW 28 (Nov. 23): Washington committed a team record-tying 18 penalties, including six 15-yard fouls, and blew an 18-point lead in losing the 105th Apple Cup to Washington State in Pullman. On the last play of regulation, Coons missed a field goal, and on the first play of overtime Price threw an interception. That led to a 27-yard field goal by Washington State’s Andrew Furney to win the game.
