Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. wins MVP honors of 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game
It was a historic night on Friday night for the Washington Huskies, as they defeated the Oregon Ducks for the second time in 2023, 34-31, in yet another classic. College football fans were treated to one of the best games of the season, and they got to see another beautiful performance from Michael Penix, Jr. as he continued to place some beautiful deep balls down the field throughout the game.
He won MVP honors in the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game, after he guided his team to an undefeated season and what’s expected to be a birth in the upcoming College Football Playoff.
The official announcement of the field for the 2023 College Football Playoff will be on Sunday at noon EST.
Penix carved up the Oregon secondary on Friday night, thanks to his offensive line and the running backs repeatedly picking up the blitzers from the Ducks’ defense. That allowed him enough time in the pocket to allow his receivers to release deep down the field. And Penix and company did the rest, spinning some of the beautiful spirals that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from him over the years.
Penix finished with 319 passing yards, an interception, and a touchdown, while completing 27 of his 39 passes. The performance was his ninth game this year of 300 or more passing yards. In three of those games, he threw for over 400 yards.
For the 2023 season, he’s now completed 65.9% of his passes, while throwing for 4,218 passing yards and 33 touchdowns.
Both of his star receivers, Jalen McMillan (131 yards) and Rome Odunze (102 yards), hauled in over 100 receiving yards each in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Once he was named the Pac-12 Championship Game MVP, Penix spoke with Holly Rowe on the stage on the field of the Las Vegas Raiders. He was being showered with Heisman chants from fans and his teammates as he was accepting the award.
What does it mean to him to become the face and the leader of the Huskies?
“Man, it means the world, man. I got my boy EJ right here behind me. He told me a quote. He was like, “So it’s written, so it shall be done. You know, that’s what we go by. It goes all glory to God. I know that resonated with everybody in here. We’re just super blessed and super excited for this opportunity to be able to come out as the last Pac-12 champs,” Penix said.
The Washington offensive line was in tears after the Huskies game-winning scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. What did the team and his offensive line mean to him on Friday night?
“Man, this team means the world. We put a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears each and every day to get to this moment. And that offensive line…for those guys just making sure everybody’s prepared each and every day. Allowing me to have a clean pocket. To be able to get the ball to my weapons. It’s just a blessing to be able to have. I thank them each and every day for it. I’m gonna have to take them out somewhere sometime soon,” Penix continued.
Penix had a few final words he had to add to the end of his interview, channeling his inner Geno Smith. “And I gotta say, man, they tried to write us off, but we ain’t write back! We ain’t write back!” he smiled.
It was Washington’s first Pac-12 Championship since 2018. Next up for the Huskies, they’ll wait until Sunday at noon to see who they will face in the upcoming College Football Playoff.