Washington Huskies Upset by Arizona State; 4th Top-10 Team to Lose in Week 7

The Washington Huskies joined the Clemson Tigers, Washington State Cougars and Auburn Tigers as top-10 teams to lose in Week 7, falling to the Arizona State Sun Devils 13-7.

The Huskies were held to just 230 total yards in the loss, while Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins finished 29-of-41 for 245 yards.

Washington quarterback Jake Browning was sacked five times, meanwhile, and the Huskies were held scoreless until the 5:32 mark in the fourth quarter.

"A tough day at the office," Washington head coach Chris Petersen said after the loss, per the Associated Press. "We could not get any rhythm going whatsoever and when we did we get a penalty and couldn't capitalize in the red zone. One of the more frustrating nights we have had in a long time on offense."

Indeed, coming into the game the Huskies had scored 30 or more points and accumulated at least 350 total yards in every contest.

"We expected to win this game," Arizona State defensive back J'Marcus Rhodes told the AP. "It's not a shock to us. This game is what's going to turn the ship around. We dominated them tonight."

Perhaps the stage was set for an upset.

Washington has now lost seven straight times at Arizona State, last winning in Tempe in 2001. The Sun Devils also came off a bye, giving them an extra week to prepare for the Huskies. And Washington's special teams didn't do the team any favors, as kicker Van Soderberg missed two chip-shot field goals from 21 and 27 yards.

On the other hand, Arizona State's defense wasn't exactly stout coming into Saturday evening. As Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports noted, "The Sun Devils entered play ranked 120th in FBS out of 130 teams in total defense at 484.2 yards per game and 127th in yards per play 6.92" and had given up 30 or more points in 11 straight games.

They had also struggled against top-five competition, per ESPN Stats & Info: 

The Huskies needed a defensive stop after Browning's quarterback sneak late in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to six points. But Washington's defense couldn't get the Sun Devils off the field.

That final drive wasn't without drama, however. Arizona State converted a wild 4th-and-3, with Wilkins managing to complete a pass that somehow slipped past two Huskies: 

Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer had a theory for how Wilkins pulled it off: 

The loss, obviously, was a major blow for Washington's playoff hopes. And with Washington State also losing, the Pac-12 is now without a single undefeated program. Rob Stone of Fox Sports suspects that won't bode well for the conference's postseason hopes: 

Washington will now have a bye week before facing UCLA on Oct. 28, while Arizona State has another difficult matchup next week against Utah on Saturday.