Washington beat Nebraska 17-10 on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, and turnovers decided it. Nebraska threw 3 interceptions, Washington gave the ball away zero times, and one of those picks went back for the clinching score.

The Cornhuskers moved the ball better, outgaining Washington 387 total yards to 267. They ran for 132 yards against a Huskies ground game that produced almost nothing. They still lost.

How It Happened

Nebraska struck first. With 1:40 left in the first quarter, A. Colandrea hit C. Nelson for a 24-yard touchdown, and K. Cunanan added the kick.

Washington's offense stalled for most of the first half. T. Robles finally put points on the board with a 50-yard field goal with 41 seconds left before the break, leaving Nebraska ahead at halftime.

Neither team scored in the third quarter. Nebraska carried its lead deep into the fourth, and for most of the night the Huskies' offense gave little reason to think it would change. Washington converted just 5 of 15 third downs.

Then the game flipped in a hurry. With 1:30 to play, D. Williams Jr. found C. Lawson for a 25-yard touchdown, and Robles' kick gave Washington its first lead.

Nebraska needed only a field goal to tie, and it never got a real chance. At the 1:15 mark, a Colandrea pass was intercepted by A. McLaughlin, who returned it 48 yards for a touchdown. Robles converted again to put Washington up two scores.

J. Hohl's 42-yard field goal with 31 seconds left made it a one-score game, but that was as close as Nebraska got.

Key Performers

A. McLaughlin, Washington: Interception, 48-yard return TD
D. Williams Jr., Washington: 25-yard TD pass to C. Lawson
T. Robles, Washington: 50-yard FG, 2 PAT
Washington passing: 26-43, 235 YDS, 1-0 (TD-INT)
Washington rushing: 19 ATT, 32 YDS
Nebraska passing: 24-45, 255 YDS, 1-3 (TD-INT)
Nebraska rushing: 29 ATT, 132 YDS

McLaughlin's return is the play of the game. Washington's offense managed only 1 touchdown all night, so the defense supplied the margin.

The Huskies won without a running game. They averaged about 2 yards a carry, which put the whole offense on the passing attack, and that attack averaged a modest 5.5 yards per throw. Ball security kept them alive long enough for the late surge.

What It Means

Nebraska will look at this one as a game it should have won. The Cornhuskers ran for nearly 5 yards a carry, piled up 21 first downs to Washington's 17, and controlled possession by a small margin. Three interceptions undid all of it.

Penalties added to the damage. Both teams were flagged 8 times, but Nebraska's cost 74 yards to Washington's 44, a hidden-yardage gap that adds up in a one-score game.

Both teams now sit at 5-3. Washington improves to 2-1 on the road with a win its defense and kicker carried as much as its offense did. Nebraska falls to 4-2 at home, and the lesson is plain: an offense that moves the ball this well cannot hand over possessions three times and expect to survive.