Cojones Kalen.
Huskies football coach Kalen DeBoer has surpassed every expectation since taking over the program before last season.
He implemented one of the most potent offenses in the country, snatched a Heisman candidate from Indiana and currently finds himself in the midst of a 19-game winning streak.
But his signature moment on Montlake — we'll go ahead and call it a legendary moment — came Saturday via a singular act of courage. Yeah ... that dude really went for it.
Trying to preserve their perfect season, the Huskies — tied with Washington State 21-21 at the time — faced a fourth-and-one from their own 29 with 1:07 left in the game. The punt team took the field initially but never with the intent to kick. Washington was simply trying to draw the Cougs offsides, and called a timeout after it failed to do so.
Then came the offense. Then came a snap to quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Then came a fake handoff to running back Dillon Johnson, followed by a flip to receiver Rome Odunze, who took it 23 yards for a first down.
Seven plays later, Huskies kicker Grady Gross drilled a 42-yard field goal as time expired to give UW — now 12-0 overall and 9-0 in the Pac-12 — the victory over its in-state rival. Talk all you want about DeBoer's creativity and coaching acumen. It's deserved. But Saturday's game was won with guts.
In your career, where does that rank in terms of risky plays?
"It's up there," said DeBeoer, adding that he knew he was going to go for it immediately. "I just wanted to go out, if at all possible, not be, you know, crazy but really wanted to make sure we had the ball to try and win the game, and it obviously took that play to do that."
The game likely would have been sealed for Washington State (5-7, 2-7) if the Huskies didn't convert. Their shot at reaching the College Football Playoff would have been jeopardized, too. Going 12-1 with a win over Oregon in the conference championship game next Friday might have still vaulted UW into the sport's final four, but it would have been far from a guarantee.
Moreover, the blowback levied at DeBoer would have been harsh, swift and enduring if that play didn't work. A great coach can't let hypothetical criticism talk him out of the right call, but you have to think that added to the anxiety in the moment.
Speaking of anxiety, Washington cornerback Jabbar Muhammad said he didn't even watch that fourth-down attempt. He relied purely on crowd noise to inform him of the result. But he wasn't surprised at the attempt. Neither was Gross. This is what UW does.
"I trust our coaches. We've gone for it on fourth down a few times the last couple years with him," said Gross, a former walk-on who was informed he was on scholarship in the locker room after his game-winner. "They're pretty ballsy, but they know what they're doing."
Well, this time they did — particularly in regards to the impeccable play call, which the Huskies had never run before. Previous fourth-down attempts in the DeBoer era have produced mixed results.
There were two conversions against Texas last year that helped Washigton win the Alamo Bowl and finish the season 11-2. But there was also a failed fourth-and-one from the UW 32 last year vs. Arizona State, which ended up knocking the Huskies out of Pac-12 title contention with its seven-point win.
Luckily for every fan rocking purple and gold Saturday, that didn't scare DeBoer away from future fourth-down adventures. We know the type of people fortune favors — and one of those people has the Huskies 12-0 for the first time since 1991.
"Man, what a play call," said Odunze, who also had two touchdown receptions Saturday. "Gotta give kudos to the offensive staff and coach DeBoer for believing in us on that."
I said it after the Huskies' win over Utah two weeks ago that they were the most entertaining team in the country. This is an undefeated team that has not had a game in hand before the fourth quarter since blowing out Cal on September 23. There was a trio of fourth-down defensive stops that saved the day vs. Oregon, a late-game pick-six that saved it vs. Arizona State, and a treasure chest of Heisman-esque throws by Penix that have saved them all season.
But none of those top Kalen's call Saturday.
It's easy to think you'd be brave in a certain moment. It's a lot harder to do it when the moment arrives.
But the DeBoer era is defined by courage. Go ahead and call it the Stone Age.
