TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Jake Browning hit Dante Pettis on a 4-yard touchdown in overtime, Lavon Coleman ran for 181 yards and No. 9 Washington held off Arizona 35-28 Saturday night in both teams' Pac-12 opener.
Pettis made a tough grab in traffic on the first possession of overtime and Washington's defense forced a turnover on downs to eke out the victory.
The Huskies (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) had a hard time shaking Arizona (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12), which was down to its fourth-string running back after J.J. Taylor left in the third quarter with a left ankle injury.
Brandon Dawkins kept the Wildcats in it, dazzling with 176 yards and two touchdowns rushing, 167 yards and another score passing. He escaped what appeared to be a sack to hit Shun Brown on a 54-yard pass , then hit Josh Kern on a 3-yard TDpasswith 17 seconds left to tie the game at 28.
Coleman kept the Huskies moving with Browning limited to passes underneath and scored on a 55-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Browning finished 14 of 21 for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
THE TAKEAWAY
Washington: The Huskies faced adversity for the first time after three easy wins to open the season and survived. Washington failed to capitalize after manhandling the smaller Wildcats to start the second half - a 171-12 advantage in total yards - yet made the plays when it needed to down the stretch.
Arizona: The Wildcats' quick-tempo offense went into a slumber for a long stretch of the second half and its defense was manhandled at times by the Huskies. Arizona failed when it still had a shot at the end, but the bigger concern is depth after seeing another running back go down with an injury.
UP NEXT
Washington: The Huskies host No. 7 Stanford next Friday in what should be just the fourth game ever between top-10 teams at Husky Stadium.
Arizona: The Wildcats play at UCLA next Saturday.
