STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The Washington football program made its first ever trip to Penn State for the 16th annual White Out game, wore white jerseys and looked more the part of spectators than opponents, falling 35-6 for the fifth loss of the season.
After struggling to find any semblance of an offense in the first half led by fifth-year quarterback Will Rogers -- UW managed just 71 total yards of offense in the opening 30 minutes -- Huskies' coach Jedd Fisch turned to true freshman Demond Williams Jr. in the second half to find a spark.
While the 5-foot-10, 187-pound Arizona native managed to lead the offense on two scoring drives in the second half, nothing else changed that would bring Washington back in the game.
The Huskies (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten) saw a pair of Grady Gross field goals go through the upright -- one from 24-yards and the second from 35-yards -- after his first attempt from 45-yards to end the first possession of the game.
UW allowed PSU to convert all seven of their third down attempts in the first half, three of which directly resulted in touchdowns.
Things didn't improve much over the final 30 minutes as the defense allowed 10 third down conversions total on 12 attempts, a season high after giving up eight conversions the past two games at Indiana and against USC last Saturday.
Rogers struggled to get in any rhythm in the first half, completing 9-of-12 attempts for 59 yards -- only the second time in his college career the Mississippi native has ended a game with fewer than 100 yards passing -- with one interception, his fifth of the year, at the 7:31 mark in the second quarter.
Much of that was a result of a strong Nittany Lions' pass rush, led by standout edge Abdul Carter, who added two more sacks to his team-high eight sacks. In total, PSU bruised and battered the Huskies' offensive line to the tune of five sacks.
Trailing 14-0 the Mississippi State transfer tried to find senior wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter down the near sideline, but overthrew the pass. PSU safety Jaylen Reed took full advantage and hauled in his third pick of the season and the fifth of his career as a pseudo center fielder.
PSU turned the turnover into its third touchdown of the game, a 2-yard run by senior tight end Tyler Warren, for his second rushing score of the first half to grow the UW deficit to 21-0 with 3:22 left in the first half.
On the final PSU drive of the first half the Huskies surrendered a third score on third down, an 8-yard touchdown from quarterback Drew Allar to wide receiver Julian Fleming, to put the home team ahead 28-0 going into halftime.
UW senior linebacker Carson Bruener forced a fumble on Warren that opened the door for the offense to score its first points of the game early in the third quarter.
However, the offense failed to find the end zone on consecutive drives after getting down to the PSU 6-yard line, a stat befitting the rough night in State College for UW.
In total, the Huskies mustered a season-low 193 yards of total offense while surrendering 486 yards to the Nittany Lions, the most this season the defense has given up following a previous season-high of 459 to the Trojans last Saturday.
UW senior cornerback Thaddeus Dixon was ejected for targeting on PSU wide receiver Omari Evans on UW's first defensive series of the game, which forced redshirt freshman nickel Jordan Shaw into the second corner spot opposite of starter Ephesians Prysock.
Dixon will be eligible to return next Friday against the UCLA Bruins since his penalty came in the first half. NCAA rules state the player must sit out the next half of game action after being called for a targeting penalty.
Williams Jr., who finished with 60 yards pass on 6-of-10 attempts along with 10 carries for 38 yards, did not appear in the first half for the first time since Week 2 against Eastern Michigan, a 30-9 win, but came in at the start of the third quarter and remained in the game for the entire second half.
UW returns home next Friday to host the UCLA Bruins at Husky Stadium.