Video: Michael Penix Jr channels his inner Geno Smith in post-game speech

The Washington Huskies were 9.5-point underdogs to the Oregon Ducks. Michael Penix Jr and the Huskies wrote back.

At least one Seattle football team is going to the playoffs in January.

The Washington Huskies, having already beaten the Oregon Ducks in regular season play, were sizable 9.5-point underdogs in the Pac-12 championship rematch in Las Vegas. In what stands as the final game in this conference’s history, the Huskies jumped out to a 20-3 lead, then fell behind 24-20, but answered back and punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff with a 34-31 win.

Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Penix Jr passed for 319 yards and threw the touchdown that effectively put the game out of reach. Obviously Penix has been on the radar of some Seattle Seahawks fans for the potential of Seattle looking locally for a rookie quarterback in the 2024 draft.

I don’t know if Penix will go to the Seahawks as the potential successor to Geno Smith, but he certainly is a fan of Geno’s “They wrote me off, but I ain’t write back though!” quote from the Denver Broncos game last season. Have a listen to the modified version from the trophy presentation.

Doesn’t quite hit the same as the original, but it’ll do.

We’ll be seeing Penix and the Huskies in the CFP. Their opponent will be announced on Sunday, but if the form guide holds then it’s probably the Rose Bowl against the Michigan Wolverines. UW will be seeing Michigan plenty in years to come once they join the Big Ten in 2024.

A Seattle football team taking on a Jim Harbaugh-coached team with a trip to the title game on the line? Sounds familiar.

Congrats to the Huskies, the final Pac-12 football champions.