Wide receiver Denzel Boston threw and caught a touchdown and posted career highs in receptions and yards to help Washington beat No. 23 Illinois 42-25 on Saturday, according to the Associated Press.
Boston, who played quarterback for six years growing up, said it almost felt natural to throw again.
The junior finished with 10 catches for 153 yards, pacing a Washington offense that piled up 42 points and six red-zone scores.
“That’s who he is,” head coach Jedd Fisch said. “I think he’s one of the best receivers in the country. And we’ve continued to find ways to get him the ball, and we’ll always continue to do that.”
The game’s turning point came just before halftime.
With 40 seconds left in the second quarter and Illinois leading 17-14, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. tossed a backward pass to Boston, who then threw across the field to running back Jonah Coleman for a 12-yard touchdown.
The Huskies (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) never trailed again.
“It was certainly nice to see Denzel take that one and run with it and throw the ball there to Jonah,” Fisch said. “All that was really good.”
Williams finished with four touchdown passes, including two to Dezmen Roebuck, who caught both scores in the first quarter as Washington jumped out to a 14-3 lead.
Illinois (5-3, 2-3) surged back with two second-quarter touchdowns, including a 5-yard connection from Luke Altmyer to Tanner Arkin.
But Washington dominated from there, outscoring the Illini 28-8 the rest of the way.
The win marked Washington’s second victory over a Top 25 team under Fisch, following last year’s 27-17 win over No. 10 Michigan.
The Huskies’ sixth win also equals their total from Fisch’s first season in 2024.
“It was great to get a win against a Top 25 team,” Fisch said. “They’re a very good football team. They won 10 games last year.”
Boston said the team is just getting started. “It’s great that we got six wins,” he said. “We got many more to go.”
One of Washington’s biggest improvements came on third down.
The Huskies entered the game ranked 14th in the Big Ten in third-down conversion rate but converted 9 of 11 tries against Illinois.
“I think the biggest thing is we weren’t in a lot of third-and-longs,” Fisch said.
Washington’s defense also made key plays.
Cornerback Tacario Davis and safety Rahshawn Clark each intercepted Altmyer, doubling the team’s takeaway total for the month.
“Takeaways are huge,” Fisch said. “I told them all week long, you get zero takeaways, you’ve got about a 25% chance to win… It was a good day in taking the ball away.”
Washington scored on all six of its red-zone trips, and only two of its eight drives ended without a touchdown.
Coleman increased his career-high total to 13 rushing touchdowns this season and now leads the team with 15 overall.
Illinois, which started the season 3-0 and was ranked as high as No. 9, has now dropped three of its last five games.
Washington will travel to Wisconsin on Nov. 8.
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