SANTA CLARA, Calif._In a showdown of the league's best defenses, Washington left no doubt.
The Huskies, for the first time in 16 years, are back on top of the Pac-12 Conference.
Taylor Rapp returned an interception for a touchdown on the first snap of the second half to highlight another dominant performance from Washington's defense, and the No. 4 Huskies stuffed No. 9 Colorado, 41-10, in the Pac-12 championship game Friday at Levi's Stadium.
It's the first conference championship since 2000 for the Huskies (12-1), who will almost certainly be rewarded with their first College Football Playoff berth. The CFP committee on Sunday will release its final rankings of the season, and the Huskies bolstered their case with an impressive top-10 win Friday night.
Washington has won 12 games in a season for just the second time in school history, joining the 12-0 national champions from 1991.
Rapp, the true freshman safety from Bellingham, had two of the Huskies' three interceptions, earning the game's MVP award to go with the Pac-12 freshman defensive player of the year award he won earlier in the week.
Safety Ezekiel Turner had UW's third interception of the second half, and the Huskies held the Buffaloes (10-3) to 163 yards of total offense and just three points in the second half.
Colorado senior quarterback Sefo Liufau, a graduate of Tacoma's Bellarmine Prep, went down with an apparent ankle injury on the Buffaloes' first series. He returned to start the third quarter, but his first pass went off the hands of receiver Jay MacIntyre and into the hands of Rapp, who returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
Rapp added his second interception on Colorado's next possession.
The Huskies won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, establishing a tough running game early with Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman to eventually wear down a Colorado defense that came into the game ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 in fewest yards allowed.
Gaskin (142 yards) and Coleman (101 yards) both rushed for 100 yards to help offset an uncharacteristically slow start from star quarterback Jake Browning.
Browning had statistically his worst game of the season against Colorado's excellent defensive secondary, completing just 9-of-24 passes for 118 yards. He did have two touchdown passes to tie Marcus Mariota for second place on the Pac-12's single-season list with 42, one shy of Jared Goff's 2015 record.
Browning's second touchdown pass was one of the highlights of the season from John Ross III. Browning was hit from behind as he threw the pass to the flat on his right. Ross, with a defender closing in, leaped and reach high to haul in the pass with his right hand, as if casually pulling down a rebound. He then scooted untouched along the sideline for a 19-yard touchdown, extending UW's lead to 31-7.
Chico McClatcher added an 8-yard touchdown run with 4:32 left in the game to make it 41-10.
The loss ends a charmed season for Colorado (10-3), who had the greatest one-year turnaround in conference history to win the Pac-12 South. The Buffaloes will now await their fate Sunday to determine if they_or USC (9-3) _ will likely be headed to the Rose Bowl.
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