SEATTLE — A Bruener broke free.
Husky Stadium has seen that before. In his four sparkling seasons in Seattle, tight end Mark Bruener — a 6-foot-4, 260-pound torpedo — piled up 90 catches and 1,012 receiving yards, leveraging his brand of balletic brutality into a first-round pick and a 14-year NFL career.
Three decades after Mark Bruener helped the Huskies to a national title as a true freshman, his son settled under an Anthony Brown pass during Oregon’s opening drive Saturday.
Then, Carson Bruener — a second-year freshman linebacker making just his second career start — provided a little UW déjà vu. He took the interception 50 yards the opposite way, throwing his shoulder into Brown before tumbling out of bounds at the 6-yard line.
The problem?
UW’s offense gained 19 yards fewer than Bruener in the entire first quarter.
In Washington’s 26-16 loss to Oregon, the offense’s most explosive player was an inside linebacker. And like Bruener’s return, a fourth-quarter comeback ultimately fell short at Husky Stadium.
But thanks to Bruener, that offense got off to a promising start. After the interception, sixth-year running back Sean McGrew plunged into the end zone two plays later, bouldering up the middle for a 1-yard score. The Huskies took a temporary 7-0 lead.
After which, the offense collectively fizzled.
UW went three-and-out on each of its next three drives, accumulating a total of 25 yards. And after a 12-yard completion to wide receiver Jalen McMillan netted Washington its first first down, Dylan Morris surrendered an interception two plays later — tossing an ill-conceived floater into triple coverage that Ducks defensive back Jordan Happle squeezed with a glove on one hand and a club on the other.
Washington kept finding ways not to score. On UW’s next drive, the Huskies marched all the way to the Oregon 23-yard line, before McGrew took a direct snap and was unceremoniously stoned on fourth-and-one.
But UW’s defense and special teams momentarily did their part. After Race Porter sent a bouncing 65-yard punt to the 1-yard line midway through the first quarter, linebacker Jackson Sirmon stood up Oregon running back Travis Dye for a safety to give UW a 9-3 lead. Porter dropped four of his five punts inside the 20, including back-to-back beauties at the 1- and 2-yard lines. Giles Jackson contributed a 43-yard kick return and a 21-yard punt return as well.
The problem?
Well, we’ve covered that already. UW had offensive drives end on the Oregon 46-yard line, the 50, the Oregon 42, the Oregon 24, the Oregon 46 (again) and the Oregon 49.
The Huskies scored zero points on those drives.
Meanwhile, UW’s run defense disintegrated in the second half. Oregon’s opening drive of the third quarter spanned six plays and 70 yards, the highlight being a 45-yard Travis Dye scamper up the gut. Brown capped it with a 2-yard score to give the Ducks a 17-9 lead.
And after a 33-yard Mycah Pittman punt return to the UW 22-yard line, the Ducks piled on — as Dye burst free for a 19-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 24-9.
In all, Oregon totaled 324 rushing yards with 5.9 yards per carry and a pair of rushing scores. Dye piled up a prolific 211 rushing yards with 7.5 yards per rush and a touchdown. Brown completed just 10 of 20 passes for 98 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
McGrew did find the end zone again in the fourth quarter — capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a diving 2-yard score. He led the Huskies with 67 total yards and a pair of touchdowns. Morris, meanwhile, completed 15 of 27 passes for just 111 yards and an interception.
Because of 15-yard penalties on back-to-back plays, Oregon was forced to punt with 2:14 left. But needing 90 yards to extend the game, UW promptly produced a Cade Otton drop, a Jalen McMillan drop and a Morris incompletion to go three-and-out again. And rather than going for it, UW opted to punt with 1:59 left — and Jaden Green sent a snap over Porter’s head and out of the end zone for a game-sealing safety.
Ultimately, Bruener’s interception was an optimistic outlier — a moment reminiscent of happier days.
