The Arizona State defense was handed the formidable task of dousing No. 21 Washington and its daunting flamethrower in quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

The Huskies added plenty of fuel to Penix’s fiery arm. Vertical playmakers attempted to stretch the defense. Pre-snap motion and shifts on a boatload of Washington’s plays were intended to scramble the unit’s communication and alignment. For the most part, the subterfuge was successful.

Penix, who led the FBS in passing yards heading into the game, lit up the Sun Devils for 311 passing yards and completed 62% of his passes. On top of that, Washington entered the game determined to run the ball (like most of ASU’s opponents) and utilized nine rushers to collect 130 yards.

But ASU was locked into a bend-don’t-break attitude. The big downfield shots engineered by Penix’s strong arm never occurred – the senior’s longest pass was 24 yards. Penix did not throw a touchdown for the first time this season, although the Huskies had four rushing touchdowns in the red zone.

The game plan was tested with adversity, but it worked. ASU knocked off Washington to snap a four-game losing skid. The team improved to 1-2 in Pac-12 play and 2-4 overall.

“The key word for the day was trust,” cornerback Isaiah Johnson said. “Trust the guy beside you, in front of you, behind you. Speaking for myself, I have a ‘nobody is better than me’ mentality, so I just try to spread that across the field that nobody is better than us.

“We might give up a play, but nobody is better than us. I feel like that mentality was the best approach we could have had for this game, and it was a great outcome.”

Johnson, a redshirt freshman, made his second career start Saturday. Penix challenged him early, converting back-to-back throws on Johnson’s off-coverage cushion to propel the Huskies into scoring position at the end of the first quarter. But the 6-1, 190-pound cornerback remained on the field for the rest of the game, racking up six tackles and a pass breakup. When it came time for him to perform in the clutch, Johnson delivered by not allowing a catch on the final drive.

“Making big plays, big stops, I thought we did way better on third down this week,” Johnson said, listing off the achievements of the secondary against Washington. “Making adjustments. It really all goes back to playing as one. Get the job done for the offense so they can go out and do their job.”

That job was completed in several ways. Washington punted once and turned the ball over on downs three times. But the turning point for ASU was its ability to capitalize on Washington’s self-inflicted measures.

Penix rocketed a pass off his offensive lineman’s helmet in the second quarter, deflecting the ball and sending it careening skyward. Defensive back Jordan Clark tracked the ball on its descent and fielded it like a kick returner, returning the ball 37 yards for a pick-six. Clark was not touched as he skated into the end zone and cashed the interception in.

“I had a smooth feeling we were getting it,” Johnson grinned. “I saw JC sprint as hard as he could to go get it. I said, ‘oh yeah, he’s going to the crib.’ It’s a great feeling for my guy. I’m happy for him.”

“It definitely felt like slow-motion,” Clark said. “I don’t know how much it changed the game because our offense was clicking anyways. We just needed a bit of momentum on defense. I think that kind of just gave us some swagger. Some of the energy that we lost, we got back.”

Aside from his pinnacle interception, Clark was a tremendous asset for the defense as he alternated between the safety and nickel cornerback positions. He finished with nine tackles, along with his pick-six, which ranked second on the team. Clark also recorded one pass breakup, a downhill hammer on third-and-5 toward the beginning of the second quarter, which forced Washington to kick a field goal.

It was inevitable that the ball would be in Penix’s hands to lead Washington to a comeback at the end of the game. But Washington faltered in even doing that. On 3rd-and-10, the center snapped the ball past Penix’s legs and placed the Huskies 35 yards behind the line of scrimmage for their final heave.

Because of the setback, Penix failed to get the ball into the end zone despite his supreme arm talent. The transfer safety duo of Chris Edmonds and Khoury Bethley collectively smacked Penix’s desperation hail mary to the ground with only zeros showing on the clock. Pandemonium ensued as the Sun Devil faithful mobbed the field in celebration of the upset win.

“The affirmation of the win makes everything sweet,” ASU interim head coach Shaun Aguano said.

Up next for Arizona State is its bye week, giving the team two weeks to prepare for its road date with Stanford. The team must get healthy – two defensive line starters sat out with injuries, and the lack of pressure on Penix was noticeable up until Washington’s final drive when BJ Green and Travez Moore recorded ASU’s first sack of the game. The run defense needs to be cleaned up even further as well.

But Aguano has the attention of the team, and now he has a result to back up his preachings. He might just have turned the favor of the fans, too.

“We made a lot of people happy tonight,” Aguano said. “And that makes me feel good.”