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Huskies take on Boise State in Las Vegas Bowl

LAS VEGAS — The 7-5 Washington Huskies will look to send head coach Chris Petersen out in style with a win in Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl against the 12-1 Boise State Broncos.

Petersen announced Dec. 2 that he would be stepping down as head coach following the Huskies’ final game. Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake will take over as head coach in Petersen’s place.

Petersen came to UW in 2014 after leading Boise State to a 92-12 record in eight seasons.

“Personally speaking, there are a lot of other teams that I’d probably like to be playing for this last time, but it is what it is. It’s interesting how sometimes these things work out,” Petersen said of facing Boise State in his last game at Washington. See Chris Francis’ Friday afternoon interview with Petersen below.

The Huskies began the season with lofty expectations and were ranked No. 13 in the country in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.

An early-season home loss in a lightning delay to the California Bears dropped the Huskies a bit in the standings, but they rallied for three straight wins on their way to a 4-1 record.

However, Washington lost four of its next six games before rallying to defeat the Washington State Cougars 31-13 in the Apple Cup.

The Las Vegas Bowl might be the final game for junior quarterback Jacob Eason as he weighs leaving the program early for the NFL. Eason has thrown for 2,922 yards and 22 touchdowns this season

Left tackle Trey Adams and tight end Hunter Bryant, the Huskies’ leading receiver, recently announced they would be sitting out the bowl game as they prepare for the NFL Draft.

On the other side, the Broncos come into Saturday’s matchup riding a six-game winning streak. Their only loss of the season came on the road against the BYU Cougars – a team that Washington beat 45-19 in September.

Running back George Holani leads the Broncos with 979 rushing yards, and wide receiver John Hightower has 498 receptions for 923 yards and eight touchdowns.

Boise State defeated Washington 28-26 in the 2012 Las Vegas Bowl, but the series between the two schools is tied 2-2 all time.

Saturday’s game begins at 4:30 p.m.