In the middle of Florida, away from the sun bathers and alligators, they held a sunshine state championship and a Husky reunion, also known as the Tampa Bay-Miami NFL game.
When it was over on Sunday, Vita Vea, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and the rest of the defending Super Bowl-champion Buccaneers proved far superior, taking a one-sided 45-17 victory in Tampa.
Yet at least one former University of Washington player wearing the teal and white colors of the Dolphins, running back Myles Gaskin, handled himself well in what proved to be a decided mismatch.
Gaskin caught 10 passes in as many targets for 74 yards and scored twice to keep things close for three quarters, reaching the end zone on receptions of 24 and 1 yards.
Yet it wasn't nearly enough for a Miami team (1-4) missing injured quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and having to face the supremely talented Bucs, who received 5 touchdown passes from the ageless one, Tom Brady.
Vea, plugging up the middle as only he can, provided a tackle, which included a half sack, while Tryon Shoyinka, sharing time with the return of veteran edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul from an injury layoff, supplied another tackle.
With Miami abandoning its run game, Gaskin was limited to to just 5 carries and 25 yards rushing, while fellow Husky and Dolphin runner Salvon Ahmed ran twice for 5 yards and caught 2 passes for 16 yards.
Elsewhere around the NFL, former Husky safety and Arizona Cardinals playmaker Budda Baker came up with his first interception of the season against the San Francisco 49ers and rookie quarterback Trey Lance, returning it 17 yards.
Baker, however, had just 1 tackle through the first half, whereas he usually lead the Cardinals in this category.
Levi Onwuzurike, a rookie defensive tackle from the UW, had his most productive NFL outing yet, picking up 4 tackles for the Detroit Lions in a 19-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Onwuzurike had 3 tackles in 3 games coming in.
After playing sparingly in the first four games, rookie cornerback Keith Taylor formerly of the Huskies logged 4 tackles, including a tackle for loss, for the Carolina Panthers in a 21-18 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. Taylor had 1 tackle coming in.
Elijah Molden, yet another rookie from the UW, supplied 3 tackles in the Tennessee Titans' 37-19 victory that kept the Jacksonville Jaguars and bar-stool newsmaker Urban Meyer winless in five tries.
In Houston, former Husky cornerback Myles Bryant made his season debut for the New England Patriots and provided a pair of tackles, including a TFL, in a 25-22 victory over the host Texans.
More NFL games involving Huskies were in progress.
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