Twenty-four hours after getting turned away at the airport, the University of Washington football team on Saturday found itself in another ground stop.

For the longest time, the Huskies couldn't get down the runway.

At Michigan State, they failed to connect on the deep pass -- and it was there.

Twice quarterback Demond Williams Jr. wound up and overshot wide-open and fully-extended wide receivers who got a hand on each throw but couldn't pull them in.

This was just a temporary delay once more. As it did with its idled chartered jet, the UW was able to reach its final destination and check in.

On a third long-distance attempt, Williams found Chris Lawson behind two defenders for a 58-yard touchdown strike and a play that seemed to wake up the road-weary Huskies and get them moving toward a 21-14 victory at Spartans Stadium.

Jayden Limar supplied the game-deciding score with a 1-yard plunge with 2:24 remaining, Lawson ended up with a pair of TD catches and the UW (6-4 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) won its third consecutive conference road game to became bowl eligible.

"I was just doing my job," Lawson told the Big Ten Network. "When you're doing your job, the ball is going to find you."

After arriving in East Lansing at the ungodly hour of 3 a.m. because of the nationwide air travel shutdown, the Huskies needed some time to rub their eyes, have only limited sleep and get their bearings.

Trailing 7-0, the Huskies opened their second possession by sending one in the direction of Lawson, who was all by himself behind the secondary at the Michigan State 35. He got a hand on the football but couldn't secure it.

Four plays later, Williams spotted Dezmen Roebuck all alone at the Spartans 10 but again sent the football just out of reach of his uncovered receiver, who could touch it but couldn't pull it in.

Two snaps later, the Huskies finally hit the home run.

With good pocket protection, Williams waited on Lawson to get behind two Michigan State defenders and then put the ball in his hands at the goal line, good for a 7-7 lead with10:28 left in the second quarter.

Midway through the quarter, he put the Huskies up 14-7 with a 17-yard scoring catch in which left a Spartans receiver in his wake.

Lawson finished with 5 catches for 124 yards and his two scores, his third time over 100 yards in a game.

🙌☔️ pic.twitter.com/hgnbMALuiu

— Washington Football (@UW_Football) November 14, 2026

Enjoying his second-best passing outing of the season, Williams completed 22 of 33 throws for 288 yards and the 2 TDs to Lawson, with his yardage total surpassed only by his 373 against Eastern Washington.

"There was a lot of adversity for our football team over 24 hours and I thought our team handled it well," coach Jedd Fisch said.

Coming off a big win over rival Michigan, the Spartans had their own issues in this one -- primarily keeping their quarterbacks healthy and on the field. Early in the fourth quarter, they briefly were forced to use their third-team signal-caller.

Michigan State lost starter Allesio Milivojevic to a hand injury after just a quarter and a half. On a keeper, Milivojevic ran to his right and took a fierce hit from Husky linebacker Jacob Manu and didn't get up right away. He left the field gingerly holding his left hand and did not play again.

Spartans back-up quarterback Cam Fancher came in and directed his team to a tying touchdown at 14-14 on a 2-yard pass to Bryson Williams with 1:56 left in the opening half.

However, Fancher made a poor choice in the third quarter by getting wrapped up around the legs by Husky freshman edge rusher Ramzak Fruean and trying to toss the ball away with his left hand, not his normal throwing hand.

Manu intercepted it with one hand on the sideline at the UW 20 to halt a Michigan State drive.

Fancher came off the field limping on that play and had to give way to freshman Kayd Coffman for a 3-and-out series before returning.

As they did at Nebraska, the Huskies kept things in doubt until the end when they put together an eight-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Limar plunging into the end zone.

The game came to a close with Xe'ree Alexander putting a big hit on Michigan State tight end Carson Gulker to cause a fumble that was recovered by freshman defensive tackle Derek Colman-Brusa.

Then it was time for the Huskies to go get a nap on that charter headed West before turning their attention to defending national champion Indiana, which visits Montlake next Saturday. They'll need their rest for that one.