Can you believe that Chris Lawson is only starting at Washington because of an injury to Christian Moss?
Lawson was the Huskies' second choice at X receiver this fall after a surging summer from Moss, a Kennesaw State transfer who clicked with quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in player-led workouts. But Moss injured his quad on the first play of the season, thrusting Lawson into the starting lineup. A mere seven games later, Lawson had what Huskies fans may remember as the night they saw the second-year receiver announce himself to a national audience.
With both offenses struggling on Saturday against Nebraska, the game was frozen at 7-3 for 28 minutes and 49 seconds of game time after Tyler Robles' 50-yard field goal with 41 seconds left in the first
half; Washington needed a spark to avoid having the lights shut off in a blackout in Lincoln. Lawson had six targets in those first two quarters, hauling in five for 63 yards. A pedestrian third quarter, with four targets, 3 catches, and 15 yards, followed before the Huskies benched starting quarterback Elijah Brown for Williams.
Williams' entry into the game kicked Lawson's night into a new gear, as he garnered six targets, 4 receptions, 77 yards, and a spinning 25-yard touchdown to put Washington up for good with 1:37 to go in the fourth quarter. Lawson set up that touchdown two plays earlier by making a ridiculous sideline catch on a desperation heave from Williams on fourth-and-18, gaining 24 yards and keeping the Huskies alive.
This Chris Lawson sequence, tho 🔥
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 1, 2026
Watch the @UW_Football WR's two highlight-reel plays in the span of three snaps to send the Huskies to victory. pic.twitter.com/ADBOv79p5e
(For what it's worth, credit Williams for recognizing and replacing a corner blitz from Nebraska's Andrew Marshall on the touchdown throw. That's something the third-year quarterback had struggled with before exiting the Iowa game due to a rib injury.)
That fourth-down catch highlights what has been Lawson's calling card as his role has built up this season: an unreal ability to extend outside his frame and keep his body in bounds on tight catches along the sideline or end line. He had multiple catches on Saturday that had to go to review to be upheld because of how improbable a reception looked live. But the sophomore has also flashed the playmaking ability he showed on the touchdown catch all season once the ball is in his hands in space, and Saturday stamped the assertion that he is currently Washington's most dynamic receiver.
Lawson also did all of that while primarily matched up with Marshall, who entered the game as a buzzy NFL draft prospect that some analysts were beginning to talk about as a first-round caliber player, in case you needed more reason to feel like Saturday was a star turn for the Washington receiver.
For good measure, Lawson recovered a slow-rolling, watermelon-ball type onside kick from Nebraska's John Hohl to seal the victory after Alex McLaughlin put Washington up 17-7 with a 48-yard pick-six and the Cornhuskers kicked a 42-yard field goal to give themselves a chance.
For a young receiving corps - only Rashid Williams and tight end Decker DeGraaf are upperclassmen among Washington's first seven leading receivers - that many anticipated would heavily feel the loss of Denzel Boston to the NFL Draft, having someone like Lawson explode for this kind of game is a huge boost. What's notable as well is that the second-year player has chemistry with both quarterbacks, Brown and Williams, as Washington presumably navigates a quarterback situation that did not get much clearer on Saturday.
With 12 receptions for 155 yards and the game-clinching touchdown, Lawson will be the name to circle for the Huskies offense going forward. He proved Saturday that he's earned that right.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Chris Lawson has breakout game for Washington football at Nebraska
