Auburn and Washington engaged in a struggle on Saturday afternoon that saw the Tigers come out on top 21-16.

Huskies head coach Chris Petersen believed it had a lot to do with the play of the Tigers’ defense. Washington entered the red zone six times, and came away with four field goal attempts, one turnover and a touchdown.

“It’s a really good defense,” Petersen told reporters after the game. ” They played like that all last year, and it’s us — you get in the red zone, you’ve got to be very detail oriented, and you’re splitting hairs down there, and against a good defense, if you don’t have your details taken care of, you’re going to end up kicking too many field goals.”

LB Darnell Williams led the way with eight tackles and the Tigers held the Huskies to just 5-of-14 on third down while forcing two turnovers. Washington combined to average just 3.1 yards per carry.

“They kind of played hard down there,” Petersen said. “Auburn made some pretty good big chunk plays, and then our defense made them kick some field goals. We’re close, but that doesn’t count in a game like this.”