It didn’t take long for No.10 to make his mark on Montlake in his debut. After Josiah Bronson and Levi Ownzurike sacked Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere on fourth down, Jacob Eason and the offense took the ball over at the 50 yard line. On the very next play with the Huskies already up 7-0, Eason faked the hand off and threw a 50-yard strike to Andre Baccellia perfectly in stride for a TD. No. 13 Washington would go on to roll over the Eagles, 47-14.
Eason, the former five-star recruit and Georgia transfer finished 27-36 passing for 349 yards and four touchdowns in his impressive debut. The 6-foot-6 QB out of Lake Stevens, showed off his arm all day with an average completion of 12.9 yards.
Washington’s offense was virtually unstoppable today. The Huskies scored touchdowns on their first three drives. UW started the scoring with a 23-yard TD run from Richard Newton out of the wildcat formation on fourth down and two. On the first play of their second drive, Eason found Andre Baccellia on a 50-yard go route for a TD. On UW’s third drive, Eason found Aaron Fuller in the corner of the end zone – who made an amazing one-handed grab for a TD.
Salvon Ahmed and Chico McClatcher each added a TD as well.
Outside of a 64-yard TD pass from Eric Barriere to Andrew Boston, Washington’s defense played very well. The Huskies held Eastern to just 4.2 yards per play and 274 total yards. The Huskies finished with four sacks and also got a safety late in the fourth quarter.
Myles Bryant led the Huskies with eight tackles. Linebacker Kyler Manu finished with seven tackles. The defensive player of the game goes to Benning Potoa’e who had three tackles for loss and two sacks.
Home dominance
The Washington Huskies have now won 15 straight games at home in front of the 65,791 in attendance. Their last loss at home was to USC in 2016. Washington currently has the fourth longest home winning streak in the FBS.
Play of the game
The play of the game and one that you will see again on Sportcenter tonight goes to Aaron Fuller’s one-handed TD grab from Jacob Eason. Fuller’s body was fully extended as he leaped for the ball and he somehow manged to get his foot down all while catching the 7-yard TD with one hand. Aaron Fuller also made a nice diving 18-yard TD catch. Fuller finished the day with 73 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Newcomer of the day
Redshirt freshman running back Richard Newton led the Huskies with 91 yards rushing and a TD on 12 attempts. Newton might be the second best running back on the roster as he got just three less carries than Salvon Ahmed.
Looking ahead
The Huskies host California next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. California is expected to have one of the best secondaries in college football. It should give a good idea at where UW’s offense is.
Extra Points
* Starting center Nick Harris left the game in the first quarter with an injury and did not return. He was able to walk on the sidelines but Chris Petersen is unsure about his status for next week. “We’ll see about Nick (Harris), see how it goes,” Petersen said.
*Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Henry Bainivalu and tight end Devin Culp were suspended for today’s game Chris Petersen said. Bainivalu will miss two more games while Culp will be back next week.
