The Huskies are back in action this Saturday at 4:30 p.m – hosting Hawaii. Here are five things to watch for in this week’s matchup.
1. Can Washington’s defense force a turnover?
Through two games Washington has yet to force a turnover. This is becoming a big concern even though it’s only been two games. Washington is one of just seven power five schools to have zero takeaways. A season ago UW forced 20 turnovers in their fourth consecutive season leading the conference in scoring defense. Hawaii has eight turnovers in their first two games. The Huskies are due this week for a big takeaway day.
2. Where are UW’s wide receivers?
It’s fair to say Washington’s wide receivers had a rough game against California. By my count UW dropped at least five passes in the 20-19 loss to California. The Huskies should have finished with over 400 yards of total offense against the Golden Bears but drops killed drives and momentum in the game. Washington has the tools to be a very good offense but it really comes down to wide receiver play. I expect a bounce back game for this group against a Hawaii defense that has been friendly to offenses over the years.
3. Contain, contain, contain!
After watching the replay of UW’s loss to California, I counted at least seven times Washington’s outside linebackers lost contain in the gain. Joe Tryon did not have his best game by any means. Tryon has a chance to be an elite pass rusher in this defense but he was trying to do a little too much and often got caught too far inside – leaving the edge open for Cal to exploit. I expect Jimmy Lake and Pete Kwiatkowski to fix this immediately as UW is always one of the most disciplined defenses in all of college football.
4. Huskies need a big day on offense
There’s no reason why UW’s offense can’t have a big game against Hawaii. It’s the Rainbow Warriors’ first road game of the season after surrendering a combined 66 points to Arizona and Oregon State. Hawaii surrendered 40 or more points six times in 2018. I expect Jacob Eason to have a big game especially after he offenses’ poor performance against Cal’s tough defense.
5. Washington’s secondary
This will be a good test for UW’s secondary as they face Hawaii’s “run and shoot” offense. Hawaii ranks fourth in the country with 428.5 yards passing per game. The Huskies will face USC’s “Air Raid” offense in a few weeks and of course Washington’s State’s “Air Raid” at the end of the season. UW’s secondary had a solid game against California up until the final drive where the Golden Bears went on a game winning drive. This is the strength of this defense and I expect them to have a very good day on Saturday.
