The Huskies won big again. With Tulsa in town the Huskies did what they had to do as they beat the Golden Hurricanes 43-10. A great showing was the end result but there are undoubtedly some things to clean up in Seattle. A great result will be the perfect building block as UW looks to continue their national campaign into East Lansing, Michigan next week.
Takeaway 1: Huskies Looked Human in the First half
The Huskies offense went to work. Again. But despite the 43-10 final score they didn’t quite look as perfect as they did against Boise. The most important thing to look at is the final stats. Penix had 409 yards and 3 TD’s while the offense combined for 563 yards and six touchdowns. The wide receivers looked like the premier group we know they are. The route running was on the money and guys have been open all day. This part of their work is up to the standard of best in the nation.
Tulsa’s DB’s have had issues all day following this absolutely loaded group around all day. Especially McMillan and Odunze who each went for over 100 yards and a score or two. But we have to at least mention the drops. Odunze alone has two, both incredibly uncharacteristic. There were three on the last drive of the first half alone. And the McMillan fumble.
The Huskies look like they weren’t quite locked into the first half. This was no doubt an impressive performance but between the drops and a rare Penix pick it wasn’t quite as pretty as last Saturday.
Takeaway 2: The Defense is Here
This Defense continues to flash enough talent to have high hopes. The pass rush was the consistent piece for the Huskies on the afternoon generating pressure after pressure and generating two sacks. Voi Tunnufi had the first sack as Jabbar Muhammad added one more. Even when they didn’t get a sack every time Tulsa’s combination of QB’s dropped back there was purple in the frame when the ball was thrown. When it came to stopping the run the Huskies seemed to give up a few more holes then last week. But that seemed to almost come down to luck. Huskies where getting into the backfield at a good rate but always in the wrong spots.
The secondary was up and down. There seemed to be a little more space than desired for Hurricane receivers but when it came down to it the big plays were made. Kamren Fabiculanan had an early end zone interception (his second of the season) to keep Tulsa to three points. Elijah Jackson and Thaddeus Dixon both were inches away from coming away with impressive interceptions but were happy with pass breakups. Jabbar Muhammad put his name into the book with a big sack. The Huskies did a good job in getting off the field as they held Tulsa to 7/17 on third down and had two big stops on fourth.
Takeaway 3: Germie
Germie Bernard is looking like the secret ingredient. Listed as the fourth wide receiver on the UW depth chart Bernard would be the top dog in most programs. He has been so incredibly dangerous for the Huskies. Returning kicks has been his big role and he has made it count taking his first real opportunity 38 yards Bernard showed exactly why he is the future of Husky football.
On the day he finished with 2 catches for 43 yards, two rushes for 8 yards and 2 kickoff returns for 25 yards. He would have a better return average except for a blindside block being called on a return.
Bernard didn’t stop at returning today. When he was in the game as a receiver he made the big plays. On only two catches Bernard had 43 air yards and a touchdown. Mix that in with his two carries and Bernard really was the do everything guy today for UW.
Takeaway 4: “Chasing Ghosts”
Washington had fun with this one. With no shortage of fun and interesting plays the Husky offense rolled in a week two win. After we saw Jalen McMillan lined up all over the field last week we got to see more into the mind of Coach Grubb. The Huskies broke out all the stops to varying levels of success through the game. The first play if the game saw two receivers lined up in the backfield and from it came a gain of 35 yards. Ja’Lynn Polk had a big run for a touchdown on an end around and that was pretty vanilla.
After the game Kalen DeBoer stated that the intent was to not show teams a whole lot and that the gadget plays were to have other teams “chasing ghosts” in their preparation.
The Dillon Morris 2-point conversion was something I don’t even know how to explain, about 75% the team was lined up to the left of the center but Jaden Green was open and the Huskies got two. They weren’t always successful as McMillan’s snap at quarterback was handed to Odunze then pitched to Penix before being fired into the grass away from Tulsa defenders.
Probably my favorite play of the day was a fake screen to McMillan which turned into a statue of liberty type run for Rome Odunze who made it 14 yards almost untouched to the end zone for his second score of the game.
Takeaway 5: The Little Things
If the Huskies are going to be contenders the little things have to look great. The truth is today they didn’t. While the pass blocking was stellar the offensive line didn’t do a great job in supporting the struggling rushing attack. Things got moving in the final minutes as ___ but besides that the running game was less than inspiring.
Along with that there where simply too many miscues on special teams. Multiple penalties for touching the kicker/punter are just plays you really want back. Grady Gross missed his only field goal attempt on the day off the left upright, but went a perfect 5/5 for extra point attempts.
The one play for the special teams that made me smile was Tristan Dunn acting as a human wrecking ball and delivering one of the biggest hits we’ve seen this year on a kickoff. The one last thing that deserves a highlight here is the blocking from the receivers. Denzel Boston, Rome Odunze both had multiple plays where they made huge blocks to open up space on the outside.
