Here are my grades from Washington’s 52-20 win over Hawaii last Saturday.
The Offense
Washington’s offense came out of the gates hot last Saturday against Hawaii. On the third play of the game, Jacob Eason connected with tight end Hunter Bryant for a 47-yard touchdown. On the next drive, Sean McGrew scored on a 22-yard TD run. Washington’s third drive, resulted in Eason dropping a 28-yard perfect TD pass to true freshman Puka Nacua. Washington scored touchdowns on five of their first drives and scored 38 points with still over three minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Huskies finished the night with 450 yards of total offense. Washington scored on 8-of-12 drives – seven for touchdowns.
Jacob Eason finished with 262 yards passing and three touchdowns. Running back Richard Newton was a beast in the redzone, scoring three touchdowns on the night.
Overall, the offense couldn’t have played much better. The offensive line dominated up front and gave Washington’s play makers time to makes plays.
Grade: A
The Defense
Washington’s defense also got off to a hot start. On the second play of the game, safety Myles Bryant intercepted a Cole McDonald pass. UW would hold the powerful Rainbow Warriors’ offense to just 47 yards in the first quarter and continue their stiller play for most of the second quarter. But Hawaii would gain momentum right before half, going on a 9-play, 82-yard TD drive. Hawaii would score on their next two possessions out of the half – with drives of 93 yards and 53 yards.
The three straight scoring drives for Hawaii is very concerning for a UW defense that just doesn’t allow many touchdowns usually. It felt like deja vu of California figuring out the Huskies towards the end of the first half and into the third quarter. What’s even more concerning, Hawaii was 3-for-3 on fourth down – including a 4th and long on their own end.
The one positive for UW’s defense is that they forced three interceptions. Washington had zero takeaways coming into the game.
Overall, this defense is held to a very high standard and this was not a great performance. UW’s defense looks good a majority of the time but they have too many lapses in between.
Grade: C
Special Teams
Washington’s special teams didn’t quite standout out like they did against Eastern Washington and California. But they had another solid day. Peyton Henry stayed perfect, making a 23-yard field goal as well as all his extra points. Tim Horn averaged 61.6 yards per kick and had four touchbacks. Joel Whitford had two punts – averaging 43.7 yards per punt. Washington did allow a kick return of 36 yards. But other than that, UW’s special teams played solid.
Grade: B
