Washington came out firing on all cylinders against the visiting Rainbow Warriors, but seemed to lose some intensity during the third quarter.

But there were some good things that showed up in the game, and also some things that need to fixed. Pronto.

Here’s my takes…

Myles Bryant and the young secondary behind him got the taste of blood in this game, and going forward, this needed to happen. This was a hump this group needed to happen in order to gain more confidence going into the remainder of the season. Bryant showed his leadership and it was good to see the young guns like Kyler Gordon and Cameron Williams having a good day.

The defense needs to maintain their intensity even when the team is up by 35 points. It was a huge disappointment to see Hawai’i drive down on three drives in a row and score touchdowns. The defense seemed to let up on the gas and get knocked around by the Warriors’ offensive line. By the fourth quarter they had stepped back up, but those three touchdowns by Hawai’i came way too easily. Hawai’i was three for three on fourth down attempts.

Puka Nacus is for real. Nacua looked calm and collected when he came in the game and between him and Eason that 28-yard touchdown pass was executed with perfection. Nacua is going to be doing this kind of stuff throughout his career because he is such a brilliant route-runner.

Running back by committee is getting interesting…Salvon Ahmed is so freakin fast, but he still seems to hesitate and think too much when going straight on. Sean McGrew continues to be a tough runner who has real good vision and fights for yards, but I really like Richard Newton. He is so good in the wildcat and also just hitting the hole and fighting it out. I think this guy is going to be something special going forward.

The Husky band is becoming repetitious. I don’t know if it’s because school hasn’t started yet or what, but it seemed like all they played was “Seven Nation Army” and “We’re not going to take it”. Where’s Tequilla? Where’s Everybody’s Everything? I know this is kind of a dumb observation but the Husky band’s playlist definitely factors in to the gameday experience for fans, and most fans have come to expect certain things from the band.