The Washington Huskies open the season today at 12:30 against Boise State. The game will air on ABC. Washington is favored by 14.5 points. It’s a new dawn of a new day of Husky Football. Here are three keys to a Washington victory.
–1. Bring Dillon Johnson along slowly.
Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has stopped short of saying that he wants to “Run the Damn Ball”, but the Washington offense will be looking to establish the run. As much as they will want to run Johnson there are other backs, namely Will Nixon and Richard Newton who can spell Johnson with quality minutes.
The Nebraska-transfer. Will Nixon looked fantastic throughout fall camp in all aspects of the game. He looked equal parts running back, receiver and pass-blocker. He played sparingly in 11 games in 2023 but was effective. He averaged 8.1 yards on 21 carries. Receiving he had 7 catches for 66 yards.
At one point, Richard Newton seemed like he was destined to be the odd-man-out until Cam Davis was injured. However, with Davis’ season being over the senior enters the season with 971 career rushing yards on 224 carries with 14 rushing TDs. He also has 2 receiving TDs, including 1 last season.
–2. Pressure Boise State QB Jaylen Green
Nothing gets Husky Stadium rocking like the defense getting a sack on a big third down. Sure, getting Green on his back as often as possible will be important, but simply applying pressure on Green will help the Washington defensive backs by not having to latch onto the receivers as long. However, Green is an effective ball carrier when plays breakdown. The Huskies will need to keep the pressure on Green throughout the game, not just putting him on his back but knocking him around.
Green stands at 6-6, but so does Washington’s Ulumoo Ale. His height can also help alter passing lanes more than any other defensive lineman.
In all if the Huskies keep Husky Stadium engaged throughout he game, keep Green in the pocket (either horizontally or preferably vertically), and obstruct his view downfield it could be a very long afternoon for the sophomore QB.
–3. Create turnovers
Part of the reason that the Husky defense seemed to struggle last season was not just getting off the field on third down, but also creating turnovers. They averaged less than a turnover a game in 2023, generating 12 in 13 games. The season got off to a fast start, with safety Asa Turner picking off the first pass of the season, but the ball was essentially thrown to him by Kent State’s Collin Schlee.
In fact, Washington picked off Kent State QBs three times that afternoon. What that means is that in the final 12 games UW’s defense produced 9 turnovers or .75 turnovers the rest of the way. Winning the turnover battle would go a long way to helping their cause but generating more turnovers will go a long way in helping the Huskies achieve their goals of being a national championship contender.
