The No. 11 Michigan State Spartans travel to Montlake to take on the unranked Washington Huskies in their final non-conference game of the season. Kaila Olin gives her three keys to Washington heading into conference play 3-0.
Offensive Line Needs to Protect Michael Penix Jr.
The passing game for the Washington Huskies has shown to be drastically better than they were last season averaging 384.5 yards in the air per game compared to last years 225 yards. With the receivers being such integral parts of the success of the offense the first couple of games, making sure Michael Penix Jr. has time to find his receivers, hit his targets, and stay vertical in the backfield. Michigan State already has 12 sacks for a loss of 70 yards through their first two games. The offensive line helping Penix Jr. and company to have a big production day could be the most important key to getting a win.
Run Defense Needs to Be Top Notch
Michigan State is a heavy run team. In their first two games this season, they’ve had 80 rush attempts compared to 57 total passing attempts with only 33 completions. The Spartans’ top two running backs, Jalen Berger and Jarek Broussard, are responsible for 362 of the 457 yards and six of the teams’ seven rushing touchdowns on the season. For Washington to walk away with a win, the defense is going to need to be top notch when it comes to stopping the run and forcing the ball through the air.
Defense Needs to Create Takeaways
This game is going to be a battle of the defenses with MSU allowing an average of 6.5 points per game this season and the UW allowing just 13 points. The Husky defense created three turnovers in their season opener against Kent State, all being interceptions, but failed to get any takeaways in their win over Portland State. Michigan State has thrown three interceptions and lost one fumble in their large wins over Akron and Western Michigan. With the two defenses going toe-to-toe and both being such prominent parts of their program’s success so far this season, getting takeaways on defense and making sure your offense gets more time on the field is an absolute must.
