#13 Washington vs. Eastern Washington
Saturday, 12 p.m.
Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA
Line: N/A
TV: Pac-12 Networks Radio: KOMO 1000
Chris Petersen enters year No. 6 at Washington as the Huskies enter the preseason AP poll at No. 13. Washington is coming off a 10-4 season the featured a Pac-12 Championship and a birth to the Rose Bowl. UW went on to lose to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, 28-23. The game showed the Huskies still have a ways to go to climb the elite of the college football world.
Eastern Washington continues to be one of the top FCS programs every single year. Aaron Best hasn’t missed much of a beat since taking over as head coach for Beau Baldwin. Best has a career 19-7 record at Eastern. Last season, the Eagles made it to the FCS National Championship – ultimately falling to North Dakota State. The Eagles come into the preseason ranked No. 3 in the Coaches Poll and are expected to make another run at the title.
The offense
Washington must fix an offense that averaged just 26.4 points per game in 2018 – by far the lowest since Chris Petersen arrived at UW. The Huskies will have to replace four year starters in QB Jake Browning and RB Myles Gaskin. But Georgia transfer and former five-star QB Jacob Eason could be an upgrade at the position. The Huskies bring back a veteran offensive line that might be the best group on the team. Washington might have one of the best tight end duos in college football with Hunter Bryant and Cade Otton returning. But even with nine of their top 10 leading receivers returning wide receiver remains a huge question mark for this group. Salvon Ahmed could be a breakout star at running back. Ahmed led all UW running backs with a 5.8-yard per carry average in 2018. The offensive improvement will likely be decided by how much the WR group improves.
Eastern brings back one of the best offenses in the FCS. The Eagles were the only FCS team to finish top-20 in total offense (528.2 yards per game), rushing (255.9 yards per game), and passing (272.3 yards per game) in 2018. The offense brings back four starting offensive lineman including All-American starting center Spencer Blackburn and All-Big Sky offensive guard Kaleb Levao. The offense will run through talented redshirt junior QB Eric Barriere. The dual-threat QB passed for 2,450 yards and threw 24 touchdowns while rushing for 613 yards and adding eight TD’s on the ground after taking over the offense in the sixth game of last season. Barriere is a preseason All-American candidate and is electric. Eastern will also rely on talented running back Antoine Custer. At wide receiver, look for sophomore Andrew Boston to make an impact. As a freshman, Boston caught 43 passes for 531 yards and four touchdowns.
Defense
Washington has led the Pac-12 in scoring defense for four consecutive seasons. In 2018, UW’s defense allowed just 16.4 points per game. This year presents a different challenge as the Huskies lose nine starters – many of them are in the NFL. They do return talented cornerback Myles Bryant who will move all over the field including safety. Washington’s secondary should once again be elite with three veterans in Myles Bryant, Elijah Molden, and Keith Taylor holding down the back end. True freshman safety Cameron Williams and red-shirt freshman Kyler Gordon are very talented and will start on Saturday. Two players to watch on UW’s defensive line is Joe Tryon and Levi Onwuzurike. Both players should improve what was a pretty weak UW pass rush last year. Despite losing nine starters Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Lake should lead this group to a top-25 defense in the country.
Eastern Washington allowed just 22.7 points per game, the school’s best mark in over two decades. But the Eagles must replace seven starters and they lose their defensive coordinator. Eastern does bring back some talent however. Junior linebacker Chris Ojoh is back after leading the team with 105 tackles in 2018. Mitchell Johnosn is back after a Freshman All-American season in 2018. Johnson finished last season with eight tackles for loss and two interceptions. Defensive end Jim Townsend got All-Big Sky honors last season finishing with 45 tackles and blocked three kicks. Despite being undersized, the Eagles have a solid front. But with so much inexperience the defense is definitely more of a question mark.
Keys to the game
1. Keep Barriere one-dimensional
Easier said than done to keep Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere one-dimensional. Barriere has a rare talent and if you lose contain he can score from anywhere on the field with his legs. The Huskies must keep him in the pocket and force him to beat UW’s talented secondary. There’s no doubt that Barriere is going to make plays tomorrow but UW must limit the explosive plays.
2. Let Eason loose
This a game the Huskies could likely do little passing and have plenty of success with a veteran offensive line leading the way. But letting Jacob Eason show all his tools early could benefit UW in the long run. It might be smart for Washington to let opponents in the future know that they can’t stack the box against this team and they are capable of throwing it over the top.
3. Get an early lead
Eastern Washington is a team that can play at the FBS level without question. They upset Washington State in 2016 and Oregon State in 2013. The last two times UW has faced Eastern, each game was decided by seven points or less. This is a game the Huskies must get off to a hot start or this game could get stressful for Husky fans.
Prediction
It’s obvious that the Huskies have an advantage in the trenches in this game. They should be able to run the ball very well and set up the play action game. But traditionally in these games Chris Petersen doesn’t like to show too much. I expect the Huskies to limit talented EWU QB Eric Barriere while showing balance on offense.
Washington 38 Eastern Washington 17
