Do you remember the last time Washington’s offense put up these kinds of numbers? No, seriously, I’m asking. I dove as deep as I could to find when the last time the Huskies ranked as high as they have nationally in some of these offensive statistics. It certainly hasn’t been any time recently, but without further ado, let’s jump right into it.

600 yards

Washington topped 600 yards of total offense for the first time since 2018 against North Dakota. Combining that with the team’s first pair of 100-yard receivers in a game since 2016 should be all the signs needed to show that, regardless of the opponent, the offensive scheme is working. Obviously Michigan State is going to be a very different kind of test.

3

I felt like this was a much more dramatic number than 571, the number of yards per game the Huskies have averaged through their first two games of the season, good for third in the nation behind only Minnesota and Georgia Southern. Going off of that, the Huskies are also fourth in the country in ESPN’s offensive efficiency rating behind USC, Kansas (????), and Ohio State.

682

That’s the total number of yards Michael Penix Jr. has thrown for through his first two games at quarterback. With a touchdown to interception ratio of 6:1 to go along with it, Penix has been one of the country’s best quarterbacks through the first two weeks of the season. Those 682 yards are good for the top spot in the Pac-12, and 12th in the country. One should note that the other transfer quarterback Washington was in on, Fresno State’s Jake Haener, is eighth in the country with 737 yards passing, however, he’s thrown for half the number of touchdowns. Lastly, Penix is averaging 10.3 yards per attempt, good for 10th in the nation.

0

This one is obvious, but still very significant, it’s the number of times Penix has been sacked so far this season. Again, the opponents are subpar and Michigan State is a different beast, led by UNLV transfer Jacoby Windmon, who currently leads the nation with 5.5 sacks through the first two weeks of the year. The Spartans also have 12 sacks as a team, which is also first in the country.

131

The total number of yards put up by Portland State. Yes, they’re an FCS school, but that’s still an impressive number for any defense. Just for comparison, UCLA, who faced off with another FCS school, Alabama State, gave up 310 yards of offense. Washington’s defense is arguably the most talented in the Pac-12, and even though fans haven’t seen the cornerback play that they got used to under Chris Petersen and Jimmy Lake, the defense is still capable of playing at an elite level.