Washington improved to 2-0 on the season after their 44-20 win over Arizona Saturday night. Here are my takeaways.
1. Huskies open up the offense
Just a week after the Huskies ran the ball 51 times the Huskies let quarterback Dylan Morris open up the offense against the Wildcats. Despite multiple drops, two of which should’ve been touchdowns, Morris completed 15-of-25 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. Morris had seven completions that resulted in at least 15 yards. The passing game passed the test today. Now can the wide receivers catch the ball moving forward?
2. The Edefuan Show
Edefuan Ulofoshio was awarded by the coaching staff Defensive Player of the Week against Oregon State a week ago. Despite not playing for a good part of the second half due to UW’s big lead Ulofoshio finished with five tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. His forced fumble was the beginning of the end for the Wildcats as the Huskies went up 17-0 shortly after. Edefuan Ulofoshio has established himself as one of UW’s most important players.
3. Death Row
Washington’s “Death Row” defense looked like the vintage defenses we’ve grown accustom to watching under Pete Kwiatkowski and Jimmy Lake. The Huskies swarmed Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell all night – sacking him five times. UW’s backups did give up 27 points in the fourth quarter but it doesn’t erase the fact of how good the starters played tonight. Washington led 24-0 at halftime and Arizona had just 45 yards of total offense at the point. Arizona managed just 72 yards rushing. This is type of defensive performance brings back good memories.
4. Get Otton more touches
It’s no secret that Cade Otton is one of the best blocking tight ends in all of college football. But he can be so much more than that. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound junior is an absolute nightmare matchup for opposing defenders. And this was the game the Huskies really showcased their future NFL tight end. Otton caught seven passes for 100 yards that was highlighted by a 20-yard TD. With Otton’s size and athleticism he must be a focal point moving forward for this offense. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t get at least 5-7 touches per game.
5. Improvements
After many mistakes in a sloppy 27-21 win over Oregon State a week ago, the Huskies improved in almost every area. However there are a few things they must improve on. First is the dropped balls. Washington dropped plenty of passes last week and it continued this week. Two of which would’ve been long touchdowns. That can’t happen against better teams. And then their was the running into the kicker twice. These are things that shouldn’t be too hard of a correction. But if the Huskies can’t find a way to correct them it will cost them in the long run.
