Here are my instant takeaways from Washington’s 45-3 win over North Dakota.
1. Moving on from Auburn
The Huskies needed a game like this to get over the heart breaking loss against Auburn. UW players, coaches, and fans can officially move on from that loss. A loss like that can easily multiply but that didn’t happen today. Sure the Huskies didn’t look great today but sometimes after a big game like that it’s human nature to have a let down performance the next week against a lesser opponent.
Moving forward.
2. Defense elite again
I’ve seen enough already from this defense to call them elite. Claiming this defense is elite isn’t much of a bold statement but they keep proving it each week. A week after holding Auburn to 21 points, UW put the brakes on North Dakota -allowing just three points.
Safety Taylor Rapp was the MVP today, finishing with three tackles, two sacks, and one fumble recovery.
Ben-Burr Kirven led the Huskies with nine tackles.
Outside of a 69-yard North Dakota run, the defense made ND work for absolutely everything. UW allowed just four yards per play.
Maybe the only knock on this defense is they only have one takeaway through two games. But that will change soon.
3. The Huskies wide receivers look good so far
One of the biggest concerns for UW fans entering the season was the wide receivers. Gone are the days of John Ross and Dante Pettis. But through two games, UW’s wide receivers have been a nice surprise. Aaron Fuller has emerged as Jake Browning’s favorite WR through two games. Fuller followed his 135-yard game against Auburn with a 74-yard game today. Quinten Pounds was on Sportscenter last week after making a one-handed TD catch against Auburn. Pounds followed that performance with three receptions for 98 yards today. Ty Jones had 77 yards receiving last week and followed that performance up with a one-handed TD catch that will likely be on Sportscenter tonight. Chico McClatcher also made a few nice catches as well today.
Overall, Washington’s wide receivers have exceeded all expectations so far.
4. Offensive execution concerns?
Washington ran a pretty vanilla offense as expected today but they didn’t execute anywhere near what they are capable of. The offensive line struggled at times, Jake Browning looked off, and the offense looked out of sync. Of course it’s too early to panic but it’s two weeks in a row that the offense didn’t execute very well. Last week it was the red zone. This week it wasn’t one thing in particular.
Coach Petersen described the running game as “not good” after the game. The numbers don’t show the story. Washington racked up 195 yards on the ground – averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Most of those yards came late in the game. At one point in the second quarter UW was averaging just 1.8 yards per carry. Starting center Nick Harris missed today’s game due to injury. But there’s no doubt the running game is a concern right now.
It’s only two games but the Huskies’ offense must get better in a hurry. They will face a tough defensive team in Utah on the road next week.
5. This was a warmup game
If we are being completely honest this was a warmup game for next week’s conference opener at Utah. No offense to North Dakota but it’s hard to takeaway too much from a scrimmage game.
One could argue next week’s game at Utah might just be Washington’s toughest game of the season. In the Petersen era, UW has played close games in all three meetings with the Utes. Petersen holds a 2-1 record against Utah at UW. But both wins were by seven points or less.
Next week should be fun.
