The Washington Huskies finally got out of their own way and showed the nation just how good they can be. The Huskies took down #10 Michigan 27-17 in front of a jam-packed Husky Stadium.
The Huskies dominated the Wolverine offense early in the game which led to the benching of quarterback, Alex Orji who was only able to complete three passes for fifteen yards. The Huskies were able to tee off on the one dimensional running attack of Michigan.
The Wolverines were able to find some success with 7th year quarterback, Jack Tuttle. Husky fans may remember years ago when Tuttle was going to be the quarterback that would get Utah to the promised land.
Tuttle led three straight scoring drives. The defense finally forced turnovers to end any hope for the visitors in blue and maize. In the end the Michigan offense was limited to less than 300 yards and turned the ball over twice.
While the stat sheet shows the secondary and linebackers making the bulk of the plays a ton of credit has to go to the d-line and edge rushers. Their disciplined play limited the rushing attack for Michigan.
Defensive Line: The d-line was tasked with dealing with three prolific runners in Orji, Donovan Edwards, and Kalel Mullings. The Huskies gave up one explosive play on the ground when Edwards got loose for a 39 yard touchdown run. Outside of that the Husky defense won enough matchups to give the linebackers clean holes to make plays. Sebastian Valdez destroyed one drive on his own when he beat the center for a TFL. Elinneus Davis also checked in pass defensed.
Edge: The edge rushers were very disciplined in setting the edge. Its hard to call Voi Tunuufi and edge when he did so much damage in the middle. He was everywhere shooting through gaps in the o-line. He was second on the team in tackles and forced the fumble secured by Logan Sagapolu.
Linebackers: One of the best events of the tumultuous offseason was retaining Carson Bruener, Alphonzo Tuputala. The duo was paramount in stopping the Michigan rushing attack. They were consistently in the right spots and hemmed in any attempts between the tackles. Bruener specifically did a good job of taking routes that forced the runner sideways and into more Husky defenders. Khmori House also took a step forward in the running game.
Cornerbacks: Another game, another dominant effort by the defensive backs. Thaddeus Dixon and Ephesians Prysock were dominant. The pass defense gave very small windows all game that Michigan quarterbacks had little success executing. They made plays in the running game racking up tackles.
Safeties: It was a big game so everyone knows Kamren Fabiculanan is going to make big plays. Kam Fab ended Alex Orji’s afternoon when he knocked down third down throw forcing another Michigan punt. He then ended the game with the interception of Jack Tuttle.
