The Washington Huskies are riding a wave of good press this week after taking down the #10 Michigan Wolverines 27-17 in front of a sold out crowed and the featured game in prime time on NBC.
The Huskies now sit at 4-2 on the season. There is a strong argument that this team should be 6-0. The reason they aren’t largely is a result of miscues on the offensive side of the ball. Fumbled snaps, unforced errors, and play calling has led to some consternation from the frustrated fanbase.
That changed on Saturday. The early lessons learned by this team were painful, but it is looking like they may be paying off. Washington had two enforced penalties in the game and neither were on the offensive side of the ball.
While it wasn’t perfect it was a huge step in the right direction. Washington played a clean game even matched up against a defense with NFL players in the front seven and in the secondary.
Quarterback: Will Rogers threw his first interception on the year, but it didn’t shake his confidence. He looked like he had full control of this offense from the first snap of the game. He was poised even under duress from a defensive line that is full of future pros. He distributed the ball effectively throughout the course of the game. The Michigan defense got him off his spot at times which led to some inaccurate throws, but he never looked confused and rebounded from ineffective plays. He ended the day with 271 through the air and two touchdowns.
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Running Backs: Right before Jonah Coleman ripped off a 27 yard run color commentator, Todd Blackledge, said that the Michigan defense had done a good job containing the junior running back. Two plays later Coleman flew through the air for his 5th touchdown on the year. Technically Blackledge was correct. His 4.4 yards per carry dropped his season average to 6.7 per carry. Coleman ran for 80 yards on 18 carries and kept the chains moving. He put the Huskies on second and third and manageable and rarely went down on first contact. Cam Davis only ran the ball three times, but his 37 yard reception on the trick play from Demond Williams gave the Huskies the chance to go up 14-0.
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Receivers: The one-two punch of Giles Jackson and Denzel Boston is one of the best in the conference. Both came up with monumental receptions over the course of the game. Will Rogers connected with Jackson on a 39 yard bomb on third and eleven to keep a drive going that ended with a Boston touchdown. The effort by Giles Jackson on two plays in the flat showed off his elite skillset. On one reception Jackson was caught behind the line of scrimmage by two defenders and is able to force missed tackles to gain seven yards. The second was a second and seventeen where Jackson again makes a couple tacklers miss to pick up the first down.
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Tight Ends: Keleki Latu is filling the role of Jack Westover. He has reliable hands and gets first downs. He has improved in the blocking game.
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Offensive Line: The Huskies O-line had the toughest challenge of the evening. Mason Graham is one of the top D-linemen in the country. Washington lost some matchups over the course of the game, but won enough to give Rogers time to pick apart the secondary. There were no mishaps on snaps and zero false starts.
Washington’s offense took a step forward this week and has a chance Saturday morning to make a statement in the heart of Big 10 country when the face off against Iowa. The Huskies are primed for a run and the offense looks like its up for the task.
