The first game? A Top 10, Power 5 team. Washington had one of the top programs in the country on the ropes in a battle of defenses.
Game two: An FCS team. Nothing to write home about. Sure, they have a couple seniors on defense. But North Dakota isn’t even on the same planet as a Pac-12 team or, gasp, Auburn.
For the Huskies, after two games it’s like a tale of two football teams: The one that almost got a win on the road against Auburn, and the one that looked apathetic and uninspired against the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota on Saturday.
Ok — so they blew them out, 45-3. The Huskies racked up 632 yards of total offense and the defense held the Hawks to a measly 262 yards of offense.
On paper — this looks like a classic beat down between an FBS Power Five team and a lowly FCS team, but anyone who watched this game saw something entirely different.
Who are the 2018 Huskies? The team that had the celebrated Auburn defense gassed in the second half at Atlanta last week? Or the team that didn’t even jump around and act crazy on (what was thought to be) a fumble recovery against North Dakota?
The team just looked flat, but the young guys coming in later in the game seemed to light things on fire. Before that, however, the Huskies had a hard time getting their running game going and getting into the endzone.
One concern is whether or not Jake Browning can settle down, stop forcing things, and just orchestrate scoring drives without throwing picks or just making terrible decisions.
Okay okay, so we know that the starting left tackle has been out — but the bigger concern is the running game. The holes aren’t there and the blocking was subpar against a lesser opponent.
What I see is a team who is too serious right now and not playing loose. They looked tight and still a little wounded by the disappointment in Atlanta last weekend.
But the question remains: Who are these 2018 Huskies?
Some might argue that they don’t deserve to be in the Top 10 right now, but if you look at the stat sheet, there’s nothing there to indicate they don’t deserve to be exactly where they are.
Here’s what we know:
[icon name=”chevron-right” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] The Huskies do have a grumpy side to their defense and, when they buckle down, it’s hard to get past them.
[icon name=”chevron-right” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] The questions about who would step up at receiver have been answered in the first two games. Aaron Fuller, Ty Jones, and Quinton Pounds have done a solid job at pulling down balls and gaining big yards. Chico McClatcher also got back into action more this weekend and looks as fast as ever.
[icon name=”chevron-right” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] If they get the blocking, the running backs can do serious damage. But run-blocking is not looking to be their strong point in the first two games.
Here’s what we don’t know:
[icon name=”chevron-right” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Will Jake Browning stop over-thinking and making mistakes? Last year we were able to blame some of his miscues on the fact that he didn’t get the off-season workouts and didn’t have the receivers he was used to having. This year, there’s really no excuse. Not even the absense of Trey Adams.
[icon name=”chevron-right” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Will the defensive backs starting flying around and picking off passes again this season? There isn’t a team in the country who isn’t a little scared of the Husky secondary, but when will they return to their reign of intimidation from 2016 and 2017?
[icon name=”chevron-right” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Which Husky team will stand up against Utah next weekend on the road in a hostile environment?
In summary, it’s hard to really judge who this 2018 team is — yet. They’ve gone from one extreme to another and, let’s be honest, the desire to play it safe, stay healthy, and workout little details might have been the reason why we didn’t see a bunch of frothing dawgs out barking on the field against North Dakota.
Indeed, we will find out more about who this 2018 team is next weekend in Utah. With a senior quarterback, senior tailback, and all the ingredients needed to compete at an elite level this year, if they don’t show up next Saturday — then the pre-season hype may have been unwarranted.
