It didn’t take long for Washington to get over their hangover after their stunning loss to California last Saturday. In fact it took just 1:16 for the Huskies to score against Hawaii. Quarterback Jacob Eason found tight end Hunter Bryant over the middle for a 47-yard touchdown in what was the start to an offensive explosion for Washington. The Huskies would go on to cruise to a 52-20 victory over the Rainbow Warriors.
“We did a great job of bouncing back and staying focused on each day,” Eason said about coming back after the loss to California.”Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday practices are grinders and the guys did a great job of bouncing back and grinding through those. And played well today.”
Washington scored touchdowns on their first 5-of-6 drives. The Huskies would jump out to a 38-0 lead essentially ending the game in the second quarter. Eason connected on touchdowns to Hunter Bryant (47 yards), true freshman Puka Nacua (28 yards), and Aaron Fuller (37 yards). Jacob Eason finished the game completing 18-of-25 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns.
The Huskies finished the night with 450 yards of total offense. Washington scored on 8-of-12 drives – seven for touchdowns.
Redhsirt freshman running back Richard Newton finished with three rushing touchdowns. Newton would have had four rushing touchdowns if not for a holding call that took away a TD. Richard Newton has quickly become UW’s go to in the redzone.
“He puts his pads down and runs hard,” Petersen said about using Newton in the redzone.
The Huskies defense started the game off about as well as a defense can play against the run and shoot offense of Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors had just 47 total yards of offense in the first quarter. Myles Bryant intercepted a Cole McDonald pass on second offensive play of the game. It looked as if Hawaii would have difficulty scoring all game. But things changed for UW’s defense right before halftime – similar to a week ago against Cal. Washington gave up three straight touchdown drives to Hawaii after being shutout for the first 27 minutes of the game.
“I think they just hit our soft spots in our zone and they were just able to gain momentum that allowed the quarterback to get some confidence and keep going,” Myles Bryant said about Hawaii’s long drives.
There were some positives for UW’s defense however. Coming into the game, UW had zero takeaways. The Huskies had three takeaways tonight. Myles Bryant had two interceptions and true freshman safety had an interception after linebacker Kyler Manu tipped a pass. Washington’s defense played good for the majority of the game but the inexperience shows in spurts here and there.
Offensive Player of the Game
It would be easy to give the honors to Jacob Eason but today it goes to tight end Hunter Bryant. The junior finished with 115 yards receiving and a 47-yard TD on the third play of the game. Bryant is UW’s best and most lethal pass catcher so far this season.
Defensive Player of the Game
This one’s pretty easy, senior safety Myles Bryant was everywhere for UW tonight. Bryant had two interceptions and a sack. Bryant’s second interception was his most impressive – ripping the ball out of the wide receiver’s hand. Through three games Bryant has been the MVP of the defense.
Takeaways
This was obviously a much needed performance for the Huskies after their letdown against California last week. Although they did preform well, let’s remember that the Huskies are going to face much better competition starting next week. But they did what they had to do. This is definitely a step in the right direction.
Washington’s defense is going to be good this year. But through three games they just aren’t as dominant as past UW defenses. That’s expected when you lose nine starters from a season ago. The main takeaway is if Washington wants to maximize their wins, they are going to have to score more points on offense this season.
Looking Ahead
Washington travels to Provo next Saturday to face BYU at 12:30 p.m. on ABC. BYU beat No. 24 USC in overtime earlier today.
