The Washington Huskies got the Jedd Fisch-era underway with a dominating 35-3 victory over the Weber State Wildcats.  Husky running back Johan Coleman trampled the Wildcats with 127 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.  The impressive rushing  effort by the Arizona transfer was one of many fresh faces donning the purple and gold for the first time–and should be a harbinger for the season in the new Husky rushing attack.

While Weber State is far from the best team UW fill face all year, it was still a commanding win.

Eastern Michigan provides a step-up in completion level for the Huskies. While still a team that Washington should beat, Eastern Michigan is an FBS program coming off a week one win. This game will be big for the Huskies as they ramp up for the Big 10 Conference opener in two weeks against Northwestern.

Who will step up?: Jonah Coleman welcomed stomped his wain into the spotlight against Weber State with his dominant performance on the ground. While his emergence gives the Huskies running back room appears to be deeper than at any point in the past several years.  Cam Davis is back after missing last season and true freshman Adam Mohammad looks to be an early contributor.

Additionally, Sam Adams has looks fantastic whenever the ball is in his hands.  While Daniyel Ngata saw two touches on as a running back but none as a kickoff returner.

However, there are still questions to be answered about the rest of the weapons on the team. No other Husky reached 100 all-purpose yards, a striking difference to last years team.

While no one expects this to be the same team only two receivers even recorded a catch against Weber State. Those two were Giles Jackson and Denzel Boston. While those two each had a good opening night it will be interesting (and very important) to see who will step up as the complimentary targets to an emerging Husky core.

The Boys In The Trenches: A year ago fans were questioning whether or not a young Huskies offensive line could get the job done for a playoff contender, they answered the call each week in winning the Moore Award as the nation’s best offensive line.  Now, 5 short months later Jedd Fisch are back to square one.

While Jedd Fish brought in plenty of transfers to fill the gaps, this O-line has played one game together. The Big10 is going to provide a physical brand of football, a brand that will require top-tier performance from the line. There is no doubt that the talent is there, but they better take this game as an opportunity to build chemistry before the real tests.

The QB: It seems that sense his departure from Mississippi State Will Rogers has become underrated in the national conversation. Before his injury hampered 2023 campaign Rogers was one of the leading passers in the SEC and in the nation.

Despite all that he has some big shoes to fill. Will Rogers is not Michal Penix, and while we will likely hear comparisons throughout the season they have very different situations. Right now the Huskies need to figure out what they need from Will Rogers. And he needs to fill that role.

Defensive Dawgs: While the defense went through a similar overall as the offense there is much more continuity from last season. Alphonso Tuputala returns as maybe the biggest name from the 2023 Sugar Bowl champs, but many familiar names are still on the field. Carson Bruener emerged in the latter half of last season and looks to be transitioning smoothly into a starting spot. Along with a handful of returners the Huskies made some big additions on defense. Names like Ephesians Prysock, Zach Durfee, and Bryce Butler are all names you may recognize and names you will definitely be coming to know as this Huskies defense becomes more and more battle-tested.

Special Teams: As the competition improves, the margin for error will shrink. Last seasons the Huskies were excellent in special teams and that saved them in multiple games. Carson Bruener was a big contributor on that unit last year and look where he is now.

The Huskies are lucky to be returning both kicker Grady Gross, who is on scholarship this season, and punter JackMcCallister. Gross was perfect in 5 point after attempts, but he didn’t attempt any field goals against Weber State.   His ever expanding range could be a game changer for the Huskies this season.

McCallister has been excellent as a punter and been a big aid to the Huskies defense. Pinning teams deep is going to be even more important this season as the Huskies will likely be playing more of a field position game than in previous seasons.