Here are three instant impressions from Washington’s 56-19 win over Boise State on Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium.
Huskies respond when tested early
The Huskies — and certainly their fans — were probably hoping for a faster start against the Broncos from the Mountain West Conference as UW trailed 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.
But Boise State, long one of the better non-Power Five conference teams in the country, is not the type of program that will be intimidated wherever it plays. Credit the Huskies for pulling away in the second quarter and taking a 28-12 halftime lead against a team that won 10 games last season and might do it again this season.
It was good for the Huskies to get tested early, and they were being outgained in yards 97-20 when Boise State scored the game’s first touchdown late in the first quarter.
How would the Huskies respond to a little bit of adversity? By answering with a touchdown and taking control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring Boise State 28-6 to take a 16-point halftime lead.
The UW defense had a couple of breakdowns and more missed tackles than it would want, but that was a pretty good offense the Huskies faced.
It wasn’t always pretty for Washington, but it was a very good way to start the season.
Penix takes advantage of great protection
Washington quarterback Michael Penix certainly didn’t hurt his Heisman hopes Saturday. He was afforded great protection by the offensive line, allowing him plenty of time to scan the field and find receivers breaking free deep down the field.
The Huskies punted on their first two possession, but that was quickly forgotten when Penix threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter.
With Penix’s accuracy and one of the best wide receiver groups in the country, the Huskies are going to make a lot of big plays this season if the offensive line handles the pass rush like it did Saturday.
The running game is still a question
Washington is without running back Cam Davis, who had been projected as the team’s starter, and the question was how well would Washington run the ball.
The answer was not great. The Huskies handed the ball on their first two plays of the game to Dillon Johnson, the transfer from Mississippi State. who got the start. He netted 1 yard on those carries.
It didn’t get much better in the first half, not that it mattered with how successful UW was passing the ball. Will Nixon had a 21-yard run in the first half, but the other eight attempts netted 10 yards.
Nixon had a couple of good carries in the third quarter (for 14 yards), but UW only ran the ball three times in the third quarter.
The Huskies didn’t need to run much to beat Boise State, but there will probably be times this season when the Huskies will need to run the ball successfully to win.
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