SEATTLE -- No.8 Washington looked very good in its home opener against a less-than-stellar Rutgers opponent. Despite not having the best test in terms of quality of opponent, the Huskies showed signifiant improvements on both sides of the ball.
In our week one film review we examine how the Huskies looked in their opener after the initial glow has worn off.
Quarterback:
The maturation of starting quarterback Jake Browning from his freshman to sophomore year cannot go unnoticed. Browning showed improved decision making early and displayed a significant deep ball, something that was lacking in 2015.
Browning threw two post routes down the right side in the first quarter, one to Chico McClatcher for the opening touchdown (43-yards) and a second to John Ross (50-yards) for the third touchdown.
The sophomore signal caller started the game 5 of 7 for 104 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter, before throwing his third in the final minute of the first quarter. Browning finished the game 18 of 27 for 287 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
With Idaho, an FCS-bound program, coming in this Saturday it's going to be a short afternoon for the sophomore quarterback.
Running back:
Given the significance of the passing game there wasn't much for sophomore running back Myles Gaskin to add against the Scarlet Knights. However, Gaskin added 57 yards on 15 carries while not finding the end zone, which is something UW head coach Chris Petersen can live with given Browning's success.
Gaskin, along with redshirt sophomore Jomon Dotson, provided enough balance to allow the explosive pass plays down the field which is something, again, UW didn't have in 2015.
Last season Gaskin wound up carrying a significant amount of the load on offense with Browning coming on toward the end of the season. This season, it appears a change of power is in order with Browning carrying the load and Gaskin, a 1000-yard freshman runner, being an assistant.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:
Rutgers was on the receiving end of a long, long wait for junior receiver John Ross to remind the country of his electric speed. The Huskies didn't have a deep threat last season, or any receiving threat at all outside of Dante Pettis and a one-time SportsCenter Top 10 receiver in Brayden Lenius.
Lenius is suspended for the first three games of the season, which takes a way a significant tall receiving threat for the Husky offense. For the time being the Huskies have proven its no loss for Browning or anyone in wide receiver coach Bush Hamdan's meeting room.
An under the radar note from the Rutgers' blowout is redshirt freshman Andre Baccellia recording his first career touchdown. Baccellia added the Huskies' final touchdown of the game in the third quarter, a 4-yard touchdown reception from backup quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels.
It remains a relatively thin position in comparison for a deep UW roster, but the group looked good nonetheless against Rutgers. On the tight end group, there isn't a defined starter on the depth chart but senior Darrell Daniels and redshirt sophomore Drew Sample took the majority of the snaps.
Offensive Line:
The Huskies offensive line is a year older on the ends with left tackle Trey Adams a sophomore and right tackle Kaleb McGary a redshirt sophomore. However the Huskies only allowed two sacks in the open opener, and no offensive penalties which is something of a point of emphasis for both Petersen and offensive line coach Chris Strausser.
From an offensive success stand point Browning had an almost perfect pocket on over 90 percent of his throws, if not more. With the lack of penalties and a prolific offense on display, it's a simple check mark for the Rutgers game along the offensive line.
Defensive Line:
UW only recorded three sacks against Rutgers, but controlled the line of scrimmage a majority of the game and pressured Scarlet Knights quarterback Chris Laviano a lot throughout the game.
Both starters Elijah Qualls and Vita Vea recorded a sack while UW added a third team sack against Rutgers last Saturday. Rutgers did have a handful of decent runs against the UW defense, but overall there wasn't a lot of concern along the Huskies' defensive line in their season opener.
As UW advances into conference play the Huskies will need a little more from the young-but-improving defensive line, but it's a good start for first-year defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe.
Linebackers:
Arguably the heart and soul of the UW Death Row defense is the linebackers, led by juniors Azeem Victor and Keishawn Bierria. Both made their mark on the game early with Bierria forcing a fumble in the first quarter combing to record 23 total tackles together, and setting the tone on defense.
UW also showed their depth behind the leaders with Ben Burr-Kirven and Tevis Bartlett, both on defense as backups and on special teams in both kickoffs and punt returns. Neither lit up the stat sheet, but proved they are ready for more playing time as the season goes along.
Defensive Backs:
The more well known part of the UW defense showed their muscles, limiting Rutgers to just 168 yards through the air. Senior safety Brandon Beaver recorded the teams only interception and almost made it a pick-six, before being tackled inside the 10-yard line setting up a quick UW touchdown.
On the outside, senior cornerback Kevin King made a decent amount of standout tackles along with junior Darren Gardenhire. Given the defense held the Rutgers to just over 300 yards, with a majority coming in technical garbage time in the second half, it was a solid start for defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake.
Special Teams:
Washington, surprisingly, could have crossed the 50-point mark with kicker Cameron Van Winkle missing a 47-yard attempt in the second quarter. However, Van Winkle connected from 42-yards and 45-yards in the first half while adding six points from extra points.
The Huskies other scholarship kicker Tristan Vizcaino recorded five touchbacks of the eight kickoffs he made. With several elite kick returners in the Pac-12 conference it will be important to keep those touchback numbers high.
On the return game Dante Pettis notched his first punt return for a touchdown against Rutgers while John Ross made his mark taking a kickoff return for a touchdown. Petersen puts a high emphasis on special teams, both in offense and defense, and both got high marks against Rutgers.
