The Washington Huskies cruised to a 30-9 win over Eastern Michigan at Husky Stadium to improve to 2-0.

The first quarter wasn’t very pretty for the offense, but hit the gas in the 2nd quarter. Giles Jackson converted a big 4th down that seemed to wake up/fire up the offense with the following play being a 41-yard TD reception to freshman tight end Decker DeGraff, who caught a sweet Will Rodgers pass and tight roped his way into the endzone.

Once Washington had the lead they never looked back, scoring on 4 consecutive drives. Running back Jonah Coleman came extremely close to scoring, but was ruled down at the half-yard line. He again was the engine of the offense and went over 100 yards (11 caries for 104 yards). It felt like there was a concerted effort by head coach Jedd Fisch to spread the carries out a little better among the RB’s in Week 2. Like there is no doubt Coleman wants to carry the rock on every play, and could probably do so, but it would serve the Huskies better if the carries were more spread out among the group. Coleman is an extremely important piece on offense and everything the coaching staff can do to keep him healthy for an entire season will benefit the team. Cam Davis (6 carries for 42 yards), Demond Williams Jr. (2 carries for 30 yards), Adam Mohammed (3 carries for 26 yards)& Sam Adams II (4 carries for 6 yards) all saw varying levels of action.

QB Will Rodgers was awesome. He finished the afternoon throwing for 261 yards on 21/26 pass attempts and 4 touchdowns. His 2nd TD pass, to Denzel Boston, might’ve been the best throw of the game. The QB zipped it in-between two Eagles defenders to Boston, who ran the quick slant to perfection. Boston finished with 3 catches for 32 yards and 2 TD’s.

By far, the best news of the game was the involvement of WR Jeremiah Hunter, as he didn’t record a catch in Week 1. It felt like Will Rodgers and OC Brennan Carroll made an effort to get him the ball in Week 2. He rewarded their faith by racked up 5 catches for 72 yards and 1 TD.

Another good sign for the offense was how well they ran the 2-minute drill at the end the first half, even with the Decker DeGraf and Denzel Boston drops. They went into overdrive and gained 65 yards on 8 plays in 1:27, which ended in an easy 1-yard TD reception for Boston. TE Keleki Latu also made an important grab on 3rd down to keep the drive alive.

The 2nd half was much of the same for the Huskies as they moved the ball at will. The opening drive was about as good as it gets for Washington with Will Rodgers going 4/4 for 58 yards, ending in a 24-yard TD reception for Jeremiah Hunter.

The offensive line gave Will Rodgers a mostly clean pocket to work from for most of the game. The only real issue for the group was the amount of holding calls they were flagged for. The most costly penalty happened on the second drive of the 2nd half when guard Gaard Memmelaar was caught holding, negating a sick Giles Jackson TD off of a screen pass.

The other issue came when QB Demond Williams Jr. subbed in for Rodgers in the 4th quarter and, on a scramble, didn’t properly secure the ball and had it knocked out of his grasp. Resulting in a Husky turnover. Going forward, it’s not something to worry about too much, as the coaching staff really wants to avoid turnovers at all costs and will drill that message into the young QB’s head.

Demond Williams Jr. didn’t get much of a chance to throw the ball, but with one of the few chances he had he threw a nice pass to WR Rashid Williams for 36-yards. It was interesting the way HC Jedd Fisch sprinkled the QB in throughout the game to get him some touches. One time the center snapped it low and he had to chase the ball down, falling on it. Another time he found the edge on a designed QB run, but the play was called back due to a hold. It’s good he’s seeing the field and getting game action, he just needs to stay ready and protect the ball better.

Overall, the defense has been very solid under DC Steve Belichick, not allowing a TD through 2 games. Early on, when the score was tied, the defense was having a little bit of an issue against the run, but tighten up in the redzone forcing a turnover on downs. Really, on all 3 of Eastern Michigan’s field goal’s, the defense bent but did not break.

Linebackers Alphonzo Tuputala and Carson Bruener were flying around, going sideline-to-sideline and laying some big hits on E. Michigan QB Cole Snyder. On the very first Eagles drive it felt like Tuputala made every tackle on the running back.

The secondary was also very active keeping the offensive player in-front of them, tackling in space and rallying to the ball. Safety Cameron Broussard (6 tackles), nickelback Jordan Shaw (4 tackles, 2 passes defended), CB Elijah Jackson (4 tackles, 2 passes defended), S Makell Esteem (4 tackles) and S Kamren Fabiculanan (4 tackles, 1 pass defended) chipping in. Star cornerback Ephesians Prysock had a quiet game with 2 tackles.

Once Washington took the lead, forcing the Eagles to pass more often, the pass rush took over and dominated. Defensive end Zach Durfee was outstanding, racking up 2.5 sack and 5 tackles. He’s the best, most talented pass rusher on the team. 4 other Washington defensive linemen recorded a sack; DT Elinneus Davis, DT Sebastian Valdez, DE Deshawn Lynch & DE Lance Holtzclaw. Nose tackle Jayvon Parker, making his season debut, was also credited with half a sack.

If the offense can get a lead, and force the opposition into being one dimensional, then the defense plays much better. When the opposition calls a balanced game, then the defense struggles. It’ll be interesting to see if Steve Belichick can remedy this.

On a slightly separate note, it’s totally bizarre the Apple Cup is being played in Week 3. For most Husky fans, and Cougars fans, the biggest rivalry game in the state of Washington should be the last game of the season for both teams. The stakes are still high (both teams are 2-0), but it felt more important as the regular season ender. A couple of times the Apple Cup determined if one of the teams would be eligible for the Pac-12 (RIP) championship. It’ll still be a fun, high-energy and emotional game, just not with the high, high stakes like normal. One of the few bummers of the Washington Huskies moving to the Big Ten conference.

GO DAWGS! BEAT WSU!