The UW Huskies are now 4-2 and have the first signature win under coach Jedd Fisch after knocking off then-No. 10 Michigan 27-17 on Saturday night in a rematch of last year’s College Football Playoff championship game.
Huskies pull away in fourth quarter, beat No. 10 Michigan 27-17
It’s been an uneven start to the first season under Fisch, whose team struggled to keep mistakes in check in its losses to WSU and Rutgers. But after exacting revenge at Husky Stadium against the Wolverines, the Huskies found themselves back in the mix of the weekly Associated Press poll, picking up a few voting points in the rankings that were released Sunday.
With the Dawgs now six weeks into their first season as a member of the Big Ten, do we have an idea of who they are? FOX college football analyst and former Huskies quarterback Brock Huard shared his view on that question during Monday’s edition of Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports.
Ahead of the Huskies going to Iowa (3-2) for a 9 a.m. matchup this Saturday, Huard explained his view of UW by comparing it to a pair of undefeated Big Ten rivals who will do battle against each other this week: No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Oregon.
“They are not Ohio State and they’re not Oregon. And seeing Oregon again for the second time, just as a roster, they’re not there,” Huard said of the Huskies. “They don’t have that kind of depth and that kind of firepower. (Ohio State coach) Ryan Day is six years in, and (Oregon coach) Dan Lanning’s three years in. This is Year 1 (for UW under Fisch). This is six weeks in. So you’re not there roster-wise, but like this weekend, they’re one point underdogs at Iowa. I mean, can they win in Iowa City if they don’t beat themselves? Do they have more dynamic dudes?”
For Huard, the answer to that last rhetorical question is yes.
“Do you know that (UW wide receiver) Denzel Boston is second in college football with eight touchdown receptions? (Running back) Jonah Coleman is averaging 100 yards a game. He’s on pace to run for over 1,200 yards this year. I mean, those are difference-makers. Those are dudes. (Quarterback) Will Rogers has thrown 12 touchdowns, one interception. He’s fifth in college football in completion percentage. He’s getting the ball out of his hand.”
Huard is also giving credit to the Huskies’ defensive coordinator, Steve Belichick, whose unit ranks sixth in the country in yards allowed per play (4.16), eighth in yards allowed per game (256) and 10th in points allowed per game (13.17). And that’s a big part of why Huard has a high opinion of Washington not only now but when he predicted last week that the Dawgs would beat Michigan.
“This Belichick guy defensively has done a heck of a job. … He’s making the most of (UW’s defensive players) and getting the very most out of them, which is what great coaches are supposed to do. This is a top-10 defense. The Huskies, by metric, are a better defense than Iowa. They’re top 10 in total defense, they’re top 10 in scoring defense, they’re top five in pass defense. Like, they’re doing some great stuff.
“So they’re sitting here at 4-2 – which you know they really ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’ be 5-1 – with a second half that’s going to be a lot tougher. It’s gonna include (No. 4) Penn State, gonna include USC, gonna include Oregon. Gonna be really hard to even get to eight wins because of that loss at Rutgers or Wazzu – you gotta find a way to win one of those. But man, I think the trend line is going the right way, and that’s what I think is the singular most important thing.”
Hear the full conversation in the podcast from Monday’s Brock and Salk at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Brock and Salk from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports 710 AM, the Seattle Sports app and SeattleSports.com.
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