SEATTLE — Three games into his college football career, University of Washington quarterback Jake Browning is looking really good for a true freshman.
Heck, he is looking really good, period.
Browning, who has still yet to attend his first college class, threw for 368 yards on Saturday afternoon, tying for the 11th-highest one-game total in UW history. He also had three touchdown passes as the Huskies closed their non-conference schedule with a 31-17 thumping of Utah State.
Against a strong Aggies defense, Browning was good when he followed the offensive script and just as good when he ad-libbed. Two of his TD throws were the latter. Browning found running back Dwayne Washington in the flat when he was the third receiving option and Washington turned it into an 81-yard scoring play. Later Browning completely improvised on a 3-yard pass to tight end Drew Sample for the team’s final touchdown.
One of Browning’s few blunders was an interception on the first play of the third quarter, a pass he called “a dumb play by me.” But he followed that miscue with 12 straight completions, a string that continued into the game’s late minutes.
Browning’s ability to shrug off mistakes and move on “is kind of how he is,” said UW head coach Chris Petersen. “Whether he throws a touchdown or an interception he’s on to the next play, and I think that’s kind of a rare and unique quality. I think all quarterbacks would like to have that, but I still think it’s rare for most quarterbacks.
“He has it and he’s also a young guy and that’s one of the reasons we kind of like him,” Petersen added with a smile.
After Cameron Van Winkle’s field goal gave the Huskies an early 3-0 lead, Browning pushed the margin to 10-0 early in the second quarter. Flushed from the pocket, he found Washington in the left flat and the running back tight-roped the sideline — and got two downfield blocks from wide receiver Dante Pettis — for the 11th-longest passing play in team history.
After linking with Washington again on a 33-yard scoring strike early in the third quarter, Browning showed his poise once more on the TD pass to Sample. The intended target was tight end David Ajamu to the left, but he was covered by the Utah State defense. Under pressure from the Aggies rush, Browning whirled and ran to the right and then floated a soft pass to Sample for a leaping catch in the end zone.
That play, Petersen said, “kind of turned into street football.”
Because his short throw had to drop over a defender, “it was kind of risky,” Browning admitted wryly. “Luckily it turned out the way it did.”
Another big factor for the success of Washington’s passing game on Saturday was the job done by the offensive line, a unit with just two returning part-time starters from a year ago. Browning was sacked once, but “for the most part they protected Jake really well,” Petersen said. “They let him set his feet and throw the ball down the field.”
“Protection was a main concern and I thought we protected really well,” agreed UW offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith. “We felt like if we could protect (Browning), we could throw it.”
Washington’s defense had its consecutive string of scoreless quarters end at seven when the Aggies kicked a field goal in the second period, followed by a touchdown right before halftime. Otherwise the Huskies kept Utah State in check, though a fumble by UW backup quarterback Jeff Lindquist that was returned 97 yards for a touchdown made things interesting for the game’s final 10 minutes.
That glaring mishap aside, the Huskies generally played well against a good opponent. “Our guys executed and did some pretty good things,” Petersen said, adding, “I think we gained a little confidence today.”
Having won two of three non-conference games, the Huskies now head into their nine-game conference schedule, beginning with next Saturday’s home meeting with California.
Is Washington ready for its rugged Pac-12 slate? “I don’t know if you’re ever ready,” Petersen said. “If you’ve got another (non-conference) game for us, we’ll probably take it. But I think the preseason was a learning experience in a good way.
“I think there’s been a lot of football learned by a lot of people in these three weeks. And I’m really anxious to see where we are three weeks from now as well. … I just know if we can continue to practice hard, if these will stay focused and if we can stay relatively healthy, then we’ll get better.”
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