SEATTLE — For the first time in three years as Washington’s head football coach, Chris Petersen spent his Monday press conference talking about how well the Huskies played in their season opener.
Last year, they began the season with a 16-13 loss at Boise State in which they rushed for just 29 yards on 22 carries.
The year before, the Huskies escaped with a 17-16 victory against a Hawaii team they were expected to defeat easily.
But here was Petersen on Monday, discussing the Huskies’ 48-13 demolition of Rutgers in their 2016 season opener, and sounding a little cheerier than he did following the first two openers of his UW tenure.
On UW’s offensive line: “I thought they pass protected really well. I thought that pocket was extremely clean most of the time. There was a little bit of pressure, but you’re going to get that. I thought it was as good as it looked, overall, since I’ve seen it.”
On UW committing just three penalties: “We didn’t have one flag on offense or special teams, so we were really pleased with that. I don’t know if I’ve ever had that in a first game.”
On UW’s first touchdown, a 43-yard pass from quarterback Jake Browning to receiver Chico McClatcher: “The execution was really good. The pass protection was good. Jake throws a really accurate, good deep ball. So I think there was a lot of that going on.”
Indeed, there was plenty to like about the way the 14th-ranked Huskies played against the overmatched Scarlet Knights. And with another inferior opponent visiting Husky Stadium on Saturday — Idaho is an early 37-point underdog — UW will have a chance to refine the few areas in which it did not particularly excel last week.
The most glaring was the running game; sophomore tailback Myles Gaskin totaled just 57 yards on 15 carries, and the Huskies managed just three yards per rush as a team.
“We’ve got some work to do there,” Petersen said. “That’s the style of our offense. If people are going to load up and bring those safeties downhill and try and stop the run, then hopefully we can throw the ball a little bit over their heads. It’s a cat-and-mouse game. But I think we can run the ball better. I would hope so.”
Extra points
Petersen said the injury that kept sophomore defensive lineman Jaylen Johnson from playing Saturday is not a long-term ailment. … The Huskies added three walk-ons to their roster this week: offensive lineman A.J. Kneip and long snapper Luke Lane from Bellevue High School, and punter Luke Porter from O’Dea. … Sixteen UW players made their collegiate debuts Saturday: true freshmen Brandon Wellington, Aaron Fuller, Taylor Rapp and Nick Harris; quarterback Tony Rodriguez; linebackers Benning Potoa’e, Kyler Manu, Bryce Sterk, DJ Beavers and Jusstis Warren; receivers K.J. Young and Andre Baccellia; defensive linemen Jared Pulu, John Clark and Ricky McCoy; and offensive lineman Jared Hilbers.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
