Happy Monday, Dawg fans. Washington finally got the kind of result it needed on Saturday, and maybe more importantly, the kind its fan base had been waiting to see.
The Huskies handled Eastern Washington 48-16 on a perfect autumn afternoon in Montlake, snapping back after two underwhelming offensive outings against lesser opponents. The scoreboard got moving, the young receivers flashed, the running game took a step forward even if it still wasn’t fully there, and the penalties and discipline issues from the Apple Cup showed up again in ways Washington would rather not revisit.
Eastern Washington came in at 1-2 and did enough early to make things interesting, scoring 10 points on its first two drives. After that, though, the Eagles were mostly bottled up.
They managed just 27 total yards over their next two possessions before halftime, with two punts and a turnover, and Washington started to separate midway through the second quarter by turning an EWU fumble into a touchdown three plays later. From there, Eastern scored only 6 points over the final 43 minutes.
The Huskies’ defense also made life hard on the Eagles in the red zone and on fourth down. Washington stopped Eastern on three fourth-down tries in the second half, and EWU never converted a fourth down in the game. For the third straight week, the opponent’s leading rusher was its quarterback - Nate Bell finished with 50 yards - though Malik Dotson gave Eastern its most noticeable running-back production of the season with 13 carries for 48 yards.
Washington’s offense, meanwhile, kept the pressure on early. The Huskies scored on every first-half drive except one interception thrown from inside Eastern’s 10-yard line, a mistake that is hard to pin on Demond, IMO. That half featured four touchdowns and a field goal, and the offense looked far more in rhythm than it had in the first two games.
One thing that did not disappear was the flag count. Eastern had five third-down conversions, the same number of first downs Washington gave it via penalties.
That total got a little messy because Xe’ree Alexander’s targeting and Jacob Lane’s punch came on the same play, leading to a 30-yard first down for Eastern. The Eagles’ earlier touchdown drive was also helped by 30 yards of Husky pass-interference penalties.
By the end of the night, Washington had piled up a collection of discipline issues: a late hit, the targeting ejection, the thrown punch that also led to an ejection, and three defensive pass-interference calls. Seven of the Huskies’ eight penalties came on defense, with the lone other flag on special teams. Washington’s offense stayed clean and did not commit a penalty.
There were a few other telling details from the game. After two of his first three kickoffs sailed out of bounds, Hunter McKee was replaced by Grady Gross, who then hammered five straight touchbacks and added a sixth kick that was fielded at the 1-yard line. And once again, Washington opened the second half with a three-and-out, making it three straight weeks that pattern has repeated.
The bigger picture from the weekend was a lot more encouraging than the messier parts. Christian Caple noted the offensive line rotations Washington used and wrote that Demond Williams “seemed to throw with better precision and timing than in UW’s first two games… Everything looked in rhythm.” That fits the feel of the night, especially with the young pass catchers making noise and the offense moving with more confidence.
As Idrissa Gaye put it, “Washington football lights up the scoreboard, bludgeoning Eastern Washington 48-16”. Dan Raley pointed out that three of the seven Husky touchdowns came from freshmen, with Jordan Clay, Trez Davis, and Ansu Sanoe all reaching the end zone. Other postgame coverage focused on the penalty problem and on tight end Baron Naone’s role in unlocking the offense early in the season.
Five of Washington’s remaining nine opponents sit above.
In Other News...
Washingtons 3-0 Start Comes With A Defensive Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Washington wrapped up its nonconference slate at 3-0 after a 48-16 win over Eastern Washington, but the first stretch of the season came with a familiar kind of concern on the defensive side. The Huskies have shown enough to head into Big Ten play unbeaten, yet the penalties have been hard to miss, and head coach Jedd Fisch along with linebacker Jacob Manu both pointed to discipline as a priority moving forward.
The latest game underscored the issue again, with eight penalties for 101 yards helping turn an otherwise comfortable result into a reminder that cleaner football is still needed. For a defense about to face a tougher league schedule, the margin for error will shrink quickly, and Washington cant afford to keep putting itself behind the sticks or giving opponents extra chances. [Read more 🡒]
USC Faces A Familiar Washington Problem With More At Stake Now
USCs Oct. 3 meeting with Washington now has a network and a kickoff window, with the game set for NBC in the late afternoon from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. For both programs, it is another chance to stack a prominent stage onto a rivalry that has become even more interesting because of where the teams are headed and who is guiding them, with Jayden Maiava and Demond Williams likely to be central figures.
The coaching subplot gives the matchup even more weight. Lincoln Riley and Jedd Fisch have crossed paths before, and Washington has been a particularly stubborn problem for USC in recent seasons, adding another layer to a series the Trojans still trail historically. With that backdrop, this one feels like more than a conference date on the calendar, especially with each side carrying plenty into early October. [Read more 🡒]
Washingtons International Class Suddenly Has A Roster Problem
Washingtons international recruiting class, which looked like a potentially useful source of depth and skill, has already hit an early snag. Boris Tisma, one of the Huskies overseas commits, was ruled ineligible by the NCAA because of prior professional experience, and he has since signed with Spanish club CB Estudiantes. For a program trying to piece together its backcourt and wing depth, the loss is more than a footnote, especially with roster construction still very much in motion.
The opening created by Tismas exit is one reason Washington was able to add transfer point guard Tayshawn Comer, a move that gives the Huskies another ball-handler to work with. Even so, the broader picture around the class is still unsettled, because the eligibility status of Wini Braga and Tristan Devers remains unclear under NCAA rules tied to their different backgrounds. For a team hoping to get the most out of its international pipeline, the next few decisions could shape how useful that class actually ends up being. [Read more 🡒]