Huskies notes: UW offense took ‘a step in the right direction’ against Arkansas State, with Pac-12 play on deck
There are nine games remaining on the regular season schedule — and the entirety of Pac-12 play ahead — for this Washington offense to continue to take shape.
Following what was an unexpected slow start the first two games of the season, questions swirled about how productive the Huskies might be in the coming weeks.
But, Saturday afternoon’s result against Arkansas State, a 52-3 rout in which UW’s offense contributed six of the program’s seven touchdowns, certainly offered more encouragement about this group three games in.
The Huskies scored one touchdown in a loss to Montana. They scored one touchdown and added a field goal in a loss to Michigan.
But, then the offense reached the end zone six times — including four on consecutive drives in the first half — against Arkansas State, piled up 598 yards, nearly matching 634 yards it combined for the first two weeks, and effectively moved the ball throughout much of the contest.
Second-year quarterback Dylan Morris, making his seventh start, threw for 300-plus yards for the first time in his career, finishing 23-of-39 passing for 367 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
He connected with two of his projected top targets, who both sat out UW’s season-opener before returning against Michigan, in Jalen McMillan (10 catches, 175 yards) and Terrell Bynum (four catches, 64 yards) for touchdowns, while the Huskies’ third starter, Taj Davis (five catches, 94 yards) also consistently contributed. Morris threw another touchdown to his trusted tight end Cade Otton.
UW added three more scores on the ground, including two from sixth-year tailback Sean McGrew, and another from starter Richard Newton, as eight running backs combined for 200 yards out of the backfield.
It was the first time UW exceeded 500 yards of total offense since its season-opener against Eastern Washington in 2019. And though Arkansas State had given up a combined 1,018 yards of offense to its first two opponents prior to visiting Seattle, the Huskies’ convincing production on offense offered a needed boost.
“It’s just one game,” coach Jimmy Lake said during his Monday morning meeting with media members. “We’ve still got tons of improvement to do on that side of the ball. But, it was a step in the right direction.”
Lake wasn’t specific on changes in offensive approach after the two losses, but emphasized the importance of finding the end zone after tallying only 17 through the first two games.
“It’s a fairly easy assumption that we need to put our players in position to move the ball, and put points on the board,” he said. “One of our jobs on offense is to score. That’s what we’re supposed to do. When we get the ball, we’re trying to go down and score.
“So, I’m very proud of our offensive line, proud of Dylan Morris, of our wide receivers, of our young wide receiver (McMillan) going out there and making plays, and our whole stable of running backs, able to run the football.”
Lake did note the Huskies mixed in more run-pass option and play action against the Red Wolves, and said he thought Morris “handled it really well.”
“We definitely trickled some stuff in there, and then some play-action stuff, which is different,” he said. “There was definitely a mixture of all of that. Some were run calls, some they did have the option to throw it, and some were fake run calls where we threw it.”
The Huskies (1-2) now look ahead to their first Pac-12 opponent in California (2-1), which visits Husky Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night, and will get their first opportunity this season to string together back-to-back wins. Cal also won its first game of the season last week when it hosted Sacramento State, after dropping back-to-back losses to Nevada and TCU the first two weeks.
The Huskies have the needed momentum. Their offense showed progress against Arkansas State, their defense shut out an offense that was among college football’s most productive entering the game, and it resulted in their most lopsided win since 2017.
“It was very exciting to get some results from all the hard work that our team has been putting in, and that was a big emphasis,” Lake said. “We need some results from those extremely hard practices that we’ve had. So, we’re happy about that.
“But, now we’ve got to go back to work. … Our guys have already gone back to work, and now we’re getting ready to prepare for conference play.”
THE LAST TIME UW PLAYED CAL
More than two years have passed since the Huskies last played Cal, in their Pac-12 opener back in 2019, when a nearly three-hour lightning delay in the first quarter eventually gave way to a deflating, 20-19, loss for UW in the early hours of a Sunday morning in Seattle.
“I remember the electric atmosphere that was in Husky Stadium — minus the lightning — the electric atmosphere with our fans,” said Lake, who was at that point UW’s defensive coordinator. “And we had a punt return I believe it was, we had a big stop on defense, the crowd was going crazy. You could feel the momentum in Husky Stadium.
“And then, all the sudden, the break. … I remember there was a lot of discussion about if it continued on that they would just cancel the game. It was something we weren’t expecting, but hey, no excuses. You’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to go finish the game, and we didn’t finish it, and they played better than us when the lights came back on.”
UW last beat the Golden Bears in a 38-7 rout in 2017 in Seattle. The Huskies were upset, 12-10, in Berkeley in 2018, in a game where Gonzaga Prep product Evan Weaver, a former state player of the year pick by The News Tribune, returned a third-quarter interception for the winning 37-yard touchdown.
What has made Cal such a tough opponent for the Huskies in the two most recent meetings?
“They’re going to be sound on defense,” Lake said. “They’re not going to make a lot of mistakes. They’re going to get turnovers. And then on offense, they have a really good running game, and they don’t turn the ball over. So, that’s going to keep you in every single game.
“And, if you look at both of those, it’s a one-score game, low-scoring. I don’t think either team scored over 20 points in the last two years in 2018 and 2019. … That’s going to keep you in every game. If you can play great run defense, you can run the football, get turnovers and not turn the ball over, you’re going to be in every game. And we came out on the short side of both of those.”
EXTRA POINTS
▪ McGrew, who led the Huskies in rushing last season, made his first appearance in the backfield this season against Arkansas State.
Newton, who has started each of the first three games, and Cameron Davis were the only two running backs who carried the ball for UW the first two games against Montana and Michigan.
When McGrew got his chance to contribute Saturday, he scored twice, on runs of 13 and 2 yards, and carried the ball six times for 31 yards on his 10 offensive snaps.
“What I mentioned in the first couple weeks, we’re always trying to get our running backs in a rhythm,” Lake said on why this was the right time to get McGrew involved in the offense. “In the spring, and in training camp, we were really getting Rich and Cam in a rhythm, and they were playing really well. They deserved to get those reps. Kamari (Pleasant) and Sean, they were right there as well. We have a wealth of running backs that can get the job done.
“In this game plan, we were able to get more running backs in there, and Sean seized the opportunity and made some plays. But, so did Rich. Rich made some really good plays, too. Rich had his best game. Offensively, I think they all had their best game.”
▪ The Huskies made a pair of changes to their projected starters ahead of Saturday’s game, including starting redshirt freshman Faatui Tuitele on the defensive line with Sam Taimani. Taimani and Tuli Letuligasenoa had started the previous two games.
“Faatui’s been playing really well, and those three actually could be starters,” Lake said. “That’s the way we look at it. So, we put him out there, and sure enough he made a bunch of plays. He’s the one that caused the fumble that Bralen Trice was able to scoop and score.
“It’s been a joy to watch those three D-tackles, who we have talked about needing to take the next step in their game, playing better. Taki, Tuli and Faatui still have tons of room to grow and continue to develop, but I see all three of those guys as starters.”
▪ Redshirt freshman inside linebacker Daniel Heimuli made his first career start against Arkansas State, playing 34 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and contributing one tackle.
“He played really well,” Lake said. “I’m so excited for him. He’s been banged up a little bit, battled back through some little setbacks here and there. He’s seen his game just reach another level. He’s another young man that has matured and watched more film now as an older player on our roster. He’s still not even that old. Very pleased with Dan, and you’re going to see him continue to play a bunch of football for us.”
▪ Five true freshman have now appeared in a game for the Huskies this season, including Voi Tunuufi (47 defensive snaps in three games, per PFF) and Kuao Peihopa (28), who have been in the rotation on the defensive line since debuting against Montana.
“Usually young guys like that they cannot handle our menu of calls, they can’t handle the run block schemes that they’re seeing up front,” Lake said. “When we saw those guys being able to be productive against our offensive line in the spring and in training camp, we knew that they were going to be ready for it.
“Now, as we get into real play and the spotlight is on and we’re going against another opponent, just like everybody there’s going to be that point of like, ‘OK, college football is really fast. Alright I’ve got to be on the details of my position. I can’t get out of my gap. I have to make sure I do my job.’ And that’s just a growing maturation process that those guys are going through, along with a lot of our young guys.
“But, happy where they’re at right now. They’re getting better every single week and it’s awesome that we have that depth with those two guys. They’re getting some awesome reps to make them better.”
Five-star quarterback Sam Huard (11 offensive snaps), his former Kennedy Catholic High School teammate in wide receiver Jabez Tinae (15), and defensive back Davon Banks (who has played on special teams) are the other three true freshman who have played to this point in the season. All three made their first career appearances against Arkansas State.
This story was originally published September 20, 2021 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Huskies notes: UW offense took ‘a step in the right direction’ against Arkansas State, with Pac-12 play on deck."
