Husky Football Team Looking for Second Straight Win

The  Washington Huskies will be looking to make it two games in a row Saturday when they host the Arizona Wildcats Saturday  Night   ( 5:00 p.m. ) at Husky Stadium the Wildcats ( 0-1) are looking to even their record after last Saturdays tough 34-30 season loss to  USC  in Tucson. Here are three keys for a Husky win.

RUSH TO JUDGEMENT

 While early its evident that the Jimmy  Lake Era is about rushing the ball and wearing down the opposition. Against Oregon State the Huskies  churned out 277 rushing  yards on 51 attempts.  Running backs  Sean McGrew (  9-91-1), Kamari Pleasant ( 12,-61-1) and Richard Newton ( 15, 42) lead the multi pronged ground attack.

Arizona allowed 173 rushing yards on 32 attempts and three touchdowns in their loss to USC. Look for the Huskies to exploit the Wildcat’s porous run defense. The Huskies are 22-3  when they have a back who rushes for at least 10o yards. The record dates back to the 2016 season. Last year the Huskies were 4-2. Look for

DEFENSIVE  IMPROVEMENT

After surrendering 21 first-half points to Oregon State last week the Husky defense shut out the Beavers in the second half. The defense limited the Beavers to just two third-down conversions forcing two punts, turn over on downs, and a game-ending interception. Linebackers

 Edefuan Elofoshi had a team-high 10 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, and 4 pass break-ups to lead the Husky defense. Fellow linebacker/ D lineman Zion Tupuola-Fetu record four tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles to earn Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week. The Huskies defensive line and linebackers will need to play sound gap defense as they will face a versatile, big and quick running back in Gary  Brightwell

In the Wildcat’s loss to USC Brightwell rushed for  112 yards on 21 carries. Brightwell average 5.3 yards a carry in the game.

WILL RECEIVERS SHOW UP?

Redshirt freshman Dylan Morris played an efficient game in the Huskies’ win over the Beavers despite multiple drops by UW receivers.  Terrell Bynum let the unit with four receptions for 66 yards despite dropping several passes. Puka Nacua was also guilty of the dropsy’s catching just two passes for 19 yards. The lackluster play of the wideout was noticed by Lake.

BIG  TAKE AWAY

Lake preached continuous improvement by players and coaches during both of his press conferences this week.  Wildcats spread offense will be a slight challenge for the Husky defense. If the  Husky defensive line can win the battle in the trenches and turn the Wildcats into a one-dimensional team the Husky DB could have a field day. Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell completed 24 of 36 passes for 286 yards three touchdowns and just one interception. The Husky DB’s are the best in the league and with a combined effective pass rush should force Gunnell into making uncharacteristic mistakes.