The Washington Huskies breezed through their first two home games with easy wins over Boise State (56-19) and Tulsa ( 43-10). While neither win was perfect the Huskies showed their superior talent in both games once their high-powered offense went from second to fourth gear in a matter of seconds. When playing at home the favorable crowd can give you that edge to get you started. That won’t be the case Saturday Night.
HOW WILL THE HUSKIES HANDLE ADVERSITY?
The no. 8 ranked Huskies will hit the road for the first time this season when they take on the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
How will the Huskies handle their first foray into a hostile environment? If the Huskies offense is slow to start which it has done in the opening two games, how will Heisman Trophy Candidate Michael Penix Jr handle the adversity? The Spartan’s defense is second in the FBS in third down conversions with a 1.48 conversion rate, second in sacks with ( 5.0), and fifth in total defense allowing just 206 total yards per game.
The Spartan’s defense is led by Cal Haladay a redshirt junior linebacker who led the Big Ten last year with 10 tackles a game and has 15 tackles in the Spartan’s first two games. The Husky offense has recorded 20 plays from scrimmage that are 20 yards or longer. The Spartan defense has not allowed a single play of 20 yards or more in its first two games.
HUSKY DEFENSE WILL BE TESTED?
The Husky defense will face its most talented quarterback to date in the Spartans Noah Kim who was voted Big Ten offensive player of the week. Kim was 18 of 22 for 292 yards and three touchdowns in the Spartans 45-14 win over Richmond.
In addition to the precision passing of Kim the Spartans have a formidable running game led by Nathan Carter. The redshirt sophomore is tied for first in the Big Ten and fourth in the FBS with four rushing touchdowns and ranks third in the league with 112 rushing yards per game.
DISTRACTIONS
This game will come down to which team will be able to block out the distractions. For the Michigan State players, it will be a question of how they will handle the suspension of former head coach Mel Tucker On September 10. Tucker is under investigation for sexual assault. Secondary coach Harlon Barnett who in his 15th year with the Spartan program was named acting head coach on the same day.
While this is not the first big road game for the Huskies under Kalen DeBoer it is the first road game of the 2023 season. With college athletes, there is always an element of danger when traveling. The Huskies played distraction-free in last year’s Alamo Bowl victory over Texas. Look for a repeat business trip performance.
