Instant observations from UW Huskies’ 30-9 win vs E. Michigan

SEATTLE – The UW Huskies comfortably passed the second test of the Jedd Fisch era. Now the games start to get tougher.

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After a sluggish start, the Huskies ran away with a 30-9 victory over the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday at Husky Stadium. UW is now 2-0 under their first-year head coach and has in-state rival Washington State on the docket next in the Apple Cup. Before the attention switches to the longstanding rivalry, here’s six instant observations from the Huskies’ victory over Eagles:

• Another slow start for offense: It took some time for the Huskies offense to get rolling at home against an inferior opponent for the second straight week. After failing to score on their first two drives against Weber State last week, they didn’t put points on the board until their fourth drive against Eastern Michigan on Saturday. The slow start against the Eagles included UW having a punt blocked on its opening drive and a sloppy possession that saw quarterback Will Rogers stumble to the ground on a dropback and an errant snap on third-and-3 that led to a 16-yard loss and third straight punt. Those probably aren’t the starts the offense was looking for against what figures to be its two weakest opponents.

• Big-play Dawgs: While it was a slow start for the offense, things really picked up once the unit started moving the ball on its fourth drive. UW found the end zone on its next four drives and added a field goal afterwards on its way to pulling away from Eastern Michigan, and chunk plays were a common theme of those scoring drives. The Huskies’ first TD came on a 41-yard connection between Rogers and tight end Decker DeGraaf, which happened one play after Rogers and wide receiver Giles Jackson linked up for 29 yards. Running back Jonah Coleman ripped off a 64-yard run on the opening play of the next drive to set up a quick second score. Rogers started the third TD drive with a 20-yard pass Jeremiah Hunter. And Rogers connected on two more 20-plus-yard passes on UW’s fourth TD drive, which ended on a 24-yarder to wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter. In total, the Huskies had nine passes of 15 or more yards, seven runs of 10 or more yards and nine total offensive plays of at least 20 yards.

Yeahhh Decker!!! TD Huskies 🙌 @DeckerDegraaf

📺 @BigTenNetwork #AllAboutTheW pic.twitter.com/4WhKR1MT5c

— Washington Football (@UW_Football) September 7, 2024

• Durfee unleashed: The Huskies had hoped edge rusher Zach Durfee would be a big part of their defense when he arrived on campus last year after transferring from NCAA Division II Sioux Falls, but his waiver for eligibility with the NCAA was denied before the season started. The redshirt junior showed the type of impact he can make for the Huskies defense on Saturday, collecting a team-high 2 1/2 sacks – all in the first three quarters – while also getting pressure on the QB on multiple other occasions. Those sacks were the first in Huskies uniform for Durfee. After the win, he admitted he still feels a bit rusty after missing an entire season’s worth of games. If this what Durfee looks like when not at 100%, it will be really interesting see how he does when he feels fully comfortable.

Zack. Sack. 😤🙌 @zach_durfee

📺 @BigTenNetwork #AllAboutTheW pic.twitter.com/dXnvZ6a2cl

— Washington Football (@UW_Football) September 7, 2024

• Defense in control on situational downs: The UW defense was immediately thrust into a challenging scenario when Jack McAllister’s punt was blocked on the Huskies’ opening drive and Eastern Michigan took over at UW’s 32-yard line. However, the result of the Eagles’ ensuing drive was zero points thanks to a goal-line stand from the defense. UW came up with stops on four straight plays from inside 5-yard line to force a turnover on downs that stopped the Eagles from gaining any early momentum. That set the tone for a strong overall performance by the defense in situational spots. The Huskies held Eastern Michigan to just 3 of 14 on third-down attempts, including 2 of 12 after the opening drive. It should also be noted the the early defensive stand helped UW’s defense finishing a second straight game without allowing a touchdown.

• Three quarters of dominance: The first quarter was a forgettable one for the Huskies, who trailed 3-0 while being outgained 82-36 in total yards by the Eagles. But it was all UW the rest of the way as the Huskies held a 30-6 advantage on the scoreboard and and 465-122 edge in yardage over the final three quarters. Those last 45 minutes sure looked a lot more like what a game for UW against a MAC team that went 6-7 last year should.

• Some things to clean up: One of the few areas of the game that UW didn’t hold an advantage in was penalties. The Huskies were flagged eight times for 100 yards, while the Eagles had just four penalties for 42 yards. The timing of some of the flags for the Huskies could have also been quite a bit more costly against a better opponent. After recovering a fumble, UW lost 15 yards of field position due to a taunting penalty after the play. Then, the sideline was called for an infraction just a few plays later to push the Huskies back following a 16-yard gain. And the Huskies gifted their opponent a red-zone possession with a late hit after a slide by Eastern Michigan quarterback Cole Snyder. Those penalties, paired with a blocked punt and blocked extra point, are details UW will surely be looking to tighten up moving forward.

More on the UW Huskies

• Dawg Talk: Brock Huard’s weekly look at the UW Huskies
• UW Huskies back in the top 25 – in one poll, at least
• What Brock Huard saw in UW Huskies’ first win under coach Fisch
• UW Huskies Takeaways: Three things from Fisch with focus on Week 2

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