Despite slow going on ground, Chris Petersen says Huskies are ‘on track’

Washington quarterback Jake Browning tied a school record with five touchdown passes on Saturday. But with the No. 8-ranked Huskies failing to wow on the ground again in their 59-14 win over Idaho, the running game was what much of the questioning was focused on during head coach Chris Petersen’s press conference on Monday.

Petersen found that amusing.

“That’s why you guys are so on to the run game, because they’ve run the ball so well and so hard here,” Petersen quipped, referencing the Huskies’ history of stellar running backs. “So when someone throws for five touchdowns it’s not about that, it’s about ‘Why can’t we run the ball?'”

Point taken.

The Huskies are 2-0, have outscored their opponents 107-27 and their quarterback is tied for second in the country with eight touchdown passes. And while the running game is perhaps taking its time getting going, so far opposing defenses have shown that they’re going to do all they can to keep sophomore Myles Gaskin from taking over a game. As a result, Browning and his receivers are proving that they’re quite fine with the opportunity they’re being granted.

With all that considered, Petersen is feeling pretty good about the position his team is in at the moment.

“We’re on track. Nothing is going to be perfect and we’re always trying to fix things. But I think after Game 2, if you’re trying to forecast (before the season) … we would hope it would look something like where we are right now.”

If there’s any specific part of their game that the Huskies can feel good about, it’s certainly their ability to throw, and even that could be in for a boost soon. Junior wide receiver Brayden Lenius, who Petersen announced before the season opener was suspended for three games due to a violation of team rules, would seemingly be back in time for the Pac-12 opener at Arizona on Sept. 24.

Petersen was somewhat vague when asked about Lenius’ status on Monday, but it still sounds like the big-bodied receiver could return at any point after Week 3.

“We’ll see. We’re going to cross that bridge when we get there,” Petersen said when asked if Lenius was on track to play vs. Arizona. “We have a long ways to go. One week is a long way in college football, so we’ll see.”

Lenius had 33 receptions for 363 yards and three touchdowns in 2015, and there’s no doubt his 6-foot-5, 231-pound frame would add another dimension to the team’s passing game that has so far been led by smaller, speedier big-play threats John Ross, Chico McClatcher and Dante Pettis.

Looking ahead

The Huskies will wrap up their preseason schedule Saturday at home against FCS competitor Portland State, a team that knocked off Washington State last year but is  unlikely to give Washington much of a run on the scoreboard. The Vikings and their mobile quarterback Alex Kuresa will provide a different look than anything the Washington D has played against in recent years, though.

“We haven’t seen this offense around here, ever, since I’ve been here. Very similar to Nevada’s pistol offense that is really unique with a guy that can run it real effective,” Petersen said of Portland State. “We better be ready to play and defend some stuff we haven’t seen, and we better score some points, because those guys are good at scoring points.”

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