The Huskies – and certainly their fans – were probably hoping for a quicker start against the Mountain West Conference’s Broncos, as UW trailed 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.
But Boise State, long one of the better non-Power Five conference teams in the country, is not the kind of program that can be intimidated wherever it plays. Credit the Huskies for coming out on top in the second quarter and taking a 28-12 halftime lead against a team that won 10 games last season and may do so again this season.
It was good for the Huskies to be tested early, and when Boise State scored their first touchdown of the game late in the first quarter, they were outgained in yards 97-20.
How would the Huskies respond to a bit of adversity? By answering with a touchdown and taking control of the game in the second quarter, he outscored Boise State 28-6 and took a 16-point halftime lead.
The UW defense had a few mishaps and missed more tackles than it would have liked, but that was a pretty good offense for the Huskies to contend with.
It wasn’t always pretty for Washington, but it was a very good start to the season.
Penix benefits from excellent protection
Washington quarterback Michael Penix certainly didn’t hurt his Heisman hopes on Saturday. The offensive line provided him with great protection, giving him plenty of time to scan the field and find receivers breaking out deep down the field.
The Huskies punted on their first two possessions, but that was quickly forgotten when Penix threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter.
With Penix’s accuracy and one of the best wide receiver groups in the country, the Huskies will make a lot of big plays this season when the offensive line handles the pass rush like it did Saturday.
The running game is still a question
Washington will be without running back Cam Davis, who was projected to be the team’s starter, and the question was how well Washington would run the ball.
The answer wasn’t great. The Huskies handed the ball off to Mississippi State transfer Dillon Johnson on their first two plays. Who started? With these runs he gained 1 yard.
Things didn’t get much better in the first half, it didn’t matter how well UW passed the ball. Will Nixon had a 21-yard run in the first half, but the other eight attempts netted 10 yards.
Nixon had a couple of good runs in the third quarter (for 14 yards), but UW only ran the ball three times in the third quarter.
The Huskies didn’t have to run much to beat Boise State, but there will likely be times this season when the Huskies will have to run the ball successfully to win.