By Khalid Bennett, The Seattle Medium
Coming off their first win under head coach Jedd Fisch, the University of Washington Huskies welcomed a team from the MAC conference, Eastern Michigan, to Husky Stadium. The newly ranked Washington Huskies, now 25th in some polls following a 35-3 victory over Weber State in week one, looked to build on their strong start. However, for the second straight week, the Husky offense started slow, failing to convert on third downs in the first quarter. Special teams also struggled, allowing a blocked punt that set Eastern Michigan up on Washington’s 32-yard line.
Washington turned to its defense for a spark, and after early offensive struggles, the defense delivered key stops, including a crucial fourth-down stop that kept the Eagles off the scoreboard. Senior linebacker Carson Bruener, who had no sacks last week, was relentless, putting tremendous pressure on Eastern Michigan quarterback Cole Snyder and halting several promising drives. Despite this, Eastern Michigan took an early lead with a 57-yard field goal by Jesus Gomez—the second-longest field goal ever at Husky Stadium.
Trailing 3-0, Washington’s offense finally gained momentum, led by running back Jonah Coleman. In a pivotal moment, coach Fisch made a risky decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 30-yard line. The unorthodox play—a play-action pass—paid off when quarterback Will Rodgers found Giles Jackson in the flat for 29 yards, extending the drive.
“I felt like it was time that we needed to do it… when we were a yard short, I said we’re going for this. Then I said, am I really going for this? Then I said, Steve [Belichick], are you cool with me going for this? And he had the coolest answer of any defensive coach I’ve ever been around and said it’s our job to stop them no matter where they get the ball,” Fisch explained regarding the decision.
Washington capitalized on the gamble when Rodgers connected with tight end Decker DeGraaf on a 41-yard touchdown pass, giving the Huskies a 7-3 lead. Washington found the end zone on their next three drives. Rodgers threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Denzel Boston, set up by a 64-yard run from Coleman. Rodgers later added a 1-yard touchdown run and a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hunter.
“The best thing about Denzel [Boston] is that he’s always looking for the next one. He had two touchdowns today, and it was the fourth quarter, and he’s like, ‘Man, we should be up by more,’” said Rodgers, describing the passion Boston brings to the game.
Rodgers finished the day completing 21 of 26 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns. Coleman contributed 104 yards on 11 carries. With a 27-6 lead, Washington’s defense continued its dominance, recording seven sacks and keeping an opponent out of the end zone for the second straight week.
“Two games in a row without giving up a touchdown—that’s impressive,” Fisch remarked about his defense’s performance. The Huskies went on to win 30-9.
Next week, with their move to the Big Ten, Washington will face Washington State in the annual Apple Cup in an unprecedented non-conference matchup at Lumen Field.
