The Washington Huskies succeeded in giving fans an exciting game on Saturday afternoon, September 3, on a beautiful sunny day at Husky stadium.
Predictions for a blow-out may have been a little off, but the ultimate outcome of an opening day win is what matters most. The Huskies were victorious over the Eagles, 30-27, though the gave us a scare in the final minutes of the game.
The Eagles looked like they had the perfect opportunity to comeback and either tie or win the game with less than sixty seconds remaining on the clock. They were in field goal range when Desmond Trufant intercepted the pass thrown by Bo Levi Mitchell in the end zone to save the day.
So the Huskies may have looked a little rough, but give them a break, this was the opening game of the season, and they did get that all important first win. This should give them a good solid base to build their confidence and make improvements as needed.
We’ll get the negative parts of the game out of the way first. The Eagles gained more than double the amount of yards that the Huskies did, with 504-250, and the Huskies pass defense looked pretty horrific.
The stars of the day were Chris Polk, who was thankfully healed well enough to compete Saturday, and surprisingly, the Huskies’ special teams.
There were lots of comments on how well Polk played so soon after surgery. If there was any doubt before, Polk answered that question on Saturday. He will likely be the key factor if the Huskies go on to have a winning season this year, as expected.
Against the Eagles, Polk had 23 carries and 125 yards. The entire team had 250 yards on the day. If he hadn’t been there, the chances are we’d have been talking about a UW loss instead of a victory. Instead, the Huskies are celebrating their first 1-0 since 2007.
Huskies’ head coach Steve Sarkisian has emphasized how much special teams has needed to improve. Special teams has been one of their weak areas for the last couple of years. On Saturday, the extra focus on improvement paid off, with two recovered fumbles on punt coverage that led to a total of 14 points for the Huskies.
Another positive aspect of the game was Keith Price. He had a solid performance with three touchdowns, no turnovers, and went 17 of 15 for 102 yards.
All in all, the Huskies had an outstanding season opener, and are in a great place to move forward and build on what they’ve started.
K.C. Dermody lives in the Pacific Northwest and became a fan of the Washington Huskies after attending her first game in 1994. Napoleon Kaufman ran for a 91-yard touchdown to beat San Jose State, 34-20, that day, and she has been a fan ever since.
More from this contributor:
Fan’s view: A look at Washington Huskies star running back Chris Polk
All eyes on Washington Huskies starting quarterback Keith Price: A fan’s take