Washington Huskies Roll Past Rutgers in Week One
Led by a high-powered passing game and some great play by the special teams, the Washington Huskies overpowered the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the 48-13 victory in the season opener.
The Washington Huskies finally got a chance to show the country what all the preseason hype was all about as they hosted Rutgers in a morning showdown at Husky Stadium. With questions surrounding whether the hype around the team was warranted, the preseason number 14 team played a very solid game from start to finish.
The Huskies got out of the gates quickly, scoring 24 points in the first quarter alone. Quarterback Jake Browning found Chico McClatcher for a 43-yard touchdown early in the quarter. Cameron Van Winkle would end up hitting a 45-yard field goal about halfway through the quarter. John Ross, after missing last season with a knee injury, scored twice in a three-minute span, catching a 38 yard pass and a 50 yard pass, both for touchdowns, from the sophomore Browning. The Huskies had a 24-0 lead after the first quarter.
Neither team could get much going offensively in the second quarter, but Rutgers finally got on the board with a field goal to cut the lead to 21 points. The ensuing kickoff resulted in John Ross scoring for the third time in the game, a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and his fourth kick return for a score in his career, and the Washington Huskies had a 31-3 lead. Cameron Van Winkle added his second field goal of the game as time expired in the first half and the Huskies returned to the locker room with a 34-3 lead at the intermission.
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More great play from the special teams came up in the third quarter when receiver Dante Pettis returned a punt 68 yards for a score and his fourth career punt return touchdown. The backups came in to play and quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels threw his first touchdown pass of his career, a four-yard pass to Andre Baccellia, and the Huskies had a 48-3 lead.
Rutgers would get 10 points in the fourth quarter, a 23-yard field goal and a 10-yard run from Janarion Grant. The Huskies won the week one contest by a final score of 48-13.
Washington Huskies vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights Stats:
Myles Gaskin ran for 57 yards on 15 carries to lead the rushing attack for Washington.
Jake Browning ended the contest with 287 yards and three touchdowns and one interception.
John Ross led all receivers with five catches for 90 yards and two scores, as well as a kick return for a touchdown to give him three scores on the day.
Brandon Beaver recorded the first interception of the season for the Dawgs and returned it an additional 46 yards.
The Huskies recorded 380 total yards and Rutgers recorded 304 yards on the day.
Next: Huskies: John Ross Back with a Bang
Looking forward:
Washington will host the Vandals of Idaho next weekend for the second game of their season. The Vandals are also 1-0 after a 20-17 victory against the Montana State Bobcats.