Huskies Roll Past PSU, Look Forward to Starting Pac-12 Play in Arizona

The Huskies continued their domination of lesser opponents last weekend with a 41-3 victory over Portland State. The number 9-ranked Huskies start Pac-12 play this weekend when they travel to Tuscon to face the Arizona Wildcats in the Huskies’ first real challenge of the season.

The Huskies faced their third straight lackluster opponent in Portland State and promptly took care of business, getting out to a 28-0 lead at the half and allowing just three points to the Vikings.

Jake Browning continued his outstanding play, throwing for 163 yards and with four more touchdowns to bring his season total to 12 thus far. Fellow sophomore, Myles Gaskin, enjoyed his best game of the season as he ran for 93 yards and a touchdown and only needed 13 carries to do so, while also hauling in a four-yard catch for a touchdown as well.

The Huskies receiving corps continued to play as a well balanced group. Eight different Huskies hauled in a catch while four different receivers had touchdown receptions. The group was led by Chico McClatcher, who caught four passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns.

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The Huskies defense allowed just three points and 182 total yards as the Huskies clearly dominated both sides of the ball.

Washington will now have their first real challenge as conference play starts with a tough road trip to Arizona.

After a 49-3 beat-down in Husky Stadium last season, the Wildcats are going to be looking for revenge on their home turf.

The Wildcats enter the game at 2-1, losing their season opener to BYU, and then beating Grambling State and Hawaii.

On offense, the will likely be without starting quarterback Anu Solomon, who has a knee injury. Solomon has had a lot of success in his previous two seasons at quarterback, and Brandon Dawkins will likely be under center for Arizona after filling in the previous two games. Dawkins has thrown for two touchdowns and no interceptions and has also ran for 215 yards and five touchdowns.

Sep 17, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; A Husky band member slaps hands with Washington Huskies wide receiver Dante Pettis (8) after a game against the Portland State Vikings at Husky Stadium. Washington won 41-3. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /

Nick Wilson is the starting running back for Arizona. The junior ran for 257 yards and two touchdowns and figures to be a large part of their offense this Saturday.

Trey Griffey, the son of Seattle legend and MLB Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr. is the leading receiver for the Wildcats through the first three games of the season. He has nine receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown so far.

If the Wildcats are going to be successful on offense, it’s likely going to come on the ground. Dawkins is more of a running quarterback and they only have two receivers with over 10 catches so far. That, plus the loaded secondary that Chris Petersen and the Huskies boasts makes for a tough day for the Wildcats aerial attack.

Arozona’s defense has allowed a lot of yards this season so far. They rank 102 out of 128 teams in total yards allowed with 1306 yards allowed through three games. They have allowed 288.3 yards a game through the air and 147 yards per game on the ground. Given how often the Huskies have been passing so far this season, don’t be surprised to see Browning have a heavy workload against this defense.

The Prediction

Despite this game being on the road, all signs point to another Husky victory.

The defense has yet to allow a touchdown thus far, the Wildcats are playing a backup quarterback and Arizona has given up a lot of yards through the air while Washington’s passing attack has been lights-out through the first three weeks of the season.

Next: Can the Huskies Keep up the Momentum?

Getting Myles Gaskin involved early will be important, but after a strong showing last week, it’s likely he’ll get loose and have a good game this week against a below-average defense.

Being on the road changes this slightly, and the Huskies are 11-point favorites as of writing this, and I feel they should cover in this game.

My score prediction:

34-17

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