Washington Huskies overcome slow start in rout of Eastern Michigan, improve to 2-0

SEATTLE – Jedd Fisch’s initial instinct was to trust his gut.

Washington was facing 4th-and-1 from its own 30-yard line with 10:32 remaining in the second quarter. The Huskies were trailing 3-0. They had punted on each of their first three drives. Fisch’s instincts said Washington needed something to ignite its offense, so he hurried his players to the line of scrimmage planning to run the ball right up the middle.

Then, Eastern Michigan called a timeout. The break allowed Fisch to re-evaluate his decision. He sought counsel from defensive coordinator Steve Belichick.

“I checked in with him and said, ‘Hey, are you cool with me going for this?” Fisch said. “He had the greatest answer of any defensive coach I’ve ever been around, and it’s ‘Hey, it’s our job to stop them no matter where they get the ball.’”

So Fisch went for it. Fifth-year quarterback Will Rogers took the snap, faked a handoff and rolled to his right before flipping a pass to wide receiver Giles Jackson, who took the ball 29 yards down the field and gained the first down. One play later, the Huskies were celebrating in the end zone, taking a lead they never relinquished.

Washington beat Eastern Michigan 30-9 in front of 64,222 fans at Husky Stadium on Saturday, overcoming a slow start on offense and leaning on its defense to pave the way. The Huskies have won 16 consecutive home games, and haven’t lost at Husky Stadium since the 2021 Apple Cup.

It’s the second-longest active home winning streak in the country after Michigan lost to Texas 31-12 at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, and the third-longest home winning streak in program history.

While the Huskies (2-0) ran out more-than-worthy winners on Saturday, the fourth-down conversion may have been the catalyst for the victory.

Washington’s offense had an abysmal start to the game. The Huskies accumulated 34 total yards during its first three drives, despite gaining 36 yards in its second drive alone.

UW’s first drive ended in disaster, when junior Jack McCallister’s punt was blocked allowing EMU to take over at Washington’s 32-yard line. The Eagles (1-1) drove deep into the red zone, but Belichick’s defense made four stops inside its own 5-yard line to force the turnover on downs.

The Husky defense bailed the offense out again before the UW’s fourth drive of the game. Senior linebacker Bryun Parham, a San Jose State transfer, punched the ball out of EMU quarterback Cole Snyder’s hands while the Eagles signal caller was running down the right sideline. Fifth-year safety Cameron Broussard recovered the fumble, despite the large black cast covering the finger he dislocated during fall camp, to keep UW close.

Washington’s offense, however, continued to falter. Perhaps no play epitomized its struggles more than the final snap of the first quarter, where Rogers slipped as he rolled to his right after faking a handoff, losing seven yards in the process. So even the veteran quarterback admitted the play wasn’t a guarantee when Fisch called play action play again on 4th-and-1.

“It’s a good call if it works, but it is 4th-and-1,” Rogers said. “I thought it was a great call. We executed it really well and I thought Giles was really good after the catch.”

Jackson’s 29-yard catch set the Huskies up for their first touchdown of the game, a 41-yard touchdown to tight end Decker DeGraaf down the right sideline. Rogers said the team had practiced that play for 30 minutes earlier in the week and Fisch praised the team for executing when they got the look they were waiting for from the Eastern Michigan defense.

DeGraaf is the first UW player to catch touchdowns in the first two games of their true freshman season since James Johnson did it against LSU and Idaho during the 2009 season.

Rogers and the offense found their rhythm as the quarter continued. He fired a 13-yard touchdown to sophomore receiver Denzel Boston with 3:07 remaining in the half, then found Boston again from 1-yard out with 24 seconds on the clock to punctuate a 21-point second quarter. His final touchdown was a 24-yard strike to fifth-year wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter on the Huskies’ first drive of the second half.

The Mississippi State transfer finished the game with 261 yards on 81% completion. It’s the ninth time Rogers has thrown four or more touchdowns in his career.

Hunter had five catches for 72 yards after only getting two targets in the season-opening win against Weber State. Jackson added six catches for 66 yards and junior Jonah Coleman rushed for 104 yards on 11 carries, including a 64-yard run to set up Boston’s first touchdown that was the longest rush by a UW player since 2019.

Junior edge rusher Zach Durfee led the Huskies with 2.5 sacks and five tackles. Broussard, fifth-year linebacker Carson Bruener and sixth-year linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala all had a team-best six tackles. Washington’s defense still hasn’t surrendered a touchdown this season.

“Obviously, we have to start better and things like that,” Rogers said. “But anytime you have a defense like we do, that can stop them no matter the situation, we feel like if we turn the ball over on downs on our own 10, we feel like our defense will get the stop.

“That’s just the confidence we have in our teammates, the confidence we have in each other.”