Washington Huskies (1-0)
Hawaii Warriors (1-0)
The Huskies plays host to Hawaii this weekend in week two of the college football season. Hawaii opened up their season with a 34-17 thumping over Colorado, a new member of the Pac-12 conference.
UH shutout the Buffaloes in the first half, 17-0, but the Buffaloes battled back in the second half cutting the Warriors lead to 24-17. Warriors senior quarterback Bryant Moniz put the game away in the fourth quarter by converting on a fourth-down conversion to extend a scoring drive. On the same drive, Moniz put the Warriors up by two touchdowns by completing a 22-yard shovel pass to freshman running back Joey Iosefa.
Also coming off a win is the Washington Huskies. However, disappointment was a main theme after barely beating Eastern Washington, a non-division one opponent by only three points, 30-27.
Huskies senior kicker Erik Folk and junior cornerback Desmond Trufant took home Pac-12 player of the week honors after the victory. Folk was perfect, nailing field goals from 53, 47 and 40. Trufant made a game-winning endzone interception for the Huskies with 35 seconds left in the game. His interception stopped a driving Eagles offense that was in striking distance to to tie or win the game.
Offensive Player to Watch:
Bryant Moniz (Sr.), Quarterback
Moniz rushed for 121 yards and scored three touchdowns, while also passing for 128 yards and throwing one touchdown through the air. After facing the top FCS quarterback in Eastern Washington's Bo Levi Mitchell last week, the Huskies again will have their hands full against another dynamic quarterback. Moniz led the nation in passing (360.0 ypg) and total offense (367.3 ypg) last season. Though he is known for his role as a pocket passer, last week's performance proved that Moniz can also make defenses pay by running.
Defensive Player to Watch:
Paipai Falemalu (Jr.), Defensive Line
The junior lineman accumulated two sacks and six tackles for a loss in last week's win against Colorado and won himself WAC Defensive Player of the Week as a result. This pass-rushing defensive end will test Huskies quarterback Keith Price's ability to maintain composure in the pocket and also test his running ability when his pass blocking breaks down.
Washington fans, head on over to UW Dawg Pound for in-depth pre-game analysis leading up to Saturday.