No one expected a win, but a competitive game from the Huskies was a reasonable expectation from the Washington fan base.
The game could not have begun more perfectly with Washington recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff. Up by a field goal a minute in? I'll take that. Unfortunately, the Husky offense after the opening drive was incompetent at moving down the football field. LSU's physicality and experience on defense, combined with a game-ending injury to offensive lineman Erik Kohler and an ineffective Husky running game, completely stalled UW's offense.
Some quick post-game bullet points:
- Keith Price failed to get in a rhythm the entire first quarter; all four drives ended in a punt. LSU's defensive front just straight up manhandled the Huskies offensive line. Not having a run game made it easier for LSU to expect and defend the pass; zero rushing yards in the first half from the Huskies.
- Credit Washington's defense for holding up and actually keeping the game within two scores for the majority of the first half. The defense did not break and only allowed two field goals in the second quarter, giving them some rest entering the first half as the Huskies deferred the kick at the start of the game.
- If I'm going to nitpick on defense, the Huskies starting safeties played poorly. Sean Parker and Will Shamburger took some bad angles on their tackles. Parker also had some poor miscommunication on defense with cornerback Tre Watson when both of them covered the screen receiver instead of at least one of them covering the receiver running the post route.
- Huskies also can't expect to stay in a game by shooting themselves in the foot. Six penalties for 47 yards in the first half? Not a statistic you want to see against the No. 3 team in the nation on the road.
Stick with this StoryStream for scores, updates and more from Washington's Week 2 game with LSU. For all things Huskies, head over to UW Dawg Pound.