A commanding win against an FCS opponent. Let’s get right to it.
Passing Offense – 8/10
Quarterback – 8/10
Offensive line – 9/10
Receivers – 8/10
A clean and tidy, albeit not dominant effort, from the pass game. Believe it or not, this was actually Demond Williams’ second lowest completion rate of his short Husky career (he was 64% in this game, and 2/3 against Weber State and 6/10 against Penn State, 60% for both), and he threw for just one touchdown and 254 yards. But, there was nothing “bad” or even average about his performance in a game where aside from a few well timed scrambles, he didn’t have to do much. With time a plenty in the pocket, he was able to show off some nice touch and timing on downfield throws, including a beauty to Raiden Vines-Bright in the first quarter.
Backup QB Kai Horton came in late in the game and looked like a decent player with a big arm and was aggressive throwing it downfield. The offensive line played an excellent game and PFF notes only five QB pressures allowed for the group. On the receivers, it still feels like after Denzel Boston there’s a battle for who will be the number two (especially after Rashid Williams was apparently injured).
Rushing Offense – 9.5/10
Running backs – 9/10
Offensive line – 9/10
This is the area of the game where Washington flexed it’s muscles. As a team, UW rushed for 324 yards and a whopping eight touchdowns. Jonah Coleman scored an incredible five of those touchdowns on just 15 carries, to go along with 111 yards. He forced missed tackles (ten, per PFF), and routinely found himself in the open field. Adam Mohammed tacked on 95 yards a score. The run game ultimately powered an offense that scored a touchdown on every single one of its drive. As it should have, Washington dominated an FCS team on the ground.
Passing Defense – 9/10
Defensive backs – 9/10
Pass rush – 8/10
UC Davis QB Caden Pinnick came into the game showing some ability to find open receivers downfield and navigate the pocket with this elusiveness and escapability. He showed almost none of that against a Washington front that effectively bottled him up all night, setting the tone with a sack on the first play of the game, from Jacob Lane. Pinnick finished just 8/16 for 50 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. CBs Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock smothered their receivers and UC Davis finished with just 142 yards in the air, total. That said, it seems like Prysock is destined to never get an interception. The pass rush turned 16 pressures into three sacks, including one from Zach Durfee who got on the board for the season.
Rushing Defense – 8/10
The raw numbers are stellar – UC Davis rushed for only 76 yards on 24 carries. They didn’t let Pinnick get loose on scrambles or designed runs. Bryce Butler was credited with two PFF “stops” on just six run defense snaps. But, Washington’s defensive front doesn’t feel as stout as you’d like. Game on Paper puts Washington’s “stuff rate” on run defense at just 5%, which is in the less than 1% percentile for week 2.
Special Teams – 8/10
Kickoffs still feel like an issue, but everything else looked good. With no field goal attempts or punts – it was that kind of day on offense – there isn’t much to evaluate. Denzel Boston’s punt return touchdown was fun, so there’s that.
Coaching – 9/10
Washington absolutely throttled an overmatched team and left no doubt from the start that they were going to win handily. It wasn’t perfect – this is still a Washington team with some flaws – but they scored a touchdown on every possession, a rare feat no matter who they are playing. Defensively they were largely dominant as well. There was a slight chance UC Davis could catch Washington looking ahead to an early bye week and September Apple Cup, but that didn’t even come close to happening.