It was a pretty up and down win, with some great things from the Huskies and some things that were less good, but it ultimately ended in a 38-21 victory after they pulled away in the second half. Let’s get to what we learned for the first time this season!
“Strikes and gutters, ups and downs.”
I’ve called Jonah Coleman both a bowling ball, and a rolling ball of butcher knives. Last night, he proved that, yes, he is still both of those things. Behind a much improved offensive line, Jonah used his spectacular vision, agility and power to gash the Rams defense, to the tune of 177 yards on 24 carries and 2 touchdowns. And even when Coleman was out, Adam Mohammed provided a nice change of pace, as more of a straight-line power back, scoring the first of hopefully many touchdowns for the Huskies from 1 yard out in the second quarter. Demond Williams also proved he’s every bit of the dynamic athlete that was promised by Coach Fisch, running out of danger and making plays happen with his improvisational skills (most notably a play in the second quarter where he scrambled out of trouble, finding Freshman Dezmen Roebuck with a pinpoint throw on the run for 23 yards). Denzel Boston was also good, hauling in 5 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, picking up right where he left off, and hopefully setting the stage for a stellar season.
There were, of course, mistakes made. Demond was sacked 3 times, there were communication issues at points, which included a lost fumble on a snap that Demond wasn’t ready for, which resulted in Colorado State tying the game at 14 going into the locker room at the half. And, it wasn’t immediately clear who would occupy the WR2 spot (whether Rashid Williams or Dezmen Roebuck steps into that role remains to be seen, as neither differentiated themselves enough in Week 1 to provide a definitive answer). The status of Omari Evans (listed as questionable) could also complicate things offensively. But all in all, I was impressed with the offense, in spite of some issues, and it’s early, so there’s plenty of time before this team’s identity is rounded into form!
Under Pressure
It was a bit of a rocky debut for the new look Husky defense headed by Ryan Walters. The mostly cover 1 based attack can be good, but it requires a lot of the unit to be on the same page, and for the front 7 to take the pressure off the secondary, something that we didn’t really have in this game, outside of Jacob Lane, who had 5 tackles and 2 TFL, and Devin Hyde, who had a sack. Sooner or later, the quarterbacks are going to be good enough to make throws and not sail it, like Fowler-Nicolosi did a few times. And when that happens, if we don’t have pressure, it’ll be a long day for the defense.
Alex McLaughlin did well, and he looks like he can be that reliable safety that can play multiple roles, whether playing up in the box or coming down to provide run support. Makell Esteen came up clutch as well, with an interception and 9 tackles. But, I’m still unsure that this defense is in its ideal form, as so many of the transfers either struggled, or were nonfactors. Again though, it’s only game one, so everybody put your pitchforks away for now! It’s clear that there’s need for improvement, both schematically and in terms of personnel, something that the staff and players are no doubt aware of. I’m not well-versed in scheme, so we’ll have to wait for Coach B’s breakdown, but there’s definitely room to improve.
Special Forces
New special teams coordinator Chris Petrilli was tasked with reshaping a unit that struggled mightily last year, and he got off to an okay start in game one. The kickoff returning duo of Adam Mohammed and Jonah Coleman combined for 4 returns for 113 yards, while Grady Gross nailed all of his extra points and one field goal from 24 yards. The kickoff coverage remained suspect, with a 50 yard Colorado State return late in the second quarter, a frankly odd onside kick call (the drive thankfully ended in a Makell Esteen pick) and a touchback on a Luke Dunne punt.
The story of special teams mirrors the story of the game at large: a good win, but with plenty of room to improve, in all phases. Thankfully, this team’s identity is nowhere near set in stone, and I consider myself an optimist, so (as I’ve said) I’m hopeful that these issues will be sorted in a few weeks’ time, and we’ll find out who this team really is come early to mid October or so!
Extra Things
- I’d like to hand out a game ball to Kade Eldridge, the transfer tight end from USC who served as a fullback, scoring on a 1 yard run for his first college touchdown, on his first college carry to boot!
We have another late game against Chris Petersen’s alma mater, the UC Davis Aggies, next week!