Excellent victory for the Huskies today. The 52-24 clown stomping they gave Colorado today was not nearly as close as the score indicated.
Expect Washington to be ranked in the top 25 next week for the first time in since they beat USC during Sark's first year in Seattle.
The Huskies (5-1, 3-0) have now scored at least 30 points or more in its first six games for the first time in school history and are 5-1 for the first time in a decade. The 52 points were the most since 2001. They have also won ten of their last eleven games dating back to 2010 if anyone is keeping score at home.
The Huskies scored on their first six possessions of the game and Colorado never really figured out how to slow them down. Keith Price was simply masterful at quarterback. He was firmly in control of this game from the minute he stepped on the field.
Up next is sixth ranked Stanford on the road on Palo Alto next weekend. The Cardinal are playing the Cougars in Pullman tonight. That game is being broadcast on Versus and is scheduled to kick off in a few minutes.
Quarterback - Keith Price tossed four touchdown passes for the Huskies. He was six out of seven on third down conversions. He had one of the better first halves by a Husky QB that I can remember seeing in recent memory. Nick Montana made his debut late in the third quarter. He was sacked from the blindside and fumbled on his first play from scrimmage. He came back to complete his first pass and lead the Huskies down the field for one last touchdown. - Grade - A
Running Back - Chris Polk had his usual strong game going over the century mark 118 yards on 18 carries. Jessie Callier scored his first career TD on a long run and picked up 81. Bishop Sankey gave us a glimmer of what to expect in the future with his burst of speed. He picked up his first touchdown and gained 71 yards on only eight carries. Kevin Smith scored an early touchdown on an end around. The Huskies picked up a whopping 295 total yards on the ground. - Grade - A Plus
Wide Receiver - Seven different Huskies had receptions which shows you just how evenly Price was distributing the ball. Name your favorite catch because there was a lot of good ones. Perhaps mine was a diving one by ASJ for a first down in the first half. Kearse had a big day with five receptions for 84 yards and a TD. Aguilar smoked the Buffs for six receptions and a TD. Everyone held onto the ball and there was some great down field blocking going on. Grade - A
Offensive Line - The Huskies picked up 562 yards with 295 of them coming on the ground. That means that the offensive line was moving some people around. Senio Kelemete picked up a couple of 15 yard penalties which was pretty uncharacteristic of him. Keith Price had plenty of time and was really only touched once that I can remember. - Grade A
Defensive Line - Colorado was only able to pick up 75 yards on the ground so these guys were successful at plugging up the middle. I thought Ta'amu was pretty active throughout the game but as a group they need to find a way to bring more pressure next Saturday when they play Stanford. The huskies seem to have the horses but they need to start bringing it big time next week against Andrew Luck. - Grade B Plus
Linebackers - This group keeps getting better. I really like the dimension of nastiness that Jamaal Kearse brings to the game. Dennison as usual was exceptional. We had an extended Tutogi sighting and he played well while he was in there. I really like the way that Gilliland plays. He has a real nose for the ball. There is some real depth starting to build here. - Grade A Minus
Secondary - It was a good game for the secondary. We didn't give up any glaring big plays and we held Colorado to only 207 yards through the air. I thought Quinton Richardson gave us some good reps which is good to see. Greg Ducre who took his starting job continues to impress. Trufant had some nice tackles. Justin Glenn continues to stand out at safety. Will Shamburger got a lot of playing time and had four solo tackles. - Grade - A Minus
Special Teams - We dominated Colorado in every facet of special teams play. Erik Folk and Will Mahan did what they had to do when they were called upon. Keith Smith continue to impress returning kicks. He is going to break one in the not too distant future. Our coverage units were excellent from start to finish.when a team starts coming up wit thumping hits on special teams each week you can tell it is maturing...the Huskies as a team are doing exactly that. Grade - A
Coaching - Sark called one helluva of a game. He had his team playing at a high tempo level in the first half that Colorado couldn't even begin to keep up with. The Washington offense is starting to play at a level that few teams in the conference are going to be able to play with.
Colorado came out and drove the field for touchdowns on their first possessions of the first and second halves. That had folks in the stands, message boards, and chat rooms immediately jumping all over Nick Holt. The defensive settled down quickly in both stanzas and played a pretty good game.
Stanford is going to be a huge test for this team but keep in mind the Huskies are pretty battle tested and the Tree's haven't played anyone nearly as good as Washington yet.
Grade - A
Offensive Player of the Game - Keith Price - Four TD passes are hard to argue with.
Defensive Player of the Game - Alameda Ta'amu - I think this was the most active we have seen him all year.