The Good
Dante Pettis - Why are teams still punting to him? Plus, three totals touchdowns and more than 100 yards passing/receiving. Even if Pac-12 teams don’t punt to him, opposing teams having to avoid him at all costs should be a huge field position advantage all season.
Jake Browning - I’m guilty of nitpicking Browning so I want to call out his play Saturday. He was at his best and as good as he was at his peak last season.
Myles Gaskin - Gaskin was impressive again in limited usage - with more than six yards per-touch and three touchdowns. He looks like he is in warm-up and still killing it.
Hunter Bryant - The freshman tight end blew up Saturday. He already looks like the best pass catcher the Huskies have had at tight end since Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
Tevis Bartlett - Bartlett had his best game as a Husky. He looked like the edge playmaker they so desperately need right now. His interception was a thing of beauty.
3-0 - It wasn’t exciting, but the Huskies won each non-conference game in a comfortable fashion and enter Pac-12 play relatively healthy and 3-0. They also got young players and depth players a ton of quality game time.
The Bad
Run game - I don’t want to overreact, but I again didn’t love what I saw from the run game. Maybe the Huskies are playing possum, but I thought we were going to see the Husky run game we saw in the Pac-12 Championship Game where they controlled the game with two great running backs running behind a big, athletic, veteran line, but I just haven’t seen it yet. The good news is the Huskies didn’t run the ball especially well in soft non-conference play last year either.
Pass rush - The Huskies just don’t look to have much ability to create pressure, especially on the edge. This could be a huge problem down the line. Especially without Sidney Jones, Kevin King and Budda Baker back there holding things down.
The Unknown
What to take away? It’s tough to take much away from three games against teams I wouldn’t put in the Top 100 of best college football teams. Should we worry about the issues the Huskies have shown or rejoice about the strengths? I really don’t know.
Banged up players? A handful of prominent players sat Saturday against Fresno State. Was this just a wise rest to get these players ready for Colorado, or will the Huskies be missing some playmakers against the Buffs?
Colorado? Open on the road against a team you embarrassed in a big game the last time you played is scary, but how good is Colorado? Their defense looks better than I thought it would be, but their offense not as good. Also, how set on kill will they be? Will the Huskies walk into a hornet’s nest in Boulder?