Washington Gets Back On Track During 52-3 Thrashing of Arkansas State

Throughout the summer, the Washington Huskies coaching staff has sent rave reviews towards their wide receiver group - but after injuries hampered the position during the first two weeks of the season they finally were able to show their strut during Saturday afternoon’s 52-3 win over Arkansas State.

Freshmen wide receiver Jalen McMillan’s outing was flat-out dominant, he hauled in 10 catches and piled up 175 yards and a touchdown. The Dawgs second-leading pass-catcher was redshirt freshmen Taj Davis who had 5 catches and was just shy of the century park with 94 yards. The other recipients of touchdowns through the air were junior wideout Terell Bynum and junior tight end Cade Otton.

Slinging the ball to these targets was redshirt freshmen quarterback Dylan Morris who has managed to receive less heat than offensive coordinator John Donovan but has had his name trending in the posts of Husky fan pages. On Saturday, Morris went 23/39 through the air and was good for 367 yards and 3 touchdowns but also had two interceptions.

Heading into the battle against the Red Wolves, the Huskies have been unable to escape the headlines. An opening week loss to Montana only became worse after a no-show by the UW offense in Ann Arbor against Michigan. After two abysmal showings, Washington made the siren blare all afternoon as they lit the scoreboard up to a tune of 52 points.

The first score of the night for the Huskies came on the second drive of the night, it totaled 10 plays, went 88 yards in 4:13 and was capped off by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Morris to Otton.

Then the Huskies were back on the board during their next drive after a 13-yard touchdown coming off the legs of senior running back Sean McGrew who likely has played his way back into the rotation. Starting sophomore running back was the next one to pitch in a touchdown, this one coming from two yards out and giving Washington a 21-0 lead and the rout was on.

With 10 minutes left in the first half, Dylan Morris launched the ball downfield where it was hauled in and taken across the goalline by McMillan. Morris threw an interception on the following drive with UW leading 28-0, that score would hold as halftime arrived.

In the second half, Washington continued to pour it on and with 4:37 left in the third quarter, McGrew had his second score of the night. Morris again threw an interception on the following drive, but it’d be his last of the night.

The Red Wolves would eventually tack on a field goal two minutes later and cut the score to 35-3.

The final three scores of the night came off a 42-yard throw and catch from Morris to Bynum, a 38-yard field goal from junior kicker Peyton Henry (on a drive led by freshmen quarterback Sam Huard), and a sack from redshirt freshmen defensive lineman Faatui Tuitele in which he forced a fumble that was scooped up and returned to the end-zone by redshirt freshmen outside linebacker Bralen Trice.

While the Huskies did have three turnovers which won’t fly against a tough opponent but it’s hard to nitpick after such a resounding effort in a much-needed victory. Next up, they’ll be facing a California Golden Bear team that has been known to give them fits over the years.

That game will be Saturday, Sep. 25 at 6:30 P.M. PT under the lights of Husky Stadium