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Preview
The first big game of the season is here and it certainly has a lot of ramifications for both teams.
In case you somehow missed it, Washington (which was ranked No. 20) lost to FCS-level Montana in Week 1, while Michigan destroyed Western Michigan, 47-14. Though the Wolverines looked sharp, the Huskies enter Week 2’s contest at The Big House in desperation mode.
UW is led by quarterback Dylan Morris, who enters his second year with the program. Morris is a career 60% passer with 4 touchdowns and 6 interceptions to his name. He tossed three picks last week while failing to find the end zone. Washington’s receiving corps is banged up, with Ja’Lynn Polk out for the season and Terrell Bynum, Rome Adunze, and Jalen McMillan all considered week-to-week. We certainly could see one or more of the above back come Saturday. Of course, former Michigan WR Giles Jackson is now a Husky, which could make for an interesting return to The Big House. Richard Newton is the starting tailback and he managed 62 yards on 17 carries for an average of 3.65 yards-per-carry. In 2020, he averaged 5.3 yards-per-carry and 4.26 in 2019 — so that’s about what Michigan is going to get on the ground.
Defensively, Washington is rather stout, but it’s more in pass defense than run defense. It didn’t stop Montana from gaining 127 yards on the ground a week ago and let Utah run for 215 yards in 2020 while Stanford nearly made it to 200 the following week. Arizona and Stanford both (barely) eclipsed 250 yards through the air a year ago, but otherwise, Washington held Montana and its 2020 opponents to 144 yards or under. Names to watch are linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio and defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles. The Huskies defense got just one sack against the Griz and yielded no interceptions.
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