The Washington Huskies were the benefactor of a wild week in college football, moving up three spots in the AP Poll. They did this after knocking off a lowly, but scrappy, UCLA team. Now Washington has to travel to Eugene for a big-time face-off with #17 Oregon. But, before we get into that matchup preview, how did the SAD prospects fair against UCLA?
QB Jake Browning
18/26, 265 yards, 2 Total TDs (1 Rushing), 1 INT
Browning played another great game for the Huskies and was more efficient throwing the ball down the field. His interception wasn’t the best of throws but wasn’t his worst either. He simply overthrew Aaron Fuller, but mistakes like that happen even for a senior. Outside of that, he was efficient and effective, which is a great sign heading into this weekend.
RB Myles Gaskin
27 attempts, 116 yards, 2 TDs
Gaskin was his explosive, powerful self against a weak UCLA defense. Last season, he had a monster game against the Bruins, rushing for 169 yards. While he didn’t have the same amount of yards, Gaskin was strong and effective as usual. Expect another heavy workload for him next weekend and maybe more Salvon Ahmed too. Gaskin also scored his 50th career rushing touchdown on Saturday.
OT Kaleb McGary
The Washington line allowed two sacks, even though UCLA’s best pass rusher Jaelan Phillips didn’t play. Personally, McGary had a bounce-back game after being penalized numerous times against BYU. The Husky line seems to be improving as a whole and will need to be at full strength against Oregon this weekend.
DT Greg Gaines
2 TKL’s, 1 QB hurry
Washington had trouble getting to freshman QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and wasn’t able to record any sacks. Gaines also seemed to be a focal blocking point in the run game, as Joshua Kelly ran for 125 yards on the Husky defense.
Gaines is going to be a key cog in beating Oregon next weekend. Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal is a former offensive line coach and the Oregon line was able to withstand Stanford’s pass rush for most of that game.
LB Ben Burr-Kirven
15 TKLs, 9 Solo, 1 PD
BBK has been the biggest surprise on the defense this season. Husky fans have known he was good, but his performance this season has been eye-opening. Burr-Kirven probably won this game for the Huskies, because without his range, Joshua Kelly might have run wild over the defense. He also had the tip that led to Washington’s second interception of the season.
S Taylor Rapp
5 TKLs, 3 Solo, 1 PD, 1 INT
Isn’t it crazy that Washington only has two picks on the season? Rapp’s diving attempt to pick off Thompson-Robinson made that so. This Husky defense is so scary that quarterbacks simply don’t want to throw at them. Rapp is a big part of that, and he shows that every week. Bold prediction: Washington will pick off Justin Herbert twice on Saturday.