The Washington Huskies put a beat down on #20 BYU and looked great in all three areas of the game. The running game was strong, the defense looked great and the special teams took a huge leap forward. This was a great sign against a good BYU team, who beat then #6 Wisconsin at home just two weeks ago. This week, Washington will face a big test on the road as they travel to UCLA to face off with Chip Kelly’s Bruins. Let’s get to our prospects for the week, there were some very promising signs from some of Washington’s best players.
QB Jake Browning
23-25, 277 yards, 2 total TD’s (1 rushing)
Browning played a near perfect game on Saturday. At least one of his two incompletions was on a throwaway, and Browning was money on pretty much every throw. He was able to make plays out of the pocket and made smart reads. This is exactly the kind of performance Husky fans and the NFL wants to see out of Browning.
RB Myles Gaskin
14 carries, 81 yards, 1 TD
Gaskin played a very solid game against a stout BYU defense and was able to get a breather thanks to Salvon Ahmed. Ahmed had 10 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns, which is a great sign for the Husky run game going forward. Gaskin is the bruiser back, while Ahmed is the speed guy that gets outside the tackles. Combining for 167 yards on 24 carries is exactly what Washington needs.
OT Kaleb McGary
It was a rough day for McGary, who got called for two or three holding penalties in the first half of Saturday’s game. Personally, McGary’s game was forgettable, but he still anchored a Husky O-line that’s getting better every week. They only allowed one sack, which came on a big blitz that Browning couldn’t escape. If McGary can continue to help especially in the run game, this Washington team is hard to beat.
DT Greg Gaines
1 Tkl
Gaines didn’t really fill up the stat sheet against BYU, but he still made a huge impact. The Cougars didn’t seem to want to run at the 330-pound defensive tackle at all, and in turn couldn’t get their run game going. BYU carried the ball 28 times for 34 yards.LB Ben Burr-Kirven
6 Tkl, 4 Solo, 1 FF, 1 Fum Rec
BBK has been playing with his hair on fire as of late. Forcing and recovering another fumble, the reigning national defensive player of the week had another great game. Sure he didn’t put up another 20 tackles, but he made a huge impact. This is beginning to be a weekly expectation of Burr-Kirven, and don’t expect him to slow down.
S Taylor Rapp
2 Tkl, 1 solo, 1 sack
Taylor Rapp is just flat out amazing at football. We all know about his coverage and ball skills, he’s just showing off now. He’s been incredible at blitzing and knows how to finish the play and wrap up the quarterback. There’s also this stat, which doesn’t mean much because of Nick Bosa’s injury, but still…
Fun Fact: Taylor Rapp has as many sacks as Nick Bosa (ok, not fun for Nick)
— Mike Martin (@HowlinHusky) September 30, 2018