Washington Football Winners and Losers vs Boise State
Washington Football got their 2023 season underway with a convincing 56-19 win over Boise State at Husky Stadium. Despite a number of media personalities expecting it to be a close game, Washington scored 8 TDs against the Broncos.
Who were the winners and losers in the impressive victory?
Washington football Winners
Michael Penix Jr.
With the 2023 Heisman trophy chase wide open, Michael Penix Jr. made sure he started his campaign with a bang. Penix Jr. threw the ball 40 times, completing 29 passes for 450 yards and 5 passing TDs. Four of those passing TDs came in the 2nd quarter. The 6th year quarterback continued where he left off in 2022, showing composure throughout the game. One of his touchdown passes to McMillan, Penix Jr. dropped the snap. However, panic isn’t something that enters his thought process, as he scooped the ball up and picked out McMillan in the endzone. His arm talent was on show again and had Robert Griffin III gushing over his performance in the commentary booth.
Jalen McMillan
All the wide receivers had a good day and were all winners, but Jalen McMillan led the team in touchdowns despite only having the third most reception yards (95). Both of McMillan’s passing touchdowns came from beautifully run routes, with the first really smooth. McMillan had a little zig zag move in between the linebacker and safety to get himself wide open in the end zone. For his third TD of the game, McMillan lined up at wildcat, took the snap and rushed in a for a 19 yard score.
Davon Banks
I could have gone for Jabbar Muhammed who had a solid game, however, Davon Banks looked very tidy in his work. The Junior cornerback had two tackles and four pass break-ups, with one being very close to an interception. Banks was not fooled by any moves and constantly stayed tight to the opposition receivers. He was a big winner, and with his showing, he could have played himself into a starting role opposite Muhammed next week.
Washington football losers
Elijah Jackson
Despite having a strong camp and winning one of the starting outside corner jobs, it wasn’t the strongest start for Jackson. The California native struggled against the Boise State WRs, giving up two PI penalties. One of them just before the half on a 3rd and 6 on the Husky 32 yard line. The result was a closer shot at 3 points, when it could have been a longer effort and more pressure on the kicker. Jackson also had a few missed tackles which gave up chunk yards. He will have to show up this week in practice as fellow corner Davon Banks had an excellent cameo of snaps. Jackson has the talent and confidence to bounce back from a disappointing showing.
Dillon Johnson
Washington only ran the ball 19 times for 78 yards, with Will Nixon getting the bulk of them. Mississippi State transfer Dillon Johnson struggled with his 7 carries, rushing for just 12 yards. He did manage a rushing TD from the 1 yard line and 3 receptions for 20 yards. Johnson looked like he would be the feature back with Nixon adding support. However, it was Nixon who shone with the ball in hand. The passing game killed Boise State, so against better secondaries, the run game may be leant on more where we could see them in the weekly winners category.
Defense early in the halves
The Washington defense seemed a little sleepy early in both halves. After halting the Broncos to a three and out on their first possession, the Washington defense was called on again quickly. This time everything seemed to be in second gear, including a number of missed tackles and sloppy coverages to give up a touchdown. This happened again on the opening play in the second half. In just four plays Boise State’s offense moved the ball 75 yards for another TD. The rest of the game, the defense was solid. I’m sure Kalen DeBoer and co-defensive coordinators William Inge and Chuck Morrell will be speaking about the slow starts this week.