Washington Huskies vs. Weber State Wildcats: 3 thoughts from the 1st half
By Ethan Lee
The Washington Huskies are in the midst of their first game of the season and things are going pretty well so far. Things could be better though. At halftime, Washington is up 14-0 over Weber State and it's largely felt like the Huskies should have a much larger halftime lead here.
It just hasn't worked out that way in this game.
But there have been some bright spots for the Huskies. Washington has thrived at times and there are some stars who are already really fun to watch.
So, I've got a few thoughts on the first half of the 2024 Washington Huskies football season opener against the Weber State Wildcats. Let's go over them, shall we?
No. 1: Please get the ball to Jonah Coleman as much as humanly possible
I don't know how Jonah Coleman is this good at running the ball, but he's PHENOMENAL. His first carry on Washington's first drive of the game was for 25 yards and he would've followed that up with a 44-yard touchdown run if there hadn't been a penalty on the play.
Then, in the second quarter, he took off for runs of six yards, 10 yards, five yards (and a touchdown), 12 yards, and 10 yards. Coleman is magnificent and should absolutely be the focal point of this offense for the Huskies.
No. 2: The passing attack still needs some work
Yes, Will Rogers was able to connect with Decker DeGraaf which resulted in a beautiful touchdown pass, but the passing attack wasn't 100 percent flawless in the first half of this game against Weber State.
In the first quarter, Rogers completed on five of eight passes, but he only managed to throw for 36 yards. The second quarter was considerably better in that regard as he settled down a bit and connected on eight of 11 passes for 130 passing yards.
But, well, it'd be nice to see more of that sort of performance moving forward.
No. 3: The offense has shown potential, but it'd be great to see that potential realized
Look, between the way that Will Rogers is effectively connecting with pass catchers and the way that Jonah Coleman is just bowling down opposing defenders, you'd think that Washington would have been up by more than just two touchdowns.
But there have been a few mishaps here and there and I, for one, would like to see the Huskies not make simple errors that cost them. Like a missed field goal to start on Washington's first drive. Or the two drives that stalled out and required the Huskies to punt.
It would've been nice to see the Huskies sustain those drives or to make that field goal. But the potential that Washington has shown has been exciting to see.