The artwork on the field said, "Retake Montlake." The Washington Huskies did that in style, getting revenge on Boise State for last season's bowl game loss by throttling the Broncos 38-6 to christen their renovated stadium. The 38-6 defeat marks the worst loss ever for Chris Petersen at Boise State.
Washington quarterback Keith Price returned to his 2011 form, throwing crisp looking passes and managing the newly installed no-huddle hurry up offense with aplomb. Price finished the game completing 23 of 31 passes for 324 yards, and he also set the school passing touchdown record in this game.
Running back Bishop Sankey carried the ball 25 times for 161 yards and two scores. Wide receiver Jaydon Mickens caught nine passes for 109 yards, and Kasen Williams added four catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. The Huskies played without tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, who was suspended for this game.
Boise State also had a new offense, but they struggled to move the ball much. This was not a vintage Boise State performance by any stretch of the imagination. The rushing game did fine, with running back Jay Ajayi carring the ball 23 times for 93 yards, and the team rushed for 171 yards as a whole on 42 carries.
But quarterback Joe Southwick strugged much of the evening, completing 25 of 40 passes for only 152 yards and one interception very early in the game. As a team, the Broncos only averaged 3.8 yards per attempt.
Much credit needs to go to Washington's defense. Under Justin Wilcox, the Huskies held fast, forcing the Broncos to go only 8 for 19 on third down. Although it did seem like the new Boise State offense, which featured mainly shotgun and pistol formations and almost none of the motion and window dressing that was a staple of the offense over the last decade, came out very flat and never managed to find a way to get on track.
Boise State might have been a longshot darkhorse to make a run at a BCS game, but their poor performance and failure to upset Washington's housewarming party may have dashed those hopes for good this season.
What's next for Washington: The Huskies will enjoy a bye week before heading over to Chicago to face the Fighting Illini of Illinois in a game at Soldier Field on September 14.
What's next for Boise State: The Broncos will try to get their offense on track next week at home on the blue turf against FCS squad Tennessee-Martin. Of course, given the results of this week, which featured several upsets by FCS teams, Boise might want to work extra hard on getting the ball moving towards the goal line.
