Washington failed to score any points against Northwestern, but its dominance cannot be questioned after a 24-5 victory at Husky Stadium, marking the first time in program history that the team has achieved a 1-0 record (3-1 overall) in Big Ten play.

After last weekend’s struggles in the Apple Cup, it was fair to go into Saturday with some trepidation. But ultimately, the 2024 version of Northwestern isn’t very good at the whole football thing. When you put a team with that description against a team looking to rebound from a tough loss, the result is a rout.

There was never a moment when Washington felt out of control. The Huskies scored a touchdown on their second drive of the game after forcing Northwester to a frustrating start with an interception and a turnover on downs earlier in the game. They took an early 7-0 lead on a 46-yard dime from quarterback Will Rogers to wide receiver Denzel Boston.

After forcing Northwestern to punt, Washington kicker Grady Gross made a 21-yard field goal. Rogers and Boston eventually scored another point after a Northwestern punt, this time from 13 yards out.

Northwestern’s first point was a foul when Rogers was penalized for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety. The Huskies went into halftime with a 17-2 lead. Although wild things often happen in college football, it was questionable whether Northwestern had a chance to fight back and win the game.

And that turned out to be true.

In the second half, Washington’s pace felt more like cruise control than stepping on the accelerator, but in the fourth quarter the team found the end zone and answered a Northwestern field goal.

Even as the Wildcats seemed to find new life, the spark quickly died. After cornerback Elijah Jackson made a tackle at the two-yard line to prevent a touchdown, the Huskies slammed the door on Northwestern four straight times, completing an impressive goal-line stand. An interception abruptly ended Northwestern’s next offensive drive after Khmori House landed in the perfect place at the perfect time.

Despite being sidelined briefly with a lower leg injury, Rogers put in another efficient performance, finishing with 223 passing yards on 20 of 28 attempts. Williams completed 2 of 2 passes for 24 yards and nine rushing yards on three carries. Rogers even got one step ahead of Williams with the help of a broken play, managing a 20-yard run.

Boston gave the Wildcats a hard time and continues to define himself as the WR1 for the Dawgs. He had seven catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

The Huskies held Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch to 53 yards on 8 of 27 attempts and two interceptions. For those who weren’t watching, that was about as bad as it sounds.

Washington is back on the winning track and enters Friday’s game at Rutgers with a chance to finish 4-1 on the year and 2-0 in the conference.