Lukas Kemper

Now that Jonah Coleman has shown off his outstanding playmaking ability, I can see EMU trying to tailor their defensive scheme to stop him. I talked about this a bit on the podcast, but I’m hoping this will open up the opportunity to bring in more receivers, especially Jeremiah Hunter.

UW and EMU both put up 35 rushing attempts last week, with UW averaging 5.8 YPC to EMU’s 3.8 YPC. I believe the Eagles will take to the skies to get their offense going, and fortunately for the Huskies, the secondary seemed to be a strength in last week’s game. If the Dawgs can continue to show improved defense and continue to play together offensively, I think this should be a clear win for them.

Washington 31 – EMU 10

Max Vrooman

Eastern Michigan head coach Chris Creighton (a local and Roosevelt High School graduate) is one of the most underrated coaches in the country. EMU is one of the toughest jobs around and they’ve opted for a gray turf and gray uniforms because it’s a commuter school with parking lots everywhere. They’ve also adopted an absolute bullyball mentality that leads their team to play until the final whistle and push physicality to the limit of what’s legal. They’re a dangerous opponent in more ways than one.

There are several reasons why the talent on the field could also scare the Huskies. Quarterback Cole Snyder was spectacular in the opener against UMass with 4 big-time throws per PFF on just 17 completed passes. That’s about 4x more than his career average, but there’s the potential that Snyder can throw the ball into tight windows up front that Weber State couldn’t even attempt.

On defense, EMU completely destroyed UMass’ offensive line with their devastating pass rush. The Eagles pressured the quarterback on 60% (!) of dropbacks and finished with 7 sacks, led by ED Justin Jefferson and Arizona State transfer LB James Djonkam, who each tallied two sacks. The raw talent of EMU’s defensive front may not be quite there yet, but Washington’s brand new offensive line will be put to the test as it tries to gel as a unit.

I expect a game very similar to Weber State, except the Huskies will be a little less successful and EMU a little more, with UW eventually pulling away around halftime.

Washington 31 – Eastern Michigan 13

Joe Nicholson-Images

Ray Lucas

Although the first quarter wasn’t as pretty as hoped, Washington played confidently against Weber State. Could the Huskies be in for another slow start? Possibly. The chemistry between them continued to develop over the four quarters of last week’s win. Although the Huskies are much more talented than Eastern Michigan, there could be some initial difficulties as they face a stronger opponent than the previous one while still trying to build chemistry between them. The Apple Cup is in just over a week, so the pressure to get everything right before a rival game in an NFL stadium could cause the Huskies to falter in the first quarter.

Still, Washington should be able to withstand the Eagles’ best offense and repeat last weekend’s second-half dominance to pull out a clear win. I expect the game to get out of hand in the fourth quarter, and time will tell if backup quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and running back Adam Mohammed are called into action. These days, players can play four games before burning a redshirt, so I wouldn’t be surprised if neither plays Saturday to preserve the pair for the unpredictable trip ahead.

The Huskies will be motivated to post a shutout after Weber State managed a field goal last weekend, but the motivation to score points may be stronger on the opposing side. Eastern Michigan ball carrier Dontae McMillan, a former Weber State standout, is the starting running back and hails from West Seattle, where he attended Chief Seat. He will likely do whatever he can to reach the end zone at least once, if not more than once.

Speaking of running backs, expect a fair amount of Jonah Coleman.

Washington 38 – EMU 7

Mark Schafer

It’s now Week 2, and next up the Huskies face the Eastern Michigan Eagles, who come to Montlake from Ypsilanti (a place name I never get tired of writing)! This week my 3 things I’ll be watching for are if the run defense improves (since the Eagles like to pound the ground to set up long throws), if Will Rogers becomes more comfortable in this offense (and potentially gets Jeremiah Hunter more involved as a result), and if the pass rush gets more pressure up front to get to the quarterback. Also watch for Jedd to use different personnel along the offensive line to find a winning combination. Okay, that’s 4 things, but if we focus on those 4 things, they could be the main indicators of what kind of season the Huskies will have.

Jonah Coleman is expected to have another good day on the field, although I’m not sure he can repeat his 3 touchdowns from last week (although that would put him at more this year than he did all of last year in Arizona). Will Rogers should look better and give his receivers space to make plays, and the run defense should show that this unit has gelled a bit better in Belichick’s new scheme. Overall, this win should be easy again as we’ll iron out a few mistakes as we get closer and closer to Big Ten play!

Washington 34 – EMU 10

Andrew Berg

Last week, Washington overcame a four-touchdown lead by wearing down a hard-working defense that ultimately couldn’t withstand the battering ram of Jonah Coleman and the Huskies’ running game. A very similar scenario could play out in week two against Eastern Michigan. The Eagles allowed ailing UMass 152 yards of running time last week. If UW repeats the Minutemen’s 41 carries, they’ll likely get well over 200 rushing yards. If EMU crowds the line of scrimmage, we may not see Will Rogers beat the defense, but I believe he can do more damage with intermediate throws to his bigger, outside targets.

Defensively, it would be nice to see the interior defensive line make progress in stopping tackles. EMU has NC State transfer Delbert Mimms, a 220-pound wrecking ball who looks more like a traditional NFL fullback. We may need to see a nickel or third linebacker in the box to create negative plays. I trust the secondary to make life difficult for QB Cole Snyder, who had mediocre numbers in stops at Rutgers and Buffalo before this year. While the broad strokes will be similar to last week, the Dawgs scored TDs instead of FGs and forced incomplete passes to thwart tackles. They’ll have to do that again this week to cover the spread again.

Washington 33 – Eastern Michigan 13

Average prediction: Washington 33 – EMU 11

ATS (UW -24.5): Washington 1, EMU 4 (For the second week in a row, only Ray picked UW as the backup. He was right in Week 1. Let’s hope for a trend).

SUN: UW 5, EMU 0