Washington Football: Huskies defense leads the way over Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - SEPTEMBER 15: Myles Gaskin #9 of the Washington Huskies tries to avoid the tackle by Chase Hansen #22 of the Utah Utes in the first half at Rice-Eccles Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

1. This defense might be the best in the Pac-12

The Washington defense had an answer to everything Utah tried on Saturday. The Utes were limited to 3.5 yards per attempt and 4.2 yards per carry. They turned the ball over three times and were 0-for-3 on fourth down. Every time it looked like Utah was going to make this a game, the Washington defense held their opponent at bay.

Greg Gaines and Jaylen Johnson helped the Huskies control the line of scrimmage while Taylor Rapp, Jordan Miller and Jojo McIntosh locked down any hopes the Utes had at a coordinated passing attack. Whether they tried by air or by ground, Utah never posed any sort of consistent threat in this game, making Washington’s second score (a second quarter Jake Browning touchdown run) the defacto game-winner.

It’s easy to overlook teams that aren’t putting up gaudy numbers on the offensive side of the ball. Even with Myles Gaskin toting the rock, this team isn’t going to frequently hang 40 points on anyone. But when it only takes three scores to win, they won’t have to rack up many points at all.

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