The Huskies are far from a CFP contender but penalties keep Huskies from Apple Cup win

Just a year ago, the Washington Huskies, led by head coach Kalen DeBoer and quarterback Michal Penix Jr., were three games into their National Championship-bound campaign. This year? The Huskies struggled against non-Power-Four, non-Group of Five, still-Pac-12 Washington State.

Sure, the Huskies lost their head coach, their starting quarterback, their best defensive back, and a handful of NFL-level wideouts. However, new head coach Jedd Fisch brought in transfer quarterback Will Rogers from Mississippi State and UW doesn't lack in talent nor depth.

So, what's holding the (recently formidable) Huskies back from finding anywhere near the same success that they did last season?

Penalties. Penalties. Penalties.

Through just three quarters, the Huskies had been flagged for nine penalties, giving the Wazzu Cougars nearly 100 yards. On the flip side, the Cougs had only committed (or been called for committing) four penalties, translating to 30 yards.

The inequity in penalty yardage is simply impossible to make up when your offensive unit isn't entirely in-sync.

Also read: Penalties plaguing Washington Huskies against Washington State

A quarterback in his first year with the program, wideouts who are in their first year as starters, and an O-Line that was pieced together following a mass evacuation following a head coach's departure is not a recipe for success on the offensive side of the ball.

The Huskies enter their first season of Big Ten play in just week, luckily against Northwestern (9/21) and Rutgers (9/27), and if they don't clean up their game play, the lack of discipline will spell ruin for Washington in conference games.

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