Will Rogers threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns, helping Washington overcome a slow start to defeat Eastern Michigan 30-9 on Saturday.
The Huskies (2-0) did not score in the first quarter for the second week in a row under new head coach Jedd Fisch. However, Rogers threw three touchdowns in the second quarter, including two to Denzel Boston, which sparked the Washington offense.
“There’s things I have to clean up,” Rogers said. “… This is not a finished product by any means, but we just try and get better each week and see where we can take this thing.”
Rogers completed 10 of 13 passes in the second quarter for 154 yards after his team was initially behind 3-0 against their Mid-American Conference opponent. He finished 21 of 26 for the game and has completed 78% of his passes for 511 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions in his first two games with Washington.
Jonah Coleman rushed 11 times for 104 yards, contributing to Washington’s 16th consecutive home victory, the second longest streak in the country after Michigan’s loss. This was his second consecutive 100-yard game to start his career at Washington.
Eastern Michigan (1-1) blocked a Washington punt and took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter with a 57-yard field goal by Jesus Gomez, the second longest field goal in Husky Stadium history.
A defensive play helped get the Washington offense going. Cameron Broussard recovered a fumble by Cole Snyder after a 25-yard run early in the second quarter, setting up Washington’s first score.
“I’m excited about the way our defense played again,” Fisch said. “That’s two games in a row without letting up a touchdown. That’s impressive.”
The offense overcame two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and converted a fourth-and-1 on the following drive, taking a 7-3 lead with Rogers’ 41-yard pass to Decker DeGraaf. DeGraaf caught the pass at the 5-yard line and then made his way down the sideline for the touchdown.
“We were out there after practice on Tuesday working that one specific play for about 30 minutes,” Rogers said. “… So it’s pretty cool to see that come to fruition after all the work we put in this past week on that specific play.”
