Huskies look special in opening victory
Jake Browning threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, John Ross caught two touchdowns and returned a kickoff for another score in his first game since the end of the 2014 season, and No. 14 Washington looked every bit a top-25 team with a 48-13 rout of Rutgers on Saturday.
Entering a season of lofty expectations, the Huskies (1-0) raced to a 24-0 firstquarter lead and were never threatened by the rebuilding Scarlet Knights, in their first game under new Coach Chris Ash.
Browning threw for 277 yards and all three scores in the first half as the Huskies built a 34-3 lead.
The Huskies were also dynamic on special teams. Ross took a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and Dante Pettis returned a punt 68 yards for a score in the third quarter. It was the third time in school history Washington had kickoff and punt return touchdowns in the same game, and first since 2001. Eastern Washington 45, at Washington State 42: Gage Gubrud threw for 474 yards and five touchdowns as the lower-division Eagles stunned their intrastate rivals.
Washington State, which lost to Portland State of the Football Championship Subdivision in its opening game last year, could not stop the Eastern Washington offense, which produced 610 yards. The Eagles, who came in as three-touchdown underdogs, also upset Oregon State three years ago.
Gubrud, making his first start, completed 34 of 40 passes and was intercepted once. He also ran for a touchdown to ice the game.
Cooper Kupp, last year's FCS offensive player of the year, caught 12 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns.
at No. 24 Oregon 53, UC Davis 28: Dakota Prukop, a graduate transfer from Montana State, threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns as the Ducks overcame a rocky start against the lower-division Aggies.
Prukop completed 21 of 30 passes and also scored on a one-yard keeper. He follows in the footsteps of Vernon Adams, a graduate transfer out of Eastern Washington who started for the Ducks last season but was dogged by injuries.
Royce Freeman rushed for 87 yards and two scores for the Ducks, and Darren Carrington caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.