Washington's Jimmy Lake: 'Our Best Football Is Ahead Of Us'

After Michigan blew out Western Michigan, 47-14, Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor, many curious U-M fans turned their attention to Seattle, where Washington — the Wolverines' next opponent — was a 22.5-point favorite over FCS opponent Montana.

The Huskies struggled offensively in a stunning 13-7 loss, rushing for just 2.4 yards per carry (65 yards on 27 attempts), going 4 of 14 on third downs and turning the ball over three times.

"We know we did not give a performance that was Husky football, and we apologize for that, and we’re going back to work to correct that," head coach Jimmy Lake said Monday.

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While Michigan is riding high after its decisive victory, Washington is at an all-time low. However, Lake insists his team has turned the page and is solely focused on moving forward to its preparation for the Wolverines.

Just like U-M is working to prove its disastrous 2-4 season in 2020 was an aberration, the Huskies are intent on showing that last week's upset loss was a fluke — and getting to play the Wolverines in front of a national audience is a prime opportunity to do just that.

"We know we didn’t play our best football. And our best football is in front of us," Lake said. "Now we’ve got to go back to work. The result was the result; we’re going to be pissed about it, and now it’s got to fuel us.

"We can’t do anything now — that’s in the past now, that’s already through the time capsule. That’s behind. And I know everyone else wants to focus on what just happened — rightly so, you guys should, and everybody else should, and the fans. You guys can focus on that, that’s awesome. We are going to focus on what’s up next, because if we are still focusing on what happened last Saturday, that’s going to affect us this Saturday."

At the beginning of his press conference, Lake revealed that freshman wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk, a Texas Tech transfer who hauled in 28 receptions for 264 yards and two touchdowns last season, will likely miss the rest of the regular season with a chest injury that required emergency surgery.

He's not the only Husky wideout injured. Junior Terrell Bynum, freshman Rome Odunze and freshman Jalen McMillan all missed the team's opener, and remain 'week-to-week' according to Lake.

"We will get them back at some point," Lake revealed. "We’ll see how those injuries progress."

While the run game — or lack thereof — was a big storyline coming out of the Montana loss, the team didn't have much success through the air, either. Redshirt freshman signal-caller Dylan Morris completed 27 of his 46 attempts for 226 yards and three interceptions, an underwhelming yards-per-completion average of 4.9.

The Huskies have just four scholarship wide receivers who are not banged up. Among them is sophomore Giles Jackson, who transferred in from Michigan this offseason and will make a return to The Big House Saturday.

Other notable injuries include sophomore outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui — a second-team All-American in 2020 who tore his Achilles tendon and is aiming toward a mid-season return — and freshman safety Makell Esteen, who missed the opener with an ankle injury he suffered in a preseason practice.

Michigan entered the season relatively healthy, but lost junior wide receiver Ronnie Bell for the season with a knee injury. Meanwhile, second-year freshman offensive lineman Zak Zinter is working his way back from a hand injury and saw limited action against the Broncos.

Michigan redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara was efficient against WMU, completing 9 of 11 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns and grading out on PFF as the nation's top-ranked quarterback for Week 1.

“He’s a great decision-maker; he can make all the throws," Lake said. "They did a nice job with him.

"First, they ran the football and made it very easy for him to dish the ball out after running the ball for over 300 yards against Western Michigan. He didn’t attempt many passes against Western Michigan — didn’t need to — but they won the football game.

"He looks like a good decision-maker, can make all the throws, made an awesome throw versus a zero blitz, which was about a 60-yard touchdown pass, last Saturday. He’s a quality, quality quarterback that we’re going to be ready to defend.”

Second-year freshman running back Blake Corum enjoyed a breakout game, rushing for 111 yards and one score while also adding a receiving touchdown and a 79-yard kick return.

“He’s a special player. He’s not just a running back, he’s a returner," Lake pointed out. "We’re going to have to be ready for him in the special teams department and also at running back.

"He’s shifty. Reminds us a lot of [former Washington running back and current Miami Dolphins ball-carrier] Myles Gaskin in his body type, his height, how he sees the linebackers and safeties in the box, and how he’s able to make them miss. That’s always a great quality in a running back is making people miss. And he does a really good job of making people miss in the return game, but also at running back.”

Lake confirmed that the Huskies will arrive in Ann Arbor Thursday and hold two night practices (Thursday and Friday) in preparation for the 8 p.m. ET Saturday kick.

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