Commentary: The Huskies have star power. But is it enough to carry them?

SEATTLE – Jonah Coleman knew.

Minutes before midnight on Saturday, UW’s standout running back repeated the same refrain. He stockpiled 199 total yards, 7.4 yards per carry and two touchdowns in Washington’s season-opening 38-21 win over Colorado State, an unsurprising eruption inside Husky Stadium. He was the leader of a lethal UW offense, which roasted the Rams for 509 total yards and 26 first downs.

But at halftime, the teams were tangled in a 14-14 tie.

The game was in doubt everywhere but where it mattered most.

“The captains, everyone, the leaders … we knew. Everyone knew when we went into the locker room,” Coleman said Saturday night. “It’s not even like we went in there all mad, all scrambling. We knew what we needed to do to get this thing done. (In the second half) we got a stop when we needed a stop. We got a turnover when we needed a turnover. Just being able to do things like that, we can go far.”

In the wake of an uneven win, here’s what I know:

The Huskies’ headliners – Coleman, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and wide receiver Denzel Boston – are good, maybe even great.

But have the Huskies, as a whole, gotten better? Can they go further than they did a year ago?

I don’t know that.

But first, let’s focus on the obvious positives. Williams completed 18 of 24 passes (75%) and threw for 226 yards and one touchdown, while adding 68 scintillating rushing yards. Coleman – a 5-foot-9, 228-pound snowplow with surprisingly swift feet – rumbled for a 26-yard touchdown and nearly surfed a pair of Rams for a 41-yard score. Boston, a Puyallup product and possible early draft pick, contributed five catches for 92 yards and a juggling 12-yard touchdown – after which, he blew kisses to the fans beyond the east end zone.

Near the end of the third quarter, Williams exploded into open space, before beelining for CSU safety AJ Noland. Rather than sliding to prevent contact, the5-foot-11, 190-pound quarterback lowered his shoulder and barreled through the 195-pound Noland for a 20-yard gain.

After which, Williams stood and calmly pointed to the turf inside Husky Stadium, as if to nonchalantly signal that it’s his.

Though this was both his first home start and first win as a college starter, he may already be right.

“If you’re going to complete 75% of your passes, that’s pretty impressive,” UW coach Jedd Fisch said of Williams. “He made all the right checks, didn’t miss a check. So he’s continuing to grow. I just talked to him about, there’s some times where maybe we can slide, maybe we can go out of bounds. We don’t need to go head-on in the open field. But other than that I thought his decision-making was pretty good, right on target.”

Not everything was.

I don’t know if an unproven offensive line that surrendered three sacks on Saturday will hold when conference play hits – though the Huskies rushed for 283 yards, 5.5 yards per carry and four touchdowns in the CSU win. I don’t know if UW’s defense can consistently stop the run – after Rams redshirt freshman Jalen Dupree ripped off 92 rushing yards, 6.1 yards per carry and a score of his own. I don’t know if the Huskies’ pass rush has actually improved, considering their two sacks on Saturday came late (and one was on a fake field goal).

I don’t know if Saturday’s sloppiness is an opening outlier or a sign of things to come.

That applies to the offense, which lost a fumble on a miscommunicated snap and failed to score on three separate marches into enemy turf. It applies to the defense, which allowed three fourth-down completions that kept the game close. It certainly applies to UW’s special teams – which surrendered a 50-yard kickoff return, sent another kickoff out of bounds and generally struggled with inconsistency.

“Couple things about a first game: You’re going to make some mistakes that you just don’t want to see happen over and over,” Fisch said, “and I don’t expect them to.”

Added Coleman, when asked to assess the offense: “We’re not where we want to be. (We’re going to) get ready for practice tomorrow and fix the mistakes and get ready for UC Davis. I think we can get a lot better, honestly.”

Soon, they’ll need to be.

To make significant strides in Fisch’s second season, UW must make monumental leaps on both lines of scrimmage. With one win down, and an unrelenting road ahead, I don’t know if the Huskies have.

Williams, Coleman and Boston may be the Big Ten’s best trio of skill talent. But a three-headed Husky, by itself, is not nearly enough.

The Huskies have stars, and that’s certainly a start.

We’re about to see if they have substance.