No. 25 Washington at Hawaii Capsule
No. 25 WASHINGTON at HAWAII, 10:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network).
Line: Washington by 16 1/2
Series Record: Series tied 2-2.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Chris Petersen makes his debut as Washington's head coach after building Boise State into a national program. Petersen went 92-12 at Boise State and the expectation with the Huskies is figuring out how to topple Oregon and Stanford in the Pac-12 North. Hawaii would love nothing more than to ruin Petersen's debut and start erasing last year's 1-11 campaign.
KEY MATCHUP
Washington's secondary against Hawaii QB Ikaika Woolsey. Washington CB Marcus Peters has the look of a future NFL standout. The rest of the Huskies secondary is young and untested. Top recruit Budda Baker will start at safety with redshirt freshman Jermaine Kelly at the other CB. That young group will be tested by Woolsey and a Hawaii offense that averaged 301.4 yards passing per game last season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Washington: QB Jeff Lindquist won the starting job for the opener during fall camp, beating out redshirt freshman Troy Williams. How well Lindquist plays could determine if it's a one-game stint as the starter or a long-term engagement. Sophomore Cyler Miles, who looked promising during brief stints last season, was suspended for the opener, but is eligible to return Sept. 6 vs. Eastern Washington.
Hawaii: RB Joey Iosefa is a load to try and tackle. Iosefa is 6-foot, 245 pounds and showed last year he can handle carrying the load. Iosefa set a school record with 37 carries against San Diego State late last season. And now he's healthy after struggling last season with a foot injury.
FACTS & FIGURES
Fifth straight season Hawaii opens against opponent from Pac-12. Hawaii is 1-3 in the previous four, all three losses to USC. ... Washington is 5-8 in season openers on the road since 1989. The Huskies last season opening win on the road was 2007 at Syracuse. ... Hawaii 1-8 all-time in season openers against ranked teams. Only win a 27-24 home win over No. 9 Iowa in 1988.
