Kalen DeBoer addresses concerns over Washington's lack of energy vs. Arizona State

Washington was anything but dominant in its 15-7 win over Arizona State this weekend. The lackluster performance led to speculation the Huskies were still high from their 36-33 win over Oregon in Week 7. On Monday, UW head coach Kalen DeBoer squashed this speculation.

“What I always focus on is where are our heads at, and I felt like the work was being put in. The energy was being put forth at a high level across the board,” DeBoer said. “I would not have seen anything offensively, defensively that was different last week in practice.”

Fans certainly saw a different product on Saturday. In the narrow win, Washington only recorded 288 total yards compared to Arizona State’s 341 yards. For reference, Washington averages 507.1 yards per game, the fourth-most in the country.

The Huskies’ offense was sloppy against the Sun Devils, committing four turnovers. Washington only has 10 total turnovers this season. Although DeBoer refutes that Washington’s lack of focus was the sole reason for its subpar performance, he admits it may have played a small role.

“It’d be naive to say that there isn’t [some effect], right?” DeBoer said. “I really believe our guys did not for one second feel like, ‘Oh yeah, this is not going to be a problem playing Arizona state.’ They had the utmost respect. It showed in, again, just the way they talked and the vibe and things like that.”

Washington learns from its mistakes

Although it wasn’t pretty, Washington walked away with the win on Saturday. It’s difficult to blame the Huskies for still being in a celebratory mode following their win over Oregon. The victory firmly planted Washington atop the Pac-12 and pushed the team one step closer to the College Football Playoff.

DeBoer didn’t enjoy the stress that came with the nail-biting victory, but he’ll be happy to see his team reap the rewards.

“Our guys were motivated to go out there and play a really good football game. It just didn’t happen the way we expected,” DeBoer said. “There’s a lot of growth that can come from being uncomfortable. We’ve been uncomfortable a lot the last two weeks, and it’s growth that can happen in different ways. We’ll take that. That’s part of the journey.”

The journey won’t get any easier for the Huskies. After facing Stanford this week, Washington will face off against three ranked teams in a row. Nonetheless, before UW can look ahead, it must deal with the Cardinal.

The two teams will clash on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FS1.