Washington blasted Michigan State on the road Saturday, 41-7.

The eighth-ranked Huskies took a 35-0 lead into the halftime break before calling off the dogs. On the road, everything was clicking for the lethal UW offense. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for 473 yards and four scores. The ground game found some footing. And on the other side, the defense stifled MSU’s first-team unit.

When he met with reporters after the game, head coach Kalen DeBoer said after the game the Huskies weren’t out to make a statement. But it sure felt like a standout performance in a week where other national powers struggled.

Here’s the rest of what DeBoer had to say after the game:

Opening statement

“Super excited about the way they guys came ready to play today and I think it was a lot to do with how we prepared. There was a lot of confidence coming in, not because we were disrespecting Michigan State, it was more about just a great week of preparation knowing that we were going on the road. We know that this is an amazing environment and our guys were fired up to do that and kind of make a statement. I was proud of the way we played in all phases; special teams, offense, and defense from start to finish.”

On missing starters and seeing guys step up

“That was one of the things I was really proud of with our guys this week. We know that the guys who weren’t playing are impact players, from Asa (Turner) to Matteo (Mele), and those guys have played a lot of snaps for fifth- and sixth-year guys. So, we played without a lot of guys, but it really didn’t feel that way in practice. It was the energy and understanding that we have been through this before and no one is going to care. When people come to our stadium, we don’t care that they are traveling and going on the road, our fans don’t care and their fans don’t care. It is about playing ball and we came out here and knew that there couldn’t be any excuses whatever they might be — from the noise, to the grass, to injuries — our guys just came out and really set the tone. I am proud of the way they attacked from the beginning.”

On making a statement

“I don’t know if there was a statement that we wanted to show, we just wanted to be our best and show what we are capable of. I thought the guys really pushed hard all week long and it is cool when that pays off in the production that we had tonight because it really continues to be a motivator for when we get back on the practice field this coming week.”

On Jack Westover

“Everyone is going to want to have their senior talk on Friday night now. We rotate the night before a game that a senior gets to speak. He puts so much into this program and it’s a place he wanted to be at at a very young age. His heart and soul are in this place and you can see by how he plays and how he works. He loves our team and our team loves him, so, really cool to see him have a huge game. It was just very physical and he does the things that a lot of people don’t see. He is involved in special teams and it isn’t just always stats, so I was super impressed with Jack (Westover) and the performance he had tonight.”

On Jalen McMillan Injury and Zion Tupuola-Fetui impact

“I think J-Mac (Jalen McMillan) will be fine and he will be back and good for next week. But, it was good to have ZTF (Zion Tupuola-Fetui) out there. I felt that the pass rush pressure was there consistently at a higher level compared to what we have had the first two games. So, that takes a whole group effort but ZTF (Zion Tupuola-Fetui) was certainly a big part of that.”