The Washington University football team opened a new season Saturday at Francis Field against the University of Chicago, establishing a 1-0 record with a 24-17 victory.

The home crowd, boosted by Student Union’s Game Day tailgate event, definitely made an impact on the game. In fact, the crowd was one of, if not the largest in Wash. U. history: The official attendance, listed at 2,903 fans, was the highest since at least the 2001 season, which is as far back as the Wash. U. archives goes on a game-by-game level. Kindbom agreed that the spirit pumping through the crowd contributed to the energy level of the players.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Logan Bash evades a University of Chicago defender in Wash. U.’s opening game of the season. The Bears outscored the Maroons 24-17 to win their first game in their new conference.

“Not only did we notice it, but we greatly appreciate the fans,” Kindbom said. “That had a major difference in our football team. They were loud…We felt the energy on the sideline. Our fans did a tremendous job; and you know, that picks you up a little bit. There’s no question it has an effect on the way you play; so, that part was great.”

The Red and Green defense, in particular, came out and played with purpose. With two interceptions in the first half and four sacks that spanned the course of the game, Wash. U. made it difficult for Chicago to make any progress on the field offensively. Chicago could only muster a single positive net yard on the ground—on 26 carries—as opposed to Wash. U.’s 175.

The Maroons, despite actually possessing the ball more than the Bears, could only get the first down 17 times as opposed to Wash. U., who managed a fresh set of downs 24 times. Senior linebacker Jake Coon led the pack for Wash. U. with nine total tackles, while sophomore defensive back Andrew Whittaker, junior linebacker Jarrod Huther and sophomore defensive lineman Peter Pigatti contributed six tackles apiece.

In all, the Bears totaled 63 tackles—somehow, fewer than in any game a year ago. Yet they allowed only 233 total yards—also fewer than in all but one game last season. That means the Bears were clamping down early in possessions and getting off the field.

And that’s partly the continuation of an encouraging trend to end last season. In each of the final four games, Wash. U. recorded at least seven tackles for loss, after just one such game in the first five. It did so again Saturday, with eight tackles for loss that set Chicago back 30 yards.

“Our number one goal every week is to stop the run,” Kindbom said. “When we play well, we’re going to be putting teams in those situations where they are going to throw the football, but we’re going to keep our emphasis still on stopping the run. If you make a team one-dimensional, it just makes it a lot easier to create a strategy on defense and really play to win.”

Grace Bruton | Student Life

John Fisher escapes from the Chicago defense during the Bears’ opening night win over the Maroons. Fisher finished the game with 179 yards of total offense and three touchdowns.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Bears kept the pressure on to obtain and keep the lead the entire second half of the game. Junior running back John Fisher was the star of the show, with a hat trick of touchdowns to open, maintain and finalize the lead. Fisher accounted for 68 percent of Wash. U.’s rushing yards with 119—not to mention 60 through the air, both leading all Bears. Fisher, who had four career touchdowns entering the day, nearly doubled his scoring output.

After a pair of punts and a missed field goal that defined a mostly lackluster first quarter, Fisher ignited the crowd with an astonishing 60-yard rush to get the Bears on the scoreboard. Despite the dominance shown by Fisher, his next two touchdowns wouldn’t have been possible without the keen playmaking dictated by junior quarterback Johnny Davidson, whose 196 touchdowns on 21-of-36 passing was enough to guide the Red and Green. Kindbom said that it took both elements to implement a successful plan of attack.

“We don’t revolve our offense around anybody, but we certainly do revolve a lot of things we do based on what we’re going to see,” Kindbom said. “[Chicago] decided to make sure that they had our passing game covered; so, they had guys pretty much spread on the field. And we knew that, a lot of times, we had to run the football. When we were getting the ball in Fish’s hand, he was doing a great job of making one guy miss so many different times or outrunning somebody because of the leverage, but our lineman had a lot to do with those things when he was running the football.”

Although Wash. U. is more than content with the victory to start off a new season in a new division, there is always room to improve. According to Kindbom, the team still has plenty of things to work on before it’s time to take on No. 7 North Central College.

“Our special teams struggled a little bit,” Kindbom said. “That’s something we put a great emphasis on. We need to do better. We need better from our protection unit; we need to do better on our coverage units; and our specials need to do a better job handling the ball. That’s going to be a big emphasis for us the next couple of weeks.”

In addition to taking home the Founders Cup, Wash. U. now boasts a 21-9 record in season openers under Kindbom’s coaching. After an early bye week, the Bears look to double down on their perfect record Sept. 15 at North Central.