Know the Foe: What should we expect from Washington?
To learn more about the USC Trojans, CUSportsNation.com caught up with Lars Hanson, writer for TheDawgReport.com on the Rivals.com Network.
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1. Washington's CFP hopes are gone with a loss to Oregon. Where do the Huskies go from here?
Ideally Washington goes to Pasadena . . . if everything goes right from here on out. Losing to Oregon isn’t the end of the season by any stretch of the imagination, given it could be arguably their last true test in conference play.
Starting with Colorado on Saturday if UW can take care of their remaining five games and win out, they could still win the Pac-12 North with only one conference loss. Win the Pac-12 Championship Game and it’ll be a Ros(e)y end to the 2018 season for the Huskies. A 10-2 regular season and (ideally) a Rose Bowl victory would be a fair result for Chris Petersen’s fifth season in Seattle.
2. What has been the biggest surprise so far this season for Washington?
The biggest surprise has been what hasn’t happened as much. Defensive turnovers. UW is on pace to finish well below their average turnover margin under Petersen with only eight takeaways in seven games. The Huskies have averaged 41 turnovers the last four years and never finished with fewer than 34 in a season.
Byron Murphy dropped two picks against the Ducks. JoJo McIntosh and Taylor Rapp collided as they went for another, which ultimately fell incomplete. UW defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake noted that the Rapp / McIntosh drive didn’t result in a touchdown, thankfully, but that isn’t often the case so that is something the defense has to fix.
3. Where has UW's offense had its most success, and what have been the biggest struggles on that side of the ball?
The Huskies offense is at its best when the offensive line is controlling the line of scrimmage. It allows UW to develop the run game early with Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed. Petersen likes to use the run to set up Jake Browning and the passing game, which is when UW takes a shot deep off play-action (i.e. the John Ross special).
This year UW has started to use Sean McGrew and Kamari Pleasant more in games, both as traditional running backs and out of the wildcat. The struggle for the offense has been consistency and having two or three consecutive long scoring drives, and not just one good drive and then back to the drawing board.
Browning has made some uncharacteristic decisions for a senior quarterback. He threw a 43-yard touchdown to Ty Jones against Oregon, a play that worked out for UW only because the Huskies sophomore had one-on-one coverage and used his 6-4 frame to get it.
4. What does Colorado have to do to have success against Washington's defense?
Take what they give you. UW does not have as good of a pass rush as in years past under Petersen so quick throws in the short to intermediate range are going to be there for CU. The key against the Huskies defense is not getting into long second and third downs for the offense.
The other important factor for an opposing offense is sustaining drives. Keeping the defense on the field and forcing a full 60-minute game is exactly what Auburn and Oregon did against UW. By the time both games were late in the fourth the Huskies didn’t have as much in the tank on defense, a big reason why both resulted in defeats.
5. What is your score prediction and why?
UW should be able to get back to the way they played against BYU and Utah this week returning to Husky Stadium. Whether or not Gaskin and Ahmed are 100 percent I still think the Huskies have enough talent on both sides of the ball to put the game away in the first half.
Now, the key for UW to do that is to not hurt themselves early. Bush Hamdan has to get Browning and the offense in rhythm early and not let the Buffaloes defense settle in on the road. If the Huskies can grab momentum early they should be bowl eligible at the end of the game.
UW 31, Colorado 10.