What to Expect From Washington

The Washington Huskies are at a crossroads in their season that few would have expected this soon.

While many projected a dropoff from the lofty standards set the last several seasons in Seattle, Washington has fallen out of the Top 25 and sits at 1-2 in the Pac-12 Conference after six weeks. Big games against conference favorites Oregon and Utah still loom, as does the Apple Cup.

Oh, and then there’s a trip to Tucson to face a surging Arizona squad this week.

It would be easy to call this a trap game for the Huskies, but it’s not. In fact, it was last week’s trip to Palo Alto that was the trap game, and head coach Chris Peterson sensed it coming.

The Cardinal, after early-season injuries and struggles, were developing confidence on both sides of the ball and typically match up well against Washington. The result was a 23-13 upset on the Farm.

The Pac-12 television schedule makers have done Washington no favors. Last week’s game in Palo Alto started at 7:30 p.m. (PT), which sent the Huskies back to Seattle in the early hours on Sunday. This week, it’s off to Tucson for one of the longest conference road trips in the country. Kickoff is set for even later – 8 p.m. – before the long trip back, win or lose, again early Sunday.

Once back, Washington must gear up for its most anticipated game of the year against Oregon. The Ducks, of course, play at home against Colorado this Friday. Thus, Oregon will have more than a full day of extra rest heading into the rivalry game.

None of that has much to do with Saturday’s Washington at Arizona game. Except it has everything to do with it.

Peterson and Co. have to get the train back on the tracks this week in Tucson or it could turn into a nightmare season for a program that once appeared stable enough to avoid a significant decline.

What this means is we will probably see one of three Washington squads show up at Arizona Stadium. The Huskies could very well still be looking ahead to their next two games against the Ducks and Utes. That seems unlikely given Washington’s disappointing performance last week and Arizona’s four-game win streak.

One of two remaining scenarios is more likely: 1) Washington is emotionally defeated and susceptible to a knock out punch , or 2) The Huskies will be locked in and hungrier than ever to turn their season around.

We could know very early on Saturday night which version of the Huskies has come to play. Washington has dominated opponents in the opening quarter this season, outscoring them by a combined 84-6 (no touchdowns allowed). Meanwhile, the Wildcats have been a relatively slow-starting team, facing a cumulative 38-28 deficit after the first quarter in their five games.

Peterson is a tremendous coach and the talent on the roster is undeniable, so Arizona must expect the best from the Huskies. At the same time, the Wildcats need to ignore the recent praise they have received and continue playing with a chip on their shoulder.

Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the things Arizona must expect from the Huskies based on my review of their USC and Stanford games.

What to Expect From Washington’s Offense

Run the Ball

Washington has an experienced offensive line, talented tight ends and several options in the backfield. Even with a strong-arm quarterback like Jacob Eason, something lacking from the offense the last several years, this should be a run-first team.

Last week against Stanford, the Huskies did not find initial success running the football and abandoned it too soon in what was a low-scoring game. They ran the ball only 22 teams for 88 yards, while Eason threw it 36 times. In the first four games of the year, Washington ran the ball of 56 percent of its plays.

That prompted this quote in the Seattle Times from Peterson:

“And I go back to we probably should have ran more. Our offensive line … if we’re going to second-guess and all that, which we always do as coaches and look back, we probably should have ran the ball more. That’s what we were doing pretty effectively.”

Thus, one would expect a steady dose of the ground game this Saturday night. Not only should it be a strength of the Huskies, the Wildcats’ defensive front still is a question mark when it comes to defending the run. Arizona has yet to see a true power run game this season like Washington will bring.

The Huskies will likely be without one of their top backs for this game, as redshirt freshman Richard Newton suffered an injury at Stanford that will sideline him for a period of time. Newton brought a physical running style and was emerging as the Huskies’ top option in the backfield. Still, there are several other potent options to give the ball to.

Arizona will have to focus its defense on stopping the run game first. This probably means committing more numbers to the box and perhaps using more big bodies up front, especially in short-yardage and goal line situations.

Multiple

The Husky offense is very multiple. They will run and pass from an old-fashioned I-formation with the quarterback under center and two tight ends, then stay in that personnel grouping and go with an empty backfield out of the shotgun.

No matter the formation, everything goes back to Washington’s power run game. As mentioned, the offensive line is experienced (entered the season with over 100 combined career starts) and wants to be physical, so this is where the Huskies should lean offensively.

When Washington can run the football well, it makes the play action pass lethal. The Huskies have steady and experienced receivers, but the true mismatches come with their talented tight ends. The top two are Hunter Bryant and Cade Otton, who are nightmares for defensive coordinators. Both can line up with a hand down or split out, while Bryant has even been used as the fullback in the I-formation.

The Huskies will keep defenses honest, though. You cannot just focus on play between the tackles. They will run fly sweeps, especially with Eason under center, to exploit the edges, and they run a lot stretch plays. They will also run play action bootleg from those looks and slip screens to backs or tight ends as well.

Another key consideration for Washington’s offense is it likes to use a Wildcat formation in short yardage situations. Newton was especially dangerous in that look due to his physicality. But it is a staple of the offense. Against USC, the Huskies even gave it to the motion player on jet sweep on fourth-and-short to pick up a first down. So once again, you cannot focus on just stopping plays between the tackles.

Eason’s Arm

The quarterback, Eason, has as good of an arm as any player in college football. It makes him especially dangerous in the play-action game and as a drop-back passer when he has a clean pocket.

At 6-foot-6 with a long, pro-style arm, there is little a defense can do to take away his vision of the field or disrupt his deliver unless he is facing pressure. Thus, the goal for every defense that plays against Washington is to get Eason moving.

Arizona did a very good job as the game wore on last week of getting Colorado quarterback Steven Montez to move off his spot. The Wildcats will have to do an even better job this week because Eason’s arm is even more deadly if he is comfortable in the pocket.

If the Wildcats dedicate numbers to stop the run, Arizona’s corners and safeties may find themselves in a lot of man-to-man situations. Being physical and winning early in the routes will be critical to disrupt the timing between Eason and his receivers.

At the same time, if the Wildcats can turn up some heat on Eason, it can get him out of his rhythm. When he’s out of rhythm, he can rely too heavily on his strong arm and overthrow, leading to inaccurate passes and sometimes passes difficult to handle by his own receivers.  

But if the Huskies can run the ball and Eason has a clean pocket to work with, you will see the NFL talent he has as a passer.

What to Expect From the Huskies’ Defense

Multiple Looks

Washington’s defense is not as experienced as it was a year ago, but it still has plenty of talent.

Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake uses that talent in a variety of ways to try and make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks and coordinators. You rarely see the Huskies in the same defensive alignment on consecutive plays and even when you do, the coverages in the back end will probably change at the snap of the football.

Washington has some big bodies up front and will often be in a three-down lineman set. They are confident they can stop the run with even numbers in the box, and occasionally will have just a five-man box in expected run situations.

On the outside, they like to be physical in press man coverage across the line of scrimmage. That physical presence carries over to how they tackle the football. Washington is a very good tackling team, and because of that, they don’t mind leaving their secondary in press coverage while sending blitzes.

The one unknown from my perspective is how the Huskies approach Khalil Tate this week. They have not seen a true dual-threat quarterback like Tate this year that can exploit them with his legs. And Washington has been hurt by less athletic quarterbacks keeping the football on zone reads the last two games.

Two weeks ago, USC quarterback Matt Fink pulled the ball on a goal-line zone read for a touchdown in Seattle. Last week, Stanford quarterback Davis Mills ran the ball three times for 26 yards – all in the first quarter.

Of Davis’ three runs, two were reads, while the third was a short scramble. His early presence as an option in the run game changed the way Washington had to defend the backside of plays. The Cardinal ran for a season-high 189 yards.

So how does Washington plan to defend Tate? That will be an interesting question.

Deep Safeties

A staple of Washington’s defense is how deep the safeties play. You will often see a two-high or single-safety look with that player(s) some 20 or 25 yards away from the line of scrimmage.

There are several reasons the Huskies like to do this. For one, it can limit big plays. Those safeties can see everything in front of them and come down and stop a play before it breaks for big yardage.

Consider that the Huskies have allowed only five plays this season of 30-plus yards (tied for fewest in the Pac-12). Meanwhile, the Arizona offense has 19 such plays (most in the conference).

Another reason the Huskies’ show the deep safety look is to discourage the deep passing game, especially if their press coverage gets beat at the line of scrimmage. Again, they do not want to give up big plays.

Ultimately, Lake is going to switch up his coverages frequently. What appears to be a two-high safety look can quickly switch to single-high. A safety can sprint over to cover for a blitzing corner or slot defender, or come down to the line of scrimmage to add an extra run defender in the box. That may be one way the Huskies try to approach the run element Tate brings to the table at the quarterback position.

One last point to ponder: while Washington limits big plays as well as any team in the conference, they have surrendered two long touchdown passes (42 and 44 yards) in each of their last two games. That is one indication of their youth and inexperience on defense, where they had to replace nine starters this season. Arizona has completed at least one pass of 47 yards in all five games to date.

Physical Coverage

Washington approaches coverage in a physical manner, especially at the point of attack. They ask their corners and safeties to play a lot of press-man coverage, which is the identity Lake wants from his unit.

The Huskies will protect their coverages with deep safeties, and they will show some unique looks with linebackers spread out into the press coverage with the corner dropped off over the top. These looks are intended to discourage the quick pass game and force run/pass plays back inside, while taking away throws over the top if the linebacker is beat.

Arizona’s receivers are going to have to be physical this game, both in beating their man at the line of scrimmage and also blocking. The Wildcats were not as consistent blocking the edge last week in Boulder as they need to be, though they did a good job late in the game.

The Huskies do have smaller cornerbacks, so there may be chances for Arizona’s bigger receivers to make plays, especially if Tate gets single-high safety coverage and is able to deliver catchable balls.

While those opportunities may present themselves from time to time, the big key for Tate and the entire offense is to stay patient. Washington wants to force teams into mistakes, and it has a 46-10 advantage this season in points off turnovers.

To beat the Huskies, you have to beat them at their own game. Be more physical, be more consistent, make more plays, but do not beat yourself.

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