Heading into this contest, the Huskies came off a 26-16 home defeat against their rivals, the Oregon Ducks. Washington entered this game as a 5.5-point home underdog, due to the fact that the Huskies were playing a 6-3 opponent from the Pac-12 South. In the end, the Huskies were not able to stop the run once again, which resulted in a 35-30 heartbreaking loss at the hands of Arizona State.
On offense, it was a game where the Huskies came into the game with a ton of changes. The biggest one was wide receivers coach Junior Adams taking over the offensive playcalling for the departed John Donovan. The Huskies came out of the tunnel with a bang, scoring two touchdowns on the first two possessions, taking an early 14-0 lead. Then the offense went through the usual lulls that have plagued them throughout the season. Washington finished 3 for 12 on 3rd down conversions and a crucial interception late in the 4th quarter by quarterback Dylan Morris sealed the deal. The offense finished with 266 yards total, which consisted of 171 through the air and 95 in the run game.
Defensively, it was a game where the Huskies came out playing inspired football early, holding the Sun Devils attack at bay. They shut out their offense until late in the second quarter. Things were rolling for the defense until slowly but surely, the Sun Devils were starting to get chunk yardage in the running game. In the second half, the Husky defense couldn’t get off the field and stop the run! There were several missed tackles that allowed Arizona State to make crucial plays when they needed to protect the lead. The Sun Devils finished with 286 yards on the ground.
Coming into the game, the Huskies had an 84-game streak of not allowing an opponent to score more than 35 points. The Sun Devils scored 35 points tonight.
This was a gut-wrenching loss for the Washington Football Program! This game was extremely winnable by the Huskies, as they were up double digits in the fourth quarter. What ensued was 21 unanswered points by the Sun Devils, before the Huskies answered with an academic touchdown at the end. Washington head coach Jimmy Lake is set to return from his one-game suspension tomorrow, but there are rumors and questions about his imminent future. At 4-6 and needing two victories to become bowl eligible, the margin for error just became zero! This defeat was a microcosm of how the season has gone for the Dawgs! Winnable games, but flawed execution during crunch time. It will be interesting to see how the Huskies respond this week and for the rest of the season. It has been a roller coaster ride and the pressure is on to send these seniors out with a bowl game!
One thing is for certain, 4-6 is not an acceptable standard on Montlake, and the coaches will have to answer for it sooner than later!
Next up for the Huskies (4-6, 3-4) is the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, next Saturday, November 20th, with a kickoff time of 12:00 pm PT. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
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