The Washington Huskies entered their matchup against the Oregon State Beavers looking to finally “finish” in the fourth quarter.
In the end, the Huskies were able to hold on, with a 19-7 victory, after a 60-yard touchdown run broke the game open in the third quarter.
At halftime, the score had the Huskies ahead at 10-0, but the game was still up for grabs, as both teams hadn’t seized control.
Offensively, the Huskies were able to establish a running game in the second half but the passing game was completely out of sync.
Defensively, the Huskies were “lights out,” as they dominated the Beavers the entire game and held them to only 119 total yards.
After finally getting back on the winning side of the ledger, the Huskies will now enter their second bye week of the season.
We will now take a look at each position group and coaching staff on the Huskies, and how they fared last night. Here are how things graded out…..
QUARTERBACKS
For a second straight week, Junior Jacob Eason struggled to get into rhythm, while making some poor decisions. He forced some throws that didn’t need to be made, which resulted in two interceptions. The pick six in the third quarter should not happen with a quarterback of his talent and regression has set in lately. When he feels pressed, he likes to force the issue and he needs to find a way to show poise and make better decisions. Eason needs to improve going forward. D+
RUNNING BACKS
Overall it was a pretty good performance for this position group. Junior Salvon Ahmed is starting to show that he can be a “workload back” with his 25 carries for 178 yards and two touchdown performance. His 60-yard touchdown run broke the game open, which showed spectacular vision. Redshirt freshman running back Richard Newton‘s return gave the Huskies much needed physicality! Hitting the hole harder and less dancing is important on critical conversions. B+
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
The glaring issue coming away from this game was the broken passing game. What has been an issue for most of the season is dropped passes by this group which played a major role in this game. While Eason got his fair share of the passing game blame, the receivers are just as responsible by not helping out with catching passes. Junior tight end Hunter Bryant was productive but had some crucial drops as well. Gaining consistent separation continues to be an issue with the receivers. Fixing the passing game for Petersen, equally points here to this group. D+
OFFENSIVE LINE
It was just an average performance for the offensive line, as they did just enough to get the job done. With such an experienced position group, we are left walking away with wanting more. Head scratching penalties, not fully knocking somebody off the ball and dominating, makes you wonder what is missing. Ahmed was able to run through some holes and Eason had good protection, but this group can be more impactful and make things easier for the offense. C
DEFENSIVE LINE
Overall, it was an impressive night for the “Big Dawgs” up front, as they were able to gain push all night and dominate the Beavers offensive line. Sophomore Levi Onwuzurike is playing at an extremely high level right now and was constantly disrupting Beavers quarterback Jake Luton. The impressive defensive performance for the Huskies was all made possible by the defensive line completely setting the tone up front with their physicality and strength. A
LINEBACKERS
Easily the most productive game of the season for this position group. The emergence of sophomore outside linebacker Joe Tryon as of late, has made a huge impact. He had 2 sacks, 7 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt freshman Edefuan Ulofoshio came in for the injured Brandon Wellington, and led the team in tackles with 9. What was more improved this game was the tackling and swarming to the ball. Players were more assignment sound and focused this week. A
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Finding a way to utterly shut down Beavers wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins is no easy task, but the Huskies were able to do so. “Lock down” coverage has been inconsistent this season but the defensive backs were able to “shut it down” all night long and not allow any separation from the Beavers receivers. Junior Elijah Molden had a nice read and interception, that provided the Huskies some momentum. The young secondary is improving each week in Jimmy Lake‘s system. A
SPECIAL TEAMS
It was a fantastic night for the Husky punting unit who continues to get effective yards from senior Joel Whitford. True freshman Tim Horn has been solid with his kickoffs and strong leg. Ahmed gives a “home run” threat each time he lines up and provided the offense with some good field position after the 35-yard return. Sophomore Peyton Henry went 2 for 4 on the night with his field goal attempts after being 15 for 15 before that. Look for him to bounce back next game! Coverage units didn’t allow any big momentum plays from the Beavers. B-
COACHING
Entering this game, the Husky coaching staff had taken some serious heat lately with the 5-4, 2-4 record entering the game. Even with the youth on this roster, Chris Petersen coached teams just don’t have those records. Give the coaching staff some credit for getting the team focused and back on track during a short week of preparation. The staff always has the players giving maximum effort in each game, but the execution hasn’t always been there. Keeping the team motivated to play their best, when the biggest achievable goals are no longer on the table isn’t always easy. While the Huskies won this game and got back on the winning side of things, it still seems as if something is missing or left to be desired. The game was a constant struggle in some regards and the Huskies never really broke away from the Beavers until the end. This was a game where the Huskies should have dominated on the scoreboard, which takes me to my next point. The offense still appears broken. In particular, the passing game is broken and Petersen seemed frustrated with that after the game. If it wasn’t for the effectiveness of the running game, this would have been another nail biter finish, and that shouldn’t happen. Eason has regressed lately and it is offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan‘s job to iron it out and get things fixed quickly. Defensively, defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake had a masterful plan and his players carried it out almost to near perfection. That “Death Row” defense changes the whole complexity of the Husky team when they are playing like that. Kudos to Coach Pete and his staff for getting it done this week against the Beavers, but the offense is holding this team back from dominating average opponents. It’s time for the staff to fix the passing game during the bye week and finish the last two games with “complete” performances on both sides of the ball! B-
ENTIRE TEAM
Give the team and the players some credit for maneuvering the short week and coming out ready to play on the road. The entire season, the Huskies have struggled at times with playing well during night games, but they now notched two wins. It would be easy for the team to not play as hard with no postseason goals on the horizon, but they continue to play hard win or lose. That is a testament to the team’s self pride and the “want” to finish the season out strong. We are now 10 games into the entire season and the youth on the team is no longer completely brand new. There are 10 games of experience under their belt, and each week the younger players are improving and making contributions. With another bye week upon them, expect the Huskies to take full advantage of the rest, and for the coaching staff to fine tune some things for the final two games of the season. If the Huskies can keep their eyes focused on winning their last two games, as well as winning a bowl game, that would be a great finish to the season. In a year where the theme has been to “finish”, the Huskies have a chance to close out the season with a possible 9-4 finish. Getting a win in this conference is not easy, but the Huskies got it done down in Corvallis! B
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