Washington Huskies 2020 season opener part II vs. Oregon State
This Saturday, the Washington Huskies make their long-awaited 2020 debut against Oregon State.
The Washington Huskies scheduled season opener on November 7, against the California Golden Bears, was canceled by the PAC-12 last Thursday. A Cal player tested positive for COVID-19, with contact tracing, the Bears had too many missing players to field a competitive team. This week the Huskies try again to start their 2020 season.
Washington Huskies
Head coach Jimmy Lake still hasn’t named the starting quarterback against the Oregon State Beavers this Saturday at Huskies Stadium. We know the Beavers may have a slight advantage because they played a game last Saturday against WSU. They lost to Wazzu at home 38-28. One advantage the Huskies have, besides playing at Husky Stadium, is their running game.
Last week WSU ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns on Oregon State. Tailback Deon McIntosh led the way with 147 yards on 18 carries. Nothing has been mentioned by Lake since last week’s announcement that senior running back Kamari Pleasant starts at tailback with sophomore Richard Newton and senior Sean McGrew as his backups. Both Newton and McGrew expect to play against the Beavers. More than likely, the player with the most time be the one with the hottest hand.
Washington is expected to start two juniors Ty Jones and Terrell Bynum at wideout along with sophomore Puka Nacua as the third receiver. Jones and Nacua missed time last year because of injuries, so they are eager to prove themselves. Junior Cade Otton starts at tight end. Otton is an outstanding blocker; however, he also had 32 receptions last year for 344 yards and two touchdowns.
The Huskies strength on the defensive side is in the backfield. Washington is led by senior All-American nickel back Elijah Molden. He joins cornerbacks Keith Taylor, a senior, and sophomore Trent McDuffie in a coverage nightmare for OSU. The UW safeties are pretty good in their own right, with junior Alex Cook holding one spot and sophomore Asa Turner at the other.
Washington NCB Elijah Molden (#3) vs. Oregon State (11/08/19). #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/DYLEiHVYbP
— PFDZ (@PFDZ44) January 13, 2020
Oregon State
Redshirt junior Tristan Gebbia is expected to start at quarterback against the Huskies. Last week against WSU, Gebbia completed 34 of 48 passes for 329 yards and one touchdown. The Beavers got off to a poor start last week, they were shutout in the first quarter. In fact, Oregon State punted on their first four possessions, getting in a total of 14 plays. Junior running back, Jermar Jefferson ran the ball 21 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns in the game. OSU’s game plan this week includes a steady dose of the explosive Jefferson. That way, they limit Gebbia’s passing attempts against the Washington Huskies elite secondary.
Overall, Oregon State’s defense wasn’t very impressive last week. They allowed 38 points and 456 yards to a team starting a true freshman quarterback. One OSU defensive player to watch for is OSU linebacker Omar Speights. In 2019 he was the Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year (edging out UW’s McDuffie).
2019
Last year the Washington Huskies beat Oregon State in Corvallis 19-7. Jefferson ran the ball only nine times against Washington for 39 yards. For the Beavers to succeed, Gebbia will have more to do better than his predecessor. In the 2019 game, Jake Luton completed 19 of 28 for 88 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception.
How do you think the Washington Huskies will do against Oregon State? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.