Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Washington Huskies football.
Utah dominated the Washington Huskies in the first half. After a game-opening possession fumble, the Utes scored three of the next four times they had the football. UW did very little right in the half and looked largely outclassed. Fortunately, there was a big turnaround after the break.
Washington was a different team. They set a new tone after getting the ball to open the second half. UW drove 72-yards in under three minutes, highlighted by a 38-yard pass play from Dylan Morris to Terrell Bynum. That was the start. Washington’s offense scored on all three third-quarter possessions.
Both teams bogged down in the fourth quarter. Washington, however, put together the drive of the game. The Huskies drove 88 yards in 12 plays, capped off by a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cade Otton, to take a 24–21 lead with 36 seconds left in the game.
Here are our four biggest takeaways from the game.
Washington had a hard time doing anything against Utah in the first half on either offense or defense. In post-game remarks, head coach Jimmy Lake said he told his players at halftime that Utah came out swinging. It was up to the Huskies to fight back by throwing a few punches of their own.
Every quarterback needs a go-to receiver. It looks like Dylan Morris found his man in tight end Cade Otton. Against Utah, Otton had eight receptions for 108-yards and the game-winning touchdown. He beat last week’s totals by one catch, eight yards, and a touchdown.
Otton is doing his part to keep UW’s recent trend oh high-caliber tight ends. He is the perfect man to follow Darrell Daniels, Will Dissly, Drew Sample, and Hunter Bryant.
Washington had big trouble converting on third downs in the first half, going zero-for-six. That included a trio of three-and-outs. Utah has a good defense, and they were on their game early. A few short series should be expected.
What can’t happen is what Morris did on the Huskies’ first possession. UW forced a fumble on the opening drive. With good starting field possession, Washington drove the ball to Utah’s 40-yard line. They had a chance to take an early lead and send a message to the visitors. Morris was flushed from the pocket and threw an awful pass, right into the arms of Utah’s Faybian Banks, a good five yards in front of the intended target Terrell Bynum.
Washington’s third-down rate changed drastically in the second 30 minutes. They went from zero percent to 62.5 percent (five of eight) on third downs. Besides another bad pick, Morris looked like he had more command of the offense in pressure situations.
For the offense to be effective moving forward, they need to complete as many third-down opportunities as possible. As Morris matures and becomes more comfortable, the Huskies’ third-down efficiency will approve.
What can you say about Huskies outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui? For the third game in a row, he was a force for UW’s defense. In the opening game against Oregon State, ZTF was named the Pac-12’s Defensive Lineman of the Week with two sacks. Last week, Tupuola-Fetui added another pair of sacks against Arizona. He did even better against Utah on Saturday night.
The Pearl City, Hawaii native, took down Utes QB Jake Bentley three times. If that wasn’t enough, he was part of two turnovers.
His first sack came on Utah’s opening possession. ZTF forced Bently to cough up the football, stopping the Utes on UW’s 29-yard line. A bigger play came in the fourth quarter. Utah had a four-point lead and had taken the ball down to Washington’s 12-yard line. Kyler Gordon forced a fumble from Utes running back Ty Jordan. Tupuola-Fetui scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 29 yards.
He should be the Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week once again. Only a sophomore, ZTF has put himself squarely on the NFL’s radar for the 2022 draft.
The win, combined with Oregon’s upset loss to in-state rivals OSU, puts the Huskies into first place in the Pac-12 North. In two weeks, Washington and Oregon face each other with a division title on the line
Before that happens, Washington is scheduled to play Stanford in Seattle next Saturday. That game is in doubt because Santa Clara County, California, home of the Cardinal, banned contact sports. As of now, Stanford has no place to practice.