Dylan Morris, Washington Huskies.
Stanford’s offense effectively mixed the run and the pass in the first half. The results were two touchdowns on their first two possessions by running back Austin Jones. UW had a good opportunity to score a touchdown on their second possession, driving the ball down to Stanford’s eight-yard line. Despite first-and-goal, the Washington Huskies managed two yards on three plays and had to settle for a field goal.
Boosted by their defensive stand, Stanford only needed nine plays to punch the ball into the endzone again. One more Cardinal field goal, and the deficit was 24-3 at the half.
Just like last week, the Huskies came out on fire in the second half. They scored their first touchdown on the first possession of the second half. Unlike last week Stanford answered with a TD of their own. From there, Washington went on a 13-0 run (Stanford blocked an extra point for the second straight week).
UW had their chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter after forcing a fumble and running the ball back to Stanford’s 10-yard line with 10 minutes to go. Instead of punching the ball into the endzone for a potential tying score, Washington went backward due to a pair of holding penalties and had to kick a 45-yard field goal.
The Cardinal controlled the ball for the rest of the game. Washington’s defense made their stand on the previous series because this one lasted the final 7:47. Here are our top six takeaways from the game.
Washington’s defense started slow for the second week. This time it came back to bite them. The Cardinal was able to control the ball in the first half, scoring on all four possessions. Running back Austin Jones had 72 of his 138 yards with two touchdowns in the first half.
Just as important as his first half production, Jones had 11 carries on the Cardinal’s final14-play drive. UW couldn’t stop Stanford at the end of the game. The visitors converted three third downs, including two of 10 yards or more. The Huskies will have to toughen up their defense next week against Oregon.
Coming into this game, the Washington Huskies defense built a reputation this season for terrorizing their opponent’s quarterbacks with a fierce rush. They had 10 sacks in the first three games. On Saturday, Stanford quarterback Davis Mills wasn’t sacked at all, and the Huskies defense only made two plays for negative yardage.
Without Ryan Bowman in the lineup, Stanford was able to concentrate on Zion Tupuola-Fetui’s side. As a result, ZTF was mostly a non-factor. Bowman’s replacement Sav’ell Smalls wasn’t much help either on the outside. If the Huskies expect to beat the Ducks next week, they must get to the quarterback.
For the second week in a row, Washington’s offense had a tough time in the first half. Maybe they had more of an excuse this time because they were without top wide receivers Terrell Bynum and Puca Nacua. The duo was replaced by true freshmen Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze. Of the two replacements, Odunze looked very good who caught five passes for 69 yards.
When asked by the media about the absences, the head coach wasn’t very forthcoming in his post-game presser.
“We’re all dealing with various issues with the pandemic,” Lake said. “We’ll continue to do so the rest of the season.”
Slow starts are becoming habitual for Huskies quarterback Dylan Morris. After looking great in on the opening series in game two against Arizona, Morris has struggled to get his team into an early rhythm the last two weeks. They weren’t bad in the opening quarter, but not good either. In three first half possessions, Washington totaled 126 yards. The Huskies punted twice and kicked a field goal
It didn’t help matters that Stanford had the ball for almost 60 percent of the half. Then again, it was a mess of their UW’s own making. In the second quarter, Morris had a chance to keep the Huskies in the game, but the drive got bogged down eight yards short of paydirt. That four-point swing was important to the outcome.
The Washington Huskies feature a massive offensive line and four good running backs. Yet after two possessions, UW backs had five carries for 12 yards. The only “runner” making any headway was Morris, who had three rushes for 22 yards.
It wasn’t until the 6:28 mark of the second half, with Stanford defending an 18-point lead, that a Washington running back had a gain of over five yards. For the game, Huskies running backs carried 25 times for 91 yards.
Last week, Stanford’s game ended when the Cardinal blocked a game-tying extra point with no time on the clock. One would think the Huskies might be ready, but they still had an extra point blocked.
It wasn’t just the field goal unit. Washington’s kick coverage left much to be desired. After kickoffs, Stanford started at their own 35, 36, 31, 30, and 43-yard line. Their final drive started at the 12 because the Cardinal was called for a holding penalty. Even with the penalty, Stanford’s average starting position was the 31-yard line.
The Washington Huskies caught one break yesterday. Oregon was upset 21-17 by Cal. The winner of next week’s UO-UW showdown next Saturday takes the Pac-12 North Division. Let’s go, Dawgs!