Washington Huskies: 3 takeaways from 27-21 win over OSU
Saturday night, the Washington Huskies beat Oregon State 27-21 in their 2020 season opener. These are our three biggest takeaways from the game.
The Washington Huskies beat Oregon State 27-21 at Husky Stadium Saturday night in their season opener. As the score shows, the game was close. It was a heavy dose on offense in the first half as UW took a 24-21 lead into halftime. The second half went very differently.
If the first half was wide open, the second half bogged down with methodical drives that netted no results. Washington scored the only three points of the second half when kicker Peyton Henry put the ball through the uprights with 1:45 remaining in the game. OSU tried to rally at the end but fell short. On fourth-and-five with 54 seconds remaining, the ball went off a Beaver lineman’s helmet. Huskies defensive back Asa Turner pulled in the errant pass to clinch a victory for the Huskies.
Here are our biggest takeaways from the 27-21 win.
1. The Huskies have a quarterback
Leading up to the game, Washington Huskies Head Coach was silent about the identity of the team’s new starting quarterback. Oregon State won the coin flip and deferred so they could have the ball at the beginning of the second half. After the opening kickoff Huskies fans found out that redshirt freshman, Dylan Morris, from Graham, Washington was the man to lead UW’s offense.
He won the job over last year’s backup, sophomore Jacob Sirmon, graduate transfer student Kevin Thomson, and freshman Ethan Garbers. For a first college start, Morris looked pretty poised out there. The debut outing went fairly well. Morris completed 14 of 24 passes for 141 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. The numbers could have been even better.
Early on Washington Huskies wide receivers had a hard time catching the ball. There were several tips and drops. As the game went on, Morris looked like a veteran quarterback, not a first-time starter.
2. Ground and Pound
Both teams excelled in the trenches by running the ball. The Washington Huskies had 270 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. Senior tailback Sean McGrew led UW with 91 yards on nine carries and scored the team’s first touchdown Starting tailback Kamari Pleasant ran for 61 yards on 12 carries and had a touchdown too.
The Huskies used four tailbacks in the game. Sophomore Richard Newton carried the ball 15 times for 41 yards while redshirt freshman Cameron Davis had two carries for six yards. Davis added three receptions for 19 yards. Washington also used backup tight end, Jack Westover, as a fullback, helping open holes for the tailbacks. In a twist, Westover ran the ball three times, powering for 16 yards.
Oregon State Beavers wasn’t as dominating on the ground but their star had a great night. Jermar Jefferson carried 23 times for 133 yards and a touchdown. On a better team and with a full schedule he might be a Heisman candidate.
Though the teams did well on the ground their defenses made some important stops. For example, OSU had the ball at Washington’s five-yard line. A score would have given them the lead to start the fourth quarter. The Huskies defense stopped Oregon State on third down and one then again on fourth down to stop the drive in its tracks. This could have easily been a different result.
3. Special teams issues
The Huskies first series of the game stalled at Oregon State’s 40-yard line. On fourth down, the snap went over the head of punter Race Porter. He scrambled around but couldn’t get his punt off. The ball caromed around the field before OSU’s Jaydon Grant scooped it up and went to the house.
OSU kick returner Champ Flemming had a big night, putting his team in good field position several times. His biggest return came near the end of the first half. Flemming ran back a Tom Horn kickoff 42 yards to OSU’s 44-yard line. Nine plays and 1:53 later the Beavers scored a touchdown to pull within three points at 24-21
There were other miscues including, running into the kicker and another snap that almost got past Porter.
Next Saturday, in a late afternoon game, the Washington Huskies host Arizona. The Wildcats lost a drama-filled season opener to USC 34-30. Go Dawgs!