Postgame Thoughts: UW Huskies v. Oregon Ducks, 11/5/2011
Last Saturday, the Washington Huskies hosted the Oregon Ducks in what would be the last game to be played in Husky Stadium before the 91 year old venue closes for a year-long renovation that amounts to a near-complete rebuild. Unfortunately, the old stadium didn’t get the sendoff it deserved, as the damned quacks rolled over the Huskies 34-17, causing the Huskies to fall to 4-2 in conference play and 6-3 overall.
On offense, Oregon’s front 7 were simply too much for the Huskies’ offensive line to handle, causing the Huskies to simply get shut down on offense, only producing 278 yards (196 through the air and 82 on the ground), 17 points, and 19 first downs, while converting on 8 out of 16 third down plays, but falling short on both fourth-down plays attempted- only the second time that the Huskies were held under 400 yards on offense this season.
This time out, the passing game came apart completely. Keith Price completed 24 out of 35 passes, for 143 yards and two touchdowns, but also two interceptions. Part of the problem was that the emotions of the game seemed to be getting to him, as a number of throws were off target or reflected questionable decision-making. The receivers didn’t help that much either, being responsible for 4 critical drops & a lost fumble. However, the biggest problem was the total ineffectiveness of the offensive line, as Oregon’s front 7 continually blew past it, allowing Price to be sacked 6 times and hit or hurried countless others, which not only obviously rattled Price, but aggravated the injuries he was dealing with, as he was slower getting up and less mobile as the game went on. Backup Nick Montana was put in for a couple plays after Price had to sit out for a few downs after being slow to get up after one sack, and in that capacity, completed a 53-yard pass (the only one he attempted), one of the few highlights for the Huskies this time out.
Likewise, the running game was thoroughly stifled because the offensive line was unable to block Oregon’s defense, with the result that on nearly every play, the Oregon defenders were able to swarm the ball carrier with at least 3-4 people right at the line of scrimmage, with the predictable deleterious results for the Huskies’ ground attack. As usual, Chris Polk led, but was held to just 80 yards and no scores on 24 carries, with the longest run being for 14 yards. The only other UW running back to have contributed anything positive was Bishop Sankey, who gained 21 yards off of two rushes. The six times that Price was sacked cost the Huskies over 27 rushing yards.
The real problems with the Huskies’ offense this time out can be laid squarely at the feet of the offensive line, as they were simply blown off the play nearly every single time. The offensive line was too slow, not strong enough, less talented, and outcoached in comparison to Oregon’s front 7 and it really showed. Nor was the coaching staff able to make any adjustments during the game that really did any good for more than a play or two. Although the recruitment of talent and development of better players through coaching and conditioning has improved by great leaps over what it was under Willingham, there still remains much to be done if the Huskies are going to be truly competitive.
On defense, results were somewhat mixed. In some ways, the Huskies defense had one of its better performances of the season. For example, although the Huskies did give up 381 yards of offense, that was holding the rather potent Oregon offense to considerably less than their average of 526 yards a game, as well as the average of some 430 that the Huskies have been giving up. Furthermore, the 34 points Oregon scored was their second lowest of the season (Oregon only scored 27 in their season-opening loss at LSU.) Furthermore, for what it’s worth, it’s the first time in several years that Oregon’s beaten the Huskies by less than 20, although that sort of minor moral victory isn’t of really much comfort. On the other hand, although the defense seemed to play somewhat more aggressively, many of problems that have plagued it this season, such as being out of position, being manhandled out of the play, giving too much cushion, biting on fakes, or simply being too slow once again reared their ugly head. Perhaps the defense is finally starting to improve, or perhaps the stats were somewhat deceptive given how offensive shortcomings and special teams miscues gave Oregon a lot of short fields. In any event, even if the defense has started to actually improve, it’s still a long way from where it should be.
Special teams are another area of mixed performance. On one hand, the actual kicking parts were good. Eric Folk hit the only field goal attempted, a 42-yard shot in the first quarter, and punts averaged 43 yards a shot. However, when it came to either aspect of returning kicks & punts, things were not so good. UW’s kickoff returns averaged a measly 16.6 yards with a long of 23. In contrast, Oregon averaged 30.8 yards on kickoff returns and had a long return of 69 yards, something clearly unacceptable. Kick coverage & kick returns have been a weakness of the Huskies all season, and this game, it really came home to roost. Again, there are some talent issues, but the coaching of the coverage & blocking, as well as the schemes need some serious changes, which will hopefully show some improvement by the time bowl season comes around.
So, overall, the loss was expected, but not how badly the offense performed- I had thought that this would be a much closer game where the Huskies would fall short in a shoot-out. But alas, it was a debacle made all the more humiliating because it was the last game played at Husky Stadium. Nor after that performance do I see them beating U$C next time out, as the Trojans are on a hot streak, the game’s in LA, and they’ve got a chip on their shoulder after the Huskies beat them with field goals as time expired in the last two meetings, while they’ve got blueprints on how to confound the Huskies both offensively and defensively from the Oregon and Stanford games. However, the last two games, against Oregon State and Washington State are quite winnable, for an 8-4 record on the season.
Next up for the Huskies is U$C, in Los Angeles, later today at 12:30 PM, Pacific Time (to be broadcast on FX.)
On offense, Oregon’s front 7 were simply too much for the Huskies’ offensive line to handle, causing the Huskies to simply get shut down on offense, only producing 278 yards (196 through the air and 82 on the ground), 17 points, and 19 first downs, while converting on 8 out of 16 third down plays, but falling short on both fourth-down plays attempted- only the second time that the Huskies were held under 400 yards on offense this season.
This time out, the passing game came apart completely. Keith Price completed 24 out of 35 passes, for 143 yards and two touchdowns, but also two interceptions. Part of the problem was that the emotions of the game seemed to be getting to him, as a number of throws were off target or reflected questionable decision-making. The receivers didn’t help that much either, being responsible for 4 critical drops & a lost fumble. However, the biggest problem was the total ineffectiveness of the offensive line, as Oregon’s front 7 continually blew past it, allowing Price to be sacked 6 times and hit or hurried countless others, which not only obviously rattled Price, but aggravated the injuries he was dealing with, as he was slower getting up and less mobile as the game went on. Backup Nick Montana was put in for a couple plays after Price had to sit out for a few downs after being slow to get up after one sack, and in that capacity, completed a 53-yard pass (the only one he attempted), one of the few highlights for the Huskies this time out.
Likewise, the running game was thoroughly stifled because the offensive line was unable to block Oregon’s defense, with the result that on nearly every play, the Oregon defenders were able to swarm the ball carrier with at least 3-4 people right at the line of scrimmage, with the predictable deleterious results for the Huskies’ ground attack. As usual, Chris Polk led, but was held to just 80 yards and no scores on 24 carries, with the longest run being for 14 yards. The only other UW running back to have contributed anything positive was Bishop Sankey, who gained 21 yards off of two rushes. The six times that Price was sacked cost the Huskies over 27 rushing yards.
The real problems with the Huskies’ offense this time out can be laid squarely at the feet of the offensive line, as they were simply blown off the play nearly every single time. The offensive line was too slow, not strong enough, less talented, and outcoached in comparison to Oregon’s front 7 and it really showed. Nor was the coaching staff able to make any adjustments during the game that really did any good for more than a play or two. Although the recruitment of talent and development of better players through coaching and conditioning has improved by great leaps over what it was under Willingham, there still remains much to be done if the Huskies are going to be truly competitive.
On defense, results were somewhat mixed. In some ways, the Huskies defense had one of its better performances of the season. For example, although the Huskies did give up 381 yards of offense, that was holding the rather potent Oregon offense to considerably less than their average of 526 yards a game, as well as the average of some 430 that the Huskies have been giving up. Furthermore, the 34 points Oregon scored was their second lowest of the season (Oregon only scored 27 in their season-opening loss at LSU.) Furthermore, for what it’s worth, it’s the first time in several years that Oregon’s beaten the Huskies by less than 20, although that sort of minor moral victory isn’t of really much comfort. On the other hand, although the defense seemed to play somewhat more aggressively, many of problems that have plagued it this season, such as being out of position, being manhandled out of the play, giving too much cushion, biting on fakes, or simply being too slow once again reared their ugly head. Perhaps the defense is finally starting to improve, or perhaps the stats were somewhat deceptive given how offensive shortcomings and special teams miscues gave Oregon a lot of short fields. In any event, even if the defense has started to actually improve, it’s still a long way from where it should be.
Special teams are another area of mixed performance. On one hand, the actual kicking parts were good. Eric Folk hit the only field goal attempted, a 42-yard shot in the first quarter, and punts averaged 43 yards a shot. However, when it came to either aspect of returning kicks & punts, things were not so good. UW’s kickoff returns averaged a measly 16.6 yards with a long of 23. In contrast, Oregon averaged 30.8 yards on kickoff returns and had a long return of 69 yards, something clearly unacceptable. Kick coverage & kick returns have been a weakness of the Huskies all season, and this game, it really came home to roost. Again, there are some talent issues, but the coaching of the coverage & blocking, as well as the schemes need some serious changes, which will hopefully show some improvement by the time bowl season comes around.
So, overall, the loss was expected, but not how badly the offense performed- I had thought that this would be a much closer game where the Huskies would fall short in a shoot-out. But alas, it was a debacle made all the more humiliating because it was the last game played at Husky Stadium. Nor after that performance do I see them beating U$C next time out, as the Trojans are on a hot streak, the game’s in LA, and they’ve got a chip on their shoulder after the Huskies beat them with field goals as time expired in the last two meetings, while they’ve got blueprints on how to confound the Huskies both offensively and defensively from the Oregon and Stanford games. However, the last two games, against Oregon State and Washington State are quite winnable, for an 8-4 record on the season.
Next up for the Huskies is U$C, in Los Angeles, later today at 12:30 PM, Pacific Time (to be broadcast on FX.)