The Washington Huskies defense had a tale of two halves Saturday afternoon in the 19-24 defeat in the Apple Cup. In the first half the Cougars found separation against this secondary and quarterback John Mateer moved the ball down the field with ease.

The only points given up in the second half was a 77 yard drive that was saved early when Jordan Shaw was called for a hold on third and long. The play was quickly over when Matter was sacked, but the drive continued.

Most casual fans coming into this matchup could see that John Mateer is dangerous with his legs. Many believed the Huskies would stay away from man-to-man coverage to keep him in check. However, late in the second quarter WSU ran a designed run up the middle with just one linebacker to beat. The caravan of three offensive linemen took out the only would-be tackler en route to a 25 yard touchdown run.

Later in the game the Husky defense made the necessary stops to win, but it was too much of a hole for the offense to dig out of.

Defensive Line: The interior of the d-line did a good job in taking away the middle gaps most of the game. Sebastian Valdez, Jacob Bandes, and Jayvon Parker were getting to the ball carrier and slowing them down. Much of the Cougar success came from outside the tackles.
Grade: B

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Edge: There were some missed opportunities to bring down Mateer in the backfield. A few times edge rushers went high and failed to bring down the quarterback before he escaped the pocket. There were some situations where the edge rusher lost containment that allowed Mateer to get loose outside.
Grade: C

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Linebackers: Alphonzo Tupuatala is a different player than he was last season. He led the team with six tackles and a sack. Carson Bruener left the game late in the first half and didn’t return. Fisch alluded favorably to his availability for the Big 10 opener against Northwestern. Some of the angles Bryan Parham and Khamori House took led to some chunk yards for the Cougs.
Grade: B

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Defensive Backs: For the first time this season there were situations where the receivers had separation against this secondary. John Mateer isn’t throwing unless his receivers are wide open and in the first half that is what he saw. The corner room is responsible for two of the defensive holding penalties that led to prolonged offensive series for the Cougars. In the second half the corners were nails in coverage. Thaddeus Dixon came up with the first interception down the sideline then Ephesians Prysock was stripped of his own on an official review.
Grade: C+