Washington suffered a tough 35-31 loss to Oregon last Saturday. Here are my grades for Washington’s units.
The Offense
It was once again a tale of two halves for the Huskies offense. Washington was clicking on all cylinders in the first half. Quarterback Jacob Eason was having his best game in the purple and gold. Washington scored 21 first half points. It looked as if UW’s offense would cruise in the second half.
But something changed in the final 30 minutes. UW’s offense would score just 10 points in the second half. And clinging to a 3-point lead with less than 10 minutes to go, UW faced a third down and two from their own 28. Washington went to the wildcat formation and running back Kamari Pleasant took the direct snap but Oregon was prepared for it and stuffed him short of the line to gain. The call was questionable considering they took Salvon Ahmed off of the field. Also UW was missing RB Richard Newton who normally runs the wildcat. But that decision proved costly as the Huskies punted and Oregon scored on the next drive.
If you look at the numbers the Huskies offense had a good day against a very stout defense. Jacob Eason completed 23-of-30 passes, for 289 yards, and three touchdowns. Salvon Ahmed rushed for 140 yards and one touchdown. Washington’s offense averaged an impressive 6.5 yards per play – nearly a full yard more than Oregon.
But when it mattered UW didn’t score. In the final 28 plus minutes, UW scored just three points. The Huskies converted on just 3-of-13 third downs to top things off.
Overall, this was good performance for Washington on offense. But when it mattered, UW’s offense did not finish and it proved costly.
Grade: B
The Defense
Washington’s defense struggled to say the least. They did have a bright spot – forcing three straight Oregon three and outs in the first half. But Oregon got the best of UW’s defense.
Washington struggled to get off blocks as the Ducks rushed for 154 yards. UW’s secondary also struggled as Justin Herbert passed for 280 yards.
What was really concerning was again when UW’s defense needed to make a play, they didn’t. The best example came on the last play of the the third quarter. Washington led 31-21 at the time and Oregon had a fourth down and three from UW’s 36 yard line. Justin Herbert’s screen pass went 36 yards for a touchdown and gave the Ducks all the momentum.
The second half hasn’t been friendly to Washington’s defense for the most part this season. And it showed again last Saturday against the Ducks. Washington missed too many tackles and got beat on the screen pass multiple times. Washington also once against struggled to stop the run.
Overall, it was a lousy day for Washington’s defense.
Grade: D
Special Teams
Well we’ve all heard enough at this point about the 15-yard penalty called on Chico McClatcher for laying down before the kickoff in the endzone to blend in with the purple turf. The return went all the way to UW’s 45-yard line but was called back for an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. This is a grey area in the rule book but at this point the coaching staff should know this by now.
Outside of that, there really wasn’t anything exciting that UW’s special teams did. In a 4-point loss, the Huskies really could have used a big special teams play. But it was not to be.
Kicker Peyton Henry made his lone field goal attempt from 30 yards. Henry remains perfect on the season – making all 15 attempts.
Tim Horn continues to be a weapon on kickoff. Horn kicked off six times against Oregon – four of them went for touchbacks.
Overall, it was just an ok day for UW’s special teams. It’s been a great year for Washington’s special teams but it felt like they could have done more last Saturday.
Grade: B-
