There’s an old saying in college football that the biggest improvement a team will have is between week one and week two. That goes for the pros as well — so Washington should definitely show improvement in their next game this coming weekend.
Remember, this was Oregon State’s second game — and I don’t care how much you practice, there’s nothing like a live game.
Don’t forget the UCLA/Cal game, the Bears were blown out by UCLA — and it was UCLA’s second game while being Cal’s first game.
Give UCLA credit, but Cal is not a terrible team.
So what are the commonalities here? Cal’s first game. Washington’s first game. Neither played very well. Washington played good enough to win and Cal got blown out.
In a typical year there would be live crowds and every guy on the field has been playing in front of crowds, not this year though.
Washington came out against Oregon State very emotional and very intense, and the snafu of a true-freshman long snapper was evident.
The Huskies dominated Cal in the first quarter with Sam Taimani up front giving the defense that push — but not having Tuli Letuligasenoa or Laiatu Latu told a bigger story.
Before the season began the Huskies lost veteran starters Levi Onwuzurike and Joe Tryon, and then take out Letuligasenoa and Laiatu Latu, I don’t care who you are or unless your Alabama or Ohio State, you can’t be down that many defensive bodies and expect to take a walk in th park.
It makes a difference.
So Husky fans need to send out some positive vibes to get these two back in the weeks ahead.
There’s no question that this is a different year with COVID; if you think your life and way of thinking has been disrupted by all the COVID setbacks, how do you think these players feel?
They were not only punched in the gut to temporarily get their season started on time, but then to be ready and prepared to start and have the game cancelled is an emotional roller-coaster for these young athletes.
And they don’t have the fans there — sure — there’s noise. But these are not real fans and these guys look up into the stands and see nothing. This is a big deal for players and part of why they play the game, but this is an anomaly.
Oregon State handled it better because they’ve already played a game, as did UCLA.
Solution?
I didn’t see it but I’d like to see Coach Lake go to the defensive line and pump them up a little bit more than normal. This is a new brand of football.
I liken it to being blindfolded and spun around in circles and then taking the blindfold off and trying to walk, usually you stagger and come close to falling down.
By next weekend when they take the field against Arizona they will go in knowing what to expect.
On Dylan Morris…
He played a good game, and I’d like to see him scramble a little bit more and really tap into that dual-threat skillset. Morris played within himself, but one thing that stood out was two balls getting batted down by DL’s. This is an adjustment that Morris needs to make.
Even though he’s six-feet tall, he still has to find the passing lanes and play smarter.
Look at Russell Wilson; he’s only 5-11, and I’m not saying Morris is the same type of quarterback, but am using that as a size comparison. Having passes knocked down rarely happens to Wilson, but Wilson knows how to use the passing lanes and angles, pump fakes, etc.
