The Washington Huskies defense was tested against the top quarterback in the upcoming NFL draft. Caleb Williams was able to prolong plays with his legs then delivered to his receivers who were in the scramble drill. This week Washington’s defense will be tasked with stopping a very different type of offense. The Utes only chance to be successful on offense is on the ground.
Quarterback Bryson Barnes leads this Ute offense that ranks at the bottom of every statistical category in the conference. A word of caution: Don’t read too much into the 55 point outburst against the Sun Devils. Arizona State is depleted on both sides of the defensive line. If a team can’t stop the run against Utah it will be a long day.
Tuli Letuligasenoa appeared to be on a snap count last week of about fifteen snaps. Co-Defensive Coordinator, Chuck Morrel, said he expected Tuli to at least double it this weekend. This will be a big deal if Ulumoo Ale and Tuli are able to plug the middle for the linebackers and defensive backs. I expect the Huskies to stack the box and force Barnes to beat them over the top.
On the other side of things, Utah will be the best defense Washington has faced all year. They are physical in the middle and have a knack of forcing teams into mistakes and turning the ball over. The Utes are the #1 team in the conference against the run and #2 against the pass. They also lead the conference in points only surrendering 16 points a game. (Mueller’s Money Line continues below).
The Utes squared off against Oregon and USC and gave up over 30 points to both programs. Washington should be able to continue moving the ball in this matchup. The emergence of the running games makes the Huskies balanced which will force the Utes to have to account for more of the weapons for the Huskies.
Saturday afternoon in front of a sold out crowd Washington should keep Utah’s offense down for most of the contest. Offensively the only thing that stops Washington is a flu that ravages every position group. Outside of that there isn’t a program in America that would be able to hold them down for an entire game.
Washington 31 Utah 13
Washington -9.5 Under 49.5
