Arizona (0-1) at Washington (1-0)
Saturday, 5 p.m.
Husky Stadium, Seattle, Washington
Line: Washington -11
TV: FOX Radio: 950 KJR
The Washington Huskies survived a scare last week as they outlasted Oregon State, 27-21.
“Extremely proud of the way our team came out Saturday night,” Jimmy Lake said talking about the win over Oregon State during his Monday press conference.”We played with a lot of energy, a lot of juice. And we played a physical game which we want to be about.”
Lake did talk about how they have plenty to improve upon. The Huskies struggled on special teams as well as poor wide receiver play. Those things must be improved moving forward.
Washington’s offensive plan last Saturday was simple, run the ball. When Jimmy Lake arrived to his Monday morning press conference he wore a hat that said it best “Run the Damn Ball.” On a cold and rainy night the Huskies rushed for 267 yards to just 141 yards passing. Although the Huskies will likely be a run first team moving forward coach Lake is open to all offensive strategies.
“Whatever a defense is going to give us and presents us we will devise a game plan to make sure we put them on their heels,” Lake told reporters on Monday.
The Huskies defense will face a tougher offense coming into Saturday’s matchup against Arizona. Grant Gunnell, a 6-foot-6, 228-pound QB gives the Wildcats a dual-threat option. Against USC, Gunnell passed for 286 yards and three touchdowns – adding 40 yards rushing. Gary Brightwell looked good at running back last week, rushing 21 times for 112 yards. The 6-foot-1, 218-pound senior presents a challenge to tackle out of the back field. Stopping the run will be a big key for the Huskies Saturday night.
“Yeah we definitely need to play the run better,” Lake said about the OSU game.”Which we did not play very well at all Saturday night. That was one of our keys to the game. We made some strategy changes throughout the game in the first, second quarter, and third quarter that really helped us. Which was a huge boost to our defense after we made those adjustments. Ended up shutting out Oregon State in the second half.”
Washington was without two key starters on the defensive front last week. Starting defensive lineman Tuli Letuligasenoa and outside linebacker Laiatu Latu. Jimmy Lake did not say if they will be available for Saturday’s game.
Arizona’s defense should be better this year under Paul Rhodes. Rhodes, a veteran in the coaching world was a head coach at Iowa State for seven seasons (2009-2015). He served as Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator for eight seasons (2000-2007) and in five of those seasons the Panthers finished top-30 in scoring defense.
Keys to the Game
1. Stop the Run
Washington must improve on their run defense. The Huskies gave up too much easy yardage on the ground last week. Washington’s strength on defense is their secondary and the more times the defense force their opponents to throw the ball the better.
2. Run the Ball
On offense this team’s strength is the offensive line. Until they prove they can pass the ball consistently, they need to continue to run the ball to set up short third downs and continue moving the chains.
3. Win the turnover battle
It’s obvious but the turnover battle is always important. Especially considering it looks like the Huskies will play in a lot of close games this season. So far the Huskies have a 2-1 turnover advantage.
Prediction
Arizona’s defense looked improved against USC last weekend. But this is another game where the Huskies should be able to run the ball at will. The Trojans rushed 32 times for 173 yards – averaging 5.4 yards per carry against Arizona. Expect Washington to run 40 plus times in this game unless the Wildcats prove they can stop the run. On the other side of the ball Washington must stop the run better than last week. Washington wins but they will still make some early season mistakes. The Huskies run for over 200 yards in consecutive weeks.
Washington 28 Arizona 21
