The Washington Huskies moved to 10-0 on the season in a 35-28 victory over 2-time defending Pac-12 Champions Utah Utes. But the score didn’t have to be that close. On what would have been a Pick-6 by Husky linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala dropped the ball a yard shy of the end zone and Grady Gross had a field goal blocked, and the Huskies failed on a 2-point conversion. That’s 10 points the Huskies left on the field.
Heading into the locker room the Huskies trailed 28-24. Several players credited linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio with a talk to the defense with the second half turnaround where the Utes were only able to muster 67 total yards. Here’s our look at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Huskies’ 10th win of the season.
The Good
Eddie—Before the coaches said a word 6th-year senior linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio pulled the defense aside had a “come-to-Jesus” meeting, as defensive back Jabbar Mohammad called it (the story continues below the podcast)
Listen in as Coach V, UW Leah, and Trevor Mueller break down Washington’s 35-28 victory over Utah Saturday afternoon.
There might not be a more respected player in Washington’s locker room than Ulofoshio. At halftime against Utah he fashioned that respect into a vocal role that swung the defensive pendulum the other way.
It looked he would have double digit tackles again, having two tackles in the first couple of minutes of the game. However, as he did against Caleb Williams the week before, he played on-field conductor orchestrating a second half shutout.
Second Half Defense–After running 36 plays in the first half to score their 28 points, in the second half the Utes ran just 21 plays scoring zero points. In Washington’s last four 4th quarters Washington’s defense has allowed just a single touchdown. That effort will be needed for all four quarters in Corvallis, Oregon this coming Saturday.
Husky Stadium–While it may not actually be a fact, it appeared that Husky Stadium was louder than against Oregon at times, especially late in the game.
4th Quarter Offense–They say that the best defense is a good offense and that held true in the fourth quarter. The Utes were held scoreless but in the 4th quarter they possessed the ball just 2:38 seconds. They ran just 7 plays in the final frame for measly 16 yards.
Jack Westover–The senior tight end has shown off his catch radius when the team has needed it the most: 4th down. Against Oregon he plucked the ball off of the turf for a 4th down conversion and against Utah he climbed a ladder and twisted away towards the opposite sideline to haul in a 10-yard completion on 4th and 2.
It came with six minutes left in the 3rd quarter. He finished with 7 catches for 64 yards but perhaps none more critical than that one.
Germie Bernard–with slot receivers Jalen McMillan and Giles Jackson, Bernard was called upon in big moments. He responded with 6 receptions for 63 yards. On one pass he caught the ball 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage and blew through a couple of attempted arm tackles. He got down field 10 yards and fought through, and spun off of defenders for another 12 yards.
He also was Dillon Johnson’s lead blocker in the wildcat formation that Johnson scored on. He role continues to expand as the Huskies find new ways to get him involved in the Husky offense.
Dillon Johnson— against one of the better run defenses Johnson went over 100 yards again. He led all Washington players in all-purpose with 132 yards. That’s 3 more than Rome Odunze.
Rome Odunze–37 yards per reception sounds like a bit of a misleading number when it comes to a big-play receiver. However, his longest was only 44 yards (only) meaning that his other 2 catches were for pretty big pops. He had catches of 33, 34, and 44 yards. There was also a 15-yard pass interference called one on target.
On several pass attempts going his way there appeared to be some sort of grab or interference.
The Bad
First Half Defense struggled. Blown coverages, missed tackles, 3rd down efficiency–you name it. On one drive alone the Utes converted 3 first downs going in for the score. Credit Utah for staying ahead of the chains as those the conversions were on 3rd and 3; 3rd and 2; and 3rd and 1. 28 points wasn’t great against the worst offense in the conference.
Laces In–Before his final field goal attempt, Washington kicker Grady Gross had moved into 3rd place in single season field goal accuracy. He knocked first two kicks through in very unfavorable conditions for a kicker. However, having the laces facing 180-degrees the wrong direction that dropped him from 3rd all-time single season down to 9th.
The Ugly
The Weather–On the scoreboard it was a tale of two halves. On the field it was a tale of two halves, as well. Each side of the 50 seemed to have its own weather pattern. On back to back passes to Rome Odunze, Penix overthrew Odunze who was fairly wide open. On the Jack Westover 4th down conversion, the ball appeared to float as well only to have “Westie”, as many of his teammates call him, reel it in.
It would be quite easy to look at some of the throws that Michael Penix threw and thing that he was having an off day. However, once on the field it was easy to see that the weather was working against the Heisman candidate. He finished the afternoon 24-42 for 332 yards and a pair of connections with Rome Odunze for scores.
As noted above, Gross went 2-3 on the very windy day but it didn’t impact his FG kicking. It did, however, impact a few kickoffs.
The Refs–Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk were interfered with several times early in routes, in fact, throughout routes only to the officials turn a blind eye. Then there’s the illegal formation that wiped out a 4th down conversion from Penix to Westover, forcing UW to punt.
There was a formation that Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb shifted into on 4th down and 4. Jack Westover took in a 10-yard pass to move the chains—not so fast. The refs threw a flag for an illegal man down field forcing UW to punt.
“No comment. Wow. It was unfortunate. I’ll say that,” Washington OC Ryan Grubb. “We had the play we wanted, we had the coverage we wanted—we just needed the refs to execute.”
