Washington opened Big Ten play as a double-digit home favorite against a Minnesota team picked to finish 10th in the conference and had lost by 25 at home to Mississippi State two weeks ago (turns out Mississippi State is actually pretty good, but still). Things went off track almost immediately, and the Gophers jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Huskies had a first down, then spent the rest of the night controlling the ball and field position on their way to a 27-24 win. The final margin was three points, but this one never really felt like a game Washington was going to win. After three non-conference games of getting by with weaker opponents, the same problems showed up against a real conference opponent, and it cost the Huskies a game.
Passing Offense: 3.5/10Quarterback: 3/10
Offensive line: 2.5/10
Receivers/tight ends: 5/10
Demond Williams was sacked seven times, one more than Ohio State managed against this team a year ago. Minnesota brought pressure from everywhere and the line didn’t have any answers. The offensive line was poor, but Williams decision making was even worse. He held onto the ball too long, and multiple times he had a clean pocket and chose to just take off running for seemingly no reason. Most of the time, the running lane closed immediately and he was stopped for a loss or no gain. The coaches keep rotating Kodie Greene at LT with John Mills, to “lighten his workload” but it’s clear he isn’t playing quite at the level the coaches were hoping this season.
The play that would be indicative of this offense’s performance came in the first quarter. Williams rolled right on a bootleg from deep in his own territory, Minnesota’s Anthony Smith hit him as he let go, and the ball floated to a Minnesota linebacker, and they scored on the very next play. He added another interception like it later in the game, both plays where not only was the blocking not there, but also terrible decisions to throw the ball.
The receivers and tight ends were the bright spot, mostly because they made some tough plays. Dezmen Roebuck’s one-handed grab on the fourth-quarter scoring drive was spectacular, and TE Baron Naone keeps showing up in big moments, hauling in a 15-yard touchdown on fourth-and-5 on a play where Williams had to improvise. Williams also scrambled 13 yards for the late touchdown that made it a three-point game.
But therein lies the problem: it takes a heroic effort with a quarterback evading multiple rushers, throwing up a prayer, and a receiver making a spectacular catch for any big plays to happen. Absolutely nothing came easy on Saturday night. In classic Demond Williams fashion, he his final stat line somehow still looked good: 18/28 for 239 yards and two touchdowns. However, the turnovers and sacks were the story.
Rushing Offense: 2/10Running backs: 2/10
Offensive line: 3/10
There really isn’t anything to say after rushing for 40 yards on 1.5 yards per carry. The Huskies don’t have a run game and have one functional running back in Brian Bonner, because I’m not sure Trey Cooley can be trusted with the ball in his hands the way he coughs it up multiple times per game. The Huskies allowed nine tackles for loss by the Minnesota front.
Passing Defense: 5/10Pass rush: 4/10
Secondary: 5/10
This was a tale of two halves. In the first, QB Drake Lindsey threw three touchdown passes, and Minnesota scored touchdowns on three straight drives. Washington allowed more points in this game than in any game all of last season, largely because of their inability to pressure Lindsey and cover downfield. The secondary was shorthanded, with CB Emmanuel Karnley and nickel Rahshawn Clark both suiting up but not playing defense, and Minnesota went right after the replacements. Elias Johnson started at corner and barely got a hand on his man in coverage on both of the first two touchdowns. True freshman Jeron Jones eventually took over most of the corner snaps and had the team’s only pass breakup (excluding Elinneus Davis batting down a pass at the LOS).
To their credit, the defense adjusted. In the second half they held Minnesota to 3.8 yards per play and kept them out of the end zone. S Buddah Al-Uqdah’s fourth-quarter interception set up the Naone touchdown and gave the Huskies a real chance.
Rushing Defense: 5/10Minnesota has a couple of legitimately good backs, and they made Washington pay for poor tackling. PFF credited the Huskies with 11 missed tackles, and several of them came in spots where a defender was in position for a tackle for loss or a short gain and just didn’t finish.
The standout was LB Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who led the team with eight tackles, all of them on plays that ended as failures for the offense. He was all over the field. Up front, the run defense was fine in stretches, but Minnesota’s ability to stay ahead of the chains fueled the ball control that kept Washington’s offense on the sideline. Minnesota finished with 3.8 yards per carry and no touchdowns on the ground.
Special Teams: 4/10Minnesota won this phase decidedly. The Gophers’ 51-yard field goal in the fourth quarter ended up as the final margin, and their punt unit pinned Washington at its own 10, 5, 6, and 2-yard lines. Washington’s average drive started at its own 23. Minnesota’s started at its 39. With an offense that can’t sustain drives, starting with a long field is a killer. Clark handled return duties, but nothing broke loose.
Coaching: 3/10Credit to DC Ryan Walters and the defensive staff for tightening things up at halftime with two starters in the secondary out. That second-half adjustment kept this from being a blowout. However, it doesn’t look like the defense will be good enough to win games on its own.
The rest of it was rough. The offense had no plan to handle the pressure, the first-down calls kept putting the offense behind the chains, and the clock management was shaky at best. Timeout usage at the end of the first half was odd. Late in the fourth, a slow substitution let Minnesota burn the two-minute warning while Washington was in hurry-up mode, which cost around 20 seconds and effectively a timeout.
It’s just indicative of everything that’s been a hallmark of this Jedd Fisch UW program: they are not a well drilled and focused team that is prepared in every situation. Every game has at least one boneheaded decision or situation that is completely avoidable. It seems like it takes an improvisational miracle from the quarterback and a highlight reel catch for the offense to generate an explosive play.
It’s now two of three years with a disaster of an offensive line, and whatever NFL style “professional” culture he’s trying to build doesn’t seem to be working, with the same sloppy and undisciplined play we saw from his first season. Just have hope that USC is somehow in a worse place after their home loss to Oregon.