UW Huskies use ‘multifaceted’ offense to cruise past Arizona
Remember the hat? The one Washington head coach Jimmy Lake wore to his press conference on Monday? There was a message on the front of it, a message Lake made sure the Zoom recording captured as he sat down and before he signed off. A message in bold, black, capital letters.
Run the damn ball.
It was a fitting theme for the game the Huskies had just played — a season-opening victory over Oregon State that was fueled by the ground game to the tune of 51 carries for 277 yards. But when Lake arrives for his press conference on Monday to discuss UW’s 44-27 victory over Arizona (1-1), he might consider wearing a different hat.
That’s not to say the Huskies (2-0) didn’t run the ball well on Saturday. They finished with 233 yards and two touchdowns as nine players had at least one carry. Their top three running backs — seniors Sean McGrew and Kamari Pleasant and redshirt sophomore Richard Newton — each scored at least one touchdown. It was, by any measure, a dominant performance.
But as UW was establishing its offense and piecing together a 24-point halftime lead, it was the passing game that laid the foundation. And despite his hat, Lake knew it was coming. He even hinted at it on Monday when he said this offense was built to adapt. The Huskies might have pounded Oregon State on the ground, Lake said then, but they could look completely different against Arizona.
He wasn’t lying.
With 14:04 left in the second quarter, redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan Morris had already passed for more yards (149) than he did in the entire game against Oregon State (141). By halftime, he had completed 10-of-18 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown. He finished the game with 230 yards on 15-of-25 passing for 230 yards and two touchdowns — and that was with several drops from his receivers.
“Every game we’re going to see what we can take advantage of on an opposing defense and then we’re going to do it,” Lake said. “I mentioned last week, we’re going to be multifaceted. If we’re going to throw it, we’ll throw it. If we’re going to run it, we’ll run it If we feel we can just kind of do both and balance out, we’ll balance out. We’re going to do whatever we feel we need to do to move the ball, possess the ball and score points.”
After completing just one pass of 15 yards or more against Oregon State, Morris had seven against Arizona — including five by halftime. Morris also completed at least one pass for 18 yards or more on three of UW’s first four scoring drives.
The Huskies struggled early during their first offensive possession. They managed just 8 yards on their first three plays and appeared to be headed for a three-and-out. But then UW faked the punt, and Jackson Sirmon picked up 4 yards to secure the first down. Two plays later, on third-and-10, Morris successfully found Puka Nacua even as he took a hit from the Wildcats’ defense. Nacua then went 65 yards for UW’s first touchdown.
On the next drive, Morris completed passes of 18 and 29 yards to tight end Cade Otton to set up a 20-yard field goal by Peyton Henry. The Huskies defense then sacked Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell and recovered the ensuing fumble deep in Wildcats’ territory, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by McGrew.
With UW up 17-0 at the start of the second quarter, Morris found wide receivers Terrell Bynum and Ty Jones for gains of 20 and 18 yards, respectively, to move to the Arizona 14-yard line. From there, Newton eventually rushed for a 2-yard touchdown.
“We have a lot of really good players,” Otton said. “(Offensive coordinator John) Donovan does a good job of getting them the ball. I think it can change, giving guys the ball in different ways. We got really good receivers, good running backs, really good offensive line. We’re going to utilize all of those things. It’s fun to be a part of.”
Otton, who didn’t have a catch against the Beavers, had five receptions for 72 yards in the first half, an average of 14.4 yards per catch. He added three more catches for 28 yards and a touchdown in the second.
“Wait until you see the film of (Otton) blocking tonight,” Lake said. “It was impressive. He was just mashing guys all over the field, opening up lanes for our running backs. And then of course, the highlight plays and pass catches that he had and the highlight plays and the touchdown. He’s a big-time tight end. He’s a big-time football player. So pleased with him. … He’’s tough, he’s physical and he’s smart. He comes to work every single day.”
As the Huskies pounded Arizona — they led 37-0 before the Wildcats scored their first touchdown in the fourth quarter — Morris repeatedly came up big on third down.
In the first half alone, Morris found Bynum for a 20-yard gain on 3rd-and-9 and hit Ty Jones for 18 yards on 3rd-and-12 He kept going in the second half. On third-and-5 from the Arizona 20-yard line, he hit Otton with the 20-yard touchdown pass that put UW up 37-0 with 5:02 left in the third quarter. On the next offensive possession, he converted on third-and-7 with a 15-yard pass to Ty Jones.
In his debut against Oregon State, Morris showed his poise with big runs late in the fourth quarter. Against Arizona, he proved he can do it through the air, too. And once again — as Lake continually stresses — he didn’t make mistakes. No fumbles. No turnovers. He was technically sacked once, but it came on a shove out of bounds as he was already heading for the sideline.
“For him to be able to have the decision making, to not give up a legitimate sack and not turn the football over, get us out of bad plays and into good plays, keep good plays on, his accuracy,” Lake said. “I know we need to make more plays from our pass catchers. We left a few out there, which we’ll continue to improve on. But I’m so excited for Dylan. He’s operating our offense. He’s executing. He’s great for us. I’m excited to see his game continue to improve.”
And the offense wasn’t the only unit that showed new dimensions.
The run defense was also greatly improved from last week when Oregon State rushed for 167 yard and Jermar Jefferson had 133 yards on 23 carries. Arizona managed just 76 yards on 26 carries, an average of 2.8 yards per carry. Running back Gary Brightwell, who had 112 yards against USC last week, finished with just 55.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the picture was even bleaker for Arizona. The Wildcats were trailing 37-0 and they had just 66 totals yards — including 16 rushing yards on 18 carries, an average of 0.9 yards per attempt. They also had five first downs and were 0-for-9 on third down.
‘’The ... defensive staff did a phenomenal job getting those guys dialed into Arizona’s run game,” Lake said. “We slowed them down big time, made them one dimensional. I was really proud of the pressure we put on the quarterback.”
Arizona didn’t pick up a first down until there were less than 3 minutes left in the first quarter and it went 2-for-13 on third-down attempts. Outside linebacker Zion Tupoula-Fetui had 2.0 sacks, bringing his season total to 4.0. Inside linebacker Edfuan Ulofoshio continued his assault on opposing offenses, finishing with five tackles, 1.0 sack and a forced fumble.
“That’s the best feeling there is for a defense is when you know you’ve got them on their heels,” said outside linebacker Ryan Bowman, who had three tackles and a sack. “For us, it’s just attack, attack, attack. It’s even better for us. It’s good, they’re on their heels because we’re coming even harder now.
In the fourth quarter, Lake pulled his defensive starters to get the second unit some game reps. The Wildcats then scored 27 points and added 265 total yards, which was about 80% of their game total of 331 yards.
Now, UW will turn its attention to the Apple Cup on Friday — a game that is in jeopardy due to Washington State’s COVID-19 issues. But Lake said the Huskies haven’t heard that’s anything changed, and the coaches have already started prepping for the Cougars. As for what the offense will look like when it gets to Pullman? Well, that’s anyone’s guess.
But maybe Lake will put it on a hat.
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 8:45 PM.
