5 storylines to watch when the Huskies travel to Colorado
Washington (4-6) heads to Colorado (3-7) this weekend for its final road trip of the regular season.
The game kicks off at noon Saturday at Folsom Field in Boulder.
Here are five storylines to watch:
1. How will the Huskies regroup after back-to-back losses to Oregon and Arizona State?
Two weeks ago, leading up to the Oregon game, the Huskies were suddenly in position to move into a tie for the Pac-12 North lead with a win, having topped Arizona and Stanford in their previous two games.
That didn’t happen, though — the Ducks picked up a third consecutive win in the rivalry series, UW parted ways with offensive coordinator John Donovan a day after the loss, and then suspended coach Jimmy Lake for the Arizona State game following a sideline incident with a player.
The Huskies built an early lead against Arizona State last week, but couldn’t hold on late, and dropped a second consecutive loss.
UW then fired Lake, who was in his second season as the program’s head coach and had coached 13 games before the suspension.
Bob Gregory, the program’s defensive coordinator, was named acting head coach against Arizona State, and will be UW’s interim coach for the remainder of the season, while wide receivers coach Junior Adams took over play calling ahead of that game and will continue as the interim offensive coordinator the rest of the season.
The staff now looks to guide the Huskies through the next two weeks of the regular season, with postseason play still a possibility.
“It’s our job to help these kids navigate through a tough time,” Gregory said during a press conference Tuesday. “It’s not easy for these guys. Their world has changed a little bit.”
2. Can the Huskies make a late run at bowl eligibility?
There are two games left on UW’s regular season schedule — this game in Colorado, and then next week’s rivalry game against Washington State in the Apple Cup.
The Huskies need to win both of them to avoid missing out on bowl eligibility for the first time since 2009.
“We still have a lot of really cool stuff to play for,” Gregory said. “We can have a winning season. Apple Cup. Bowl game. All that kind of stuff. And that’s what we’ve got to do.”
As of Thursday, the Huskies were considered a seven-point favorite against Colorado. The Buffaloes wins this season are against Northern Colorado in their season opener, a shutout of Arizona and an overtime win two weeks ago against Oregon State.
The Huskies lead the all-time series against Colorado, 12-6-1, and before losing in Boulder in the most recent meeting between these teams two years ago, had won nine consecutive games against Colorado dating back to 1999.
Should the Huskies return home with a win over Colorado — UW is 2-2 on the road this season with losses to Michigan and Oregon State, and wins over Arizona and Stanford — they will still need another victory over their in-state rival to reach the postseason.
Before last season’s Apple Cup was canceled, UW had won the past seven meetings. WSU last won in Pullman in 2012. The Huskies haven’t lost the rivalry game in Seattle since the 2007 season.
3. Will we see more than one UW quarterback again this week?
Second-year quarterback Dylan Morris has started 14 consecutive games for the Huskies, dating back to his college debut against Oregon State in the 2020 season opener.
Through 10 games this season, he is 187-of-311 passing for 2,071 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
He has played the majority of snaps in each game during that span, but did split some reps with five-star freshman Sam Huard last week against Arizona State.
Morris opened 11 of the 14 offensive series the Huskies played last week, finishing 16-of-28 passing for 151 yards, two total touchdowns and one interception. Huard played three, finishing 3-of-5 passing for 20 yards.
“I think we had to do that, give ourselves a little bit of a spark, and give Sam a chance to play,” Gregory said of how the quarterback plan against Arizona State played out. “I think it helps him. It helps Dylan. A little bit of competition. I thought it was good. I think it helped overall.”
This was the third game Huard has appeared in this season. He also played one series each against Arkansas State and Arizona. Should the Huskies continue to get Huard reps, he can play in one more game while still retaining his redshirt season.
The Huskies also have a third option at quarterback in graduate transfer Patrick O’Brien, who has played one series this season against Arkansas State. O’Brien played at Nebraska and Colorado State before joining the Huskies this season, and is 272-of-448 passing for 3,586 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his career.
“I think he’s got a chance to help us,” Gregory said Tuesday. “Maybe this week a little bit more. They all took reps today. Today’s a big practice for all those guys in figuring out exactly where we’re at.”
4. How do UW and Colorado stack up on offense and defense?
Though both programs rank near the bottom of the Pac-12 in several offensive categories, the Huskies have fared better through 10 games.
Colorado ranks 11th in scoring (19.2 points per game), while UW ranks ninth (22.8).
Colorado has the fewest total yards per game (275.9) and passing yards per game (137.9) in the conference, UW ranks 10th in both categories (325.5 total yards, 212.2 passing).
The Buffaloes have had more success on the ground, though, with their 138 yards per game rushing ranking seventh, while the Huskies’ 113.3 ranks 10th.
Colorado’s Jarek Broussard (130 carries, 618 yards, two TDs) ranks seventh in the conference in rushing, and posted back-to-back 100-yard performances against Oregon State and UCLA the past two weeks.
While the Huskies rank tied for first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (21.2 points per game allowed), first in passing yards allowed (136.3) and second in total yards allowed (340.6), they are also one of two teams that has given up 200-plus rushing yards per game, their 204.3 allowed ranking 11th.
Colorado ranks ninth in points per game allowed (27.5), 11th in total yards allowed (418.1), ninth in passing yards allowed (234.1) and 10th in rushing yards allowed (184).
5. Here are the players with Washington high school ties on Colorado’s roster, and the players with Colorado high school ties on UW’s.
On Colorado’s roster:
WR Daniel Arias, jr. (Jackson)
DL Jayden Simon, R-fr. (Lincoln)
On UW’s roster:
OL Roger Rosengarten, fr. (Valor Christian)
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
