Analysis: How the Pac-12 champion Huskies physically outmatched Oregon
LAS VEGAS – As purple confetti danced in the air and Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff looked on in obvious unease, these dismissed, doubted, undeterred Dawgs were crowned on Friday night. At 8:57 p.m., they stood on an elevated stage, chanting and swaying and reveling in weeks and weeks and weeks of insulting receipts.
The experts picked Oregon. The oddsmakers picked Oregon. Heck, I picked Oregon.
But Washington won, because winners win.
It’s audacious, and it’s true.
“One of the things that (UW coach Kalen) DeBoer brought – the phrase that he brought – was, ‘Winners win, because that’s what winners do.’ You kind of think it’s corny until you really see it come to fruition,” sixth-year senior linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio said after UW’s 34-31 Pac-12 title win. “The way these (coaches) prepare, the amount of attention to detail to every single thing, the meals, the meetings, even the practice groups … they’re so detailed. These guys don’t sleep. They’re nocturnal. If you go at any time, there’s a coach working, trying to improve this team.
“When it happens in the games, when (the result) is up in the air, it could go either way, there’s this full belief that we can win, because we put the work in. Every single scenario that can happen in a football game we’ve seen by the time the game starts. It’s a culture thing. That’s the best way to explain it. We win because we’re winners.”
It’s why DeBoer has won 20 consecutive games in Seattle, and shows no signs of stopping. It’s why the 49-year-old from tiny Milbank, South Dakota, is 103-11 in three stints as a collegiate head coach. It’s why Washington has won its last 11 one-score games, including three over Oregon.
It’s why, when Oregon scored 21 straight points on Friday night, these Huskies didn’t flinch.
“We knew we were going to hit adversity, and that’s what happened,” said junior wide receiver Rome Odunze, who contributed eight catches for 102 yards. “That’s what happened to us all season, so we’re not new to that. We knew we just needed to execute the next play when we got the opportunity, offense and defense, and that’s what we did.”
“I mean, it’s not easy,” Ulofoshio said. “You’ve got to understand that this guy (motioning to running back and Mississippi State transfer Dillon Johnson) came from literally halfway across the country to get us better. … Mike (Penix Jr.) has had how many surgeries, to be able to persevere and get to this moment? Winning isn’t easy. Even this year wasn’t guaranteed.
“We were 12-0, still a 10-point underdog. You have to fight for every single thing you get. You can say what you want, but we earned it every single game.”
The Huskies will have to earn it two more times.
But first, let’s dive back into the details of an unforgettable Friday night.
No trouble in the trenches
Perhaps the most stunning statistic from Washington’s win:
Oregon running back Bucky Irving rushed nine times for 20 yards.
That’s the same player who punctured UW’s defense for 127 rushing yards, 34 receiving yards, 5.8 yards per carry and a touchdown on Oct. 14; who amassed 181 total yards and 7.3 yards per rush in their meeting last fall; who produced 1,063 rushing yards, 6.18 yards per carry and 10 rushing touchdowns in 13 games.
Washington consistently, repeatedly won up front.
On both sides of the ball.
Against a group that still ranks 13th nationally in rushing defense (97.54 yards allowed per game) and 23rd in opponent yards per carry (3.4), Johnson plowed forward for 152 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry and two touchdowns (plus a passing score). That included an 18-yard rumble on third-and-9 to put the game away.
The statistics suggested UW might struggle to run on Friday night.
But that’s not what the Huskies saw.
“I felt like we’re a better running team than we were even the first time we played them, and Dillon ran pretty well that time,” UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “Especially the first half, I thought the O-line was knocking them off the ball a little bit. We controlled the line of scrimmage and we just had good presence. It wasn’t always 10-yard hits, but the presence and consistency in the run game gave us a lot of confidence.”
“I got the trust from the guys, the coaching staff,” said Johnson, who continues to play through a foot injury sustained against Oregon State on Nov. 18: “Everyone believes in me. They knew I was banged up, but I told them I could have lost a leg, an arm, a forehead, my foot, whatever, and I was still going to be out there giving them everything I had. I’m just blessed to be here and blessed to be a part of this culture.”
The 6-0, 218-pound Johnson also did his job in pass protection – providing consistent blitz pickups on Penix completions (including a 45-yarder to wide receiver Jalen McMillan).
“I thought they did a good job in protection tonight,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “We tried to be aggressive at times with pressure. Made us pay for that. Didn’t have the tight matches that we needed in the back end. They finished. We didn’t. There’s times we’re hitting (Penix), getting close, but the ball is getting off just before. They made some big-time explosive plays.”
A significant stop
Trailing 27-24 early in the fourth quarter, Oregon was stoned on third-and-9 from its 36-yard line, when Bo Nix attempted a quarterback keeper and was swallowed by UW edge Bralen Trice instead. The Huskies only rushed four on the play, with edge Zion Tupuola-Fetui charging up the middle and Trice twisting from left to right.
The stop and Ducks punt prompted a 12-play, 82-yard UW touchdown drive that put the game away.
“They were in dime (using six defensive backs). They were in a light box,” Lanning said of the call. “We didn’t pick up the movement well. When you’re playing dime in a light box, that’s an opportunity to have an advantageous run. We emptied the box with a bolt motion. They had less hats in there than we did. We had enough in there to block ’em up. We didn’t get it blocked properly and they made a great play.”
The relentless Trice finished with four tackles, four quarterback hits and a pass breakup, while logging 56 of a possible 57 defensive snaps.