Huard: Win over No. 20 BYU crucial to No. 11 UW Huskies’ case for playoffs
Sep 27, 2018, 12:24 PM
Ben Burr-Kirven and the UW Huskies' defense will have to be disciplined vs. No. 20 BYU. (AP)
(AP)
On Saturday, the No. 11 UW Huskies will host the No. 20 BYU Cougars, marking a rare second non-conference game against a ranked opponent for Washington this season.
While the Huskies (3-1 overall) came up short in their season opener against now-No. 10 Auburn, a victory over BYU (3-1) would go a long way in determining whether UW will be in the mix for the College Football Playoff at the end of the season.
Jake Heaps’ Film Room: No. 11 Huskies’ offense finding key to success
As we do each week, we sat down with former UW quarterback and current ESPN college football analyst Brock Huard to preview the Huskies’ upcoming game. Here are his keys:
BYU’s defensive line will make UW’s O-line work.
BYU is huge up front, and just ask No. 15 Wisconsin, which has arguably the best and most veteran offensive line in college football but lost to BYU 24-21 two weeks ago, how hard it is to move the Cougars’ gigantic front four. BYU is also aided by playing 10 different defensive linemen to stay fresh. The Huskies will need to create enough movement in the run game to make the play-action pass as devastating as it was last weekend in the win over Arizona State.
Discipline on defense will be crucial.
New BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes has incorporated lots of misdirection, movement schemes and screen plays that force a defense to be extremely sound in its assignment. The game plan for Washington’s defense needs to be all about the edges. The Cougars love to utilize nearly every wide receiver in their run game with fly sweeps, and support from the Huskies’ defensive ends, linebackers and the secondary will have to be so disciplined in their edge assignments. That is why UW coach Chris Petersen said defending BYU is like defending an option team, because each and every player will have to be responsible for their individual job.
Work on shoring up a lingering depth issue.
Developing depth in the front seven will be so critical for UW over the next two months. If defensive tackle Greg Gaines and linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven were to miss any significant time, the Huskies would be incredibly challenged to play at the level necessary to win the Pac-12.
Capitalize on an opportunity to bolster the playoff résumé.
Adding any win over a Top 25 team is hugely advantageous inside the committee room. With Auburn, BYU and nine Pac-12 conference games, UW’s strength of schedule will be in a place it hasn’t been under Petersen. Now winning the remaining games, that will be the difference between a New Year’s Six bowl game or a berth in the College Football Playoff. The good news is that as veteran as UW is, starting 11 seniors and likely losing safety Taylor Rapp and cornerback Byron Murphy to the NFL after this season, there should be no shortage of intensity or urgency for this one-week break from conference play. BYU snapping Wisconsin’s 15-year and 41-game win steak against non-conference foes in Madison is all the evidence UW needs of the caliber of team coming to Seattle.
