Caple: The numbers behind the UW Huskies’ top-10 defense

Nov 8, 2024, 1:03 PM

Logan Sagapolu of the UW Huskies celebrates his sack against Michigan during a 2024 game. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

UW Huskies Insider

Though Steve Belichick coordinates a UW Huskies defense that has outperformed expectations through the first nine games of the Jedd Fisch era, he is the wrong person from which to attempt to summon any kind of big-picture reflection.

UW Huskies hope to upset, hand No. 6 Penn State another setback

Asked this week if he’d have believed before the season that the Huskies would be a top-10 defense come November, UW’s defensive coordinator replied: “I probably wouldn’t have listened to you, and it means nothing right now. It really doesn’t. Go out here and give 1,000 yards a game — it means nothing. No one will be talking about where anybody’s ranked on Nov. (5). No one’s talking about, ‘well, they’re ranked…’ Nov. 5. No one cares about that.”

Ah, well. Now that it’s Nov. 6, here are 20 more numbers you may or may not care about, but which tell the story of UW’s defense all the same.

5.1

The average number of yards gained per pass attempt by UW’s opponents, which ranks third-best nationally, behind only Texas and Iowa State.

Passes broken up by UW players this season, tied for seventh-most in FBS and behind only Oregon and Minnesota in the Big Ten. Two seasons ago, the Huskies broke up only 26 passes all season; last year, they broke up 70, good for second in FBS.

Also, the percentage of Washington’s defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus, played by players who were either not on the roster or unavailable last season (i.e. transfers, true freshmen and Zach Durfee). Ephesians Prysock, Cameron Broussard, Sebastian Valdez, Jordan Shaw and Khmori House are the leaders in this category.

130, 116, 121, 112, 3, 74

The FBS passing efficiency ranking of each of UW’s first six Big Ten opponents — and, of course, Indiana was playing without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, and therefore wound up attempting only 19 passes in a 31-17 victory. The Huskies’ pass defense has performed well, but they’ve yet to face anything approaching an elite passing attack. Then again, that’s just sort of how it goes in the Big Ten.

6, 64, 7

The FBS passing efficiency ranking of UW’s remaining three Big Ten opponents: Penn State, UCLA and Oregon, respectively. All three rank higher than each of the Huskies’ previous conference opponents except Indiana.

Sacks UW has totaled in nine games, a figure that is tied for 91st in FBS (the Huskies are tied for 104th in sacks per game). To some extent, this is a byproduct of facing a run-heavy slate of opponents who don’t often ask their quarterbacks to stand in the pocket and throw downfield. Also, consider that Iowa, Indiana and USC each rank top-20 nationally in fewest sacks allowed per game.

34.0

Tackles for loss, which ranks 122nd in FBS and is probably a more telling statistic than the sacks. Against opposing offenses intent on running the ball, the Huskies haven’t generated much push and generally haven’t affected the backfield all that often. There have been a couple of critical exceptions: Jacob Lane’s TFL on a big third down against Michigan, and Khmori House’s fourth-down stop against USC.

Goal-line stands. Three of them — against Eastern Michigan, Northwestern and USC — resulted in turnovers-on-downs, and another two, against Northwestern and Indiana, forced the opponent to settle for a field goal after driving to the 1-yard line.

Takeaways through the first nine games, tied for 81st in FBS — and the Huskies claimed three of those against USC.

The percentage of opponent red-zone possessions that end in touchdowns (12 of 24). This figure is tied for 18th-best in FBS. The Huskies rank 22nd in overall red-zone conversion percentage allowed (75.0).

UW’s national rank in yards per rush allowed (4.27); this figure ranks 14th in the Big Ten. No question, the Huskies have been better against the pass. Advanced metrics bear this out, too: UW ranks eighth in FBS in defensive expected points added (EPA) per dropback, and 54th in defensive EPA per rush, per CollegeFootballInsiders.com.

Opponent plays of 10-plus yards, which is tied for 10th-fewest in FBS. Washington also is top-25 in opponent plays of 20-, 30- and 40-plus yards, is one of 18 teams to allow one or fewer plays of 50-plus yards, and is one of 22 teams to not allow any plays of 60-plus yards. This ties into UW’s success defending the pass — and the reluctance of most opponents to throw the ball — and also is a credit to how well the Huskies have tackled.

Fumbles forced, which is tied for 105th in FBS. And the Huskies have recovered only two of those fumbles.

Also, interceptions by senior linebacker Carson Bruener, the team leader in this category. He also leads the team in career interceptions with five, which is an impressive number for a guy who mostly came off the bench before this season. And he leads the team in tackles with 67.

Also, games in which the opponent did not score a touchdown.

Passes broken up by senior cornerback Thaddeus Dixon, which is tied for 14th-most in FBS and is two off the Big Ten lead. Dixon transferred to UW last season from Long Beach City College and functioned as the Huskies’ sixth defensive back. He emerged as a starting cornerback from a three-man training-camp battle with returning starter Elijah Jackson and Arizona transfer Ephesians Prysock, and has played more defensive snaps this season than anyone but Kamren Fabiculanan.

19.0

Points allowed per game, which, if it holds, would be the program’s best single-season mark since yielding only 16.4 per game in 2018. UW ranks 21st nationally in this metric.

120

UW’s FBS rank in opponent starting field position, with garbage-time possessions filtered out, per BCFToys.com. Poor special-teams coverage has put the Huskies’ defense in several disadvantageous situations, which helps put their performance into context. Few Power 4 defenses are asked to defend a shorter field than Washington.

274

Snaps played with Alphonzo Tuputala aligned at edge rusher, per PFF, more than any other UW player. Belichick has used the senior linebacker in several different ways this season.

528

Snaps played by senior safety Kamren Fabiculanan, a number that leads the team and also establishes a new career high. Injuries limited Fabiculanan some last year, even as he contributed significantly, but nothing has held him back this season.

This article was originally published at OnMontlake.com, the home for Christian Caple’s full UW Huskies football coverage. Subscribe to On Montlake for full access to in-depth UW Huskies coverage.