Huard: Plenty for No. 16 Huskies to improve upon in clash with Utah
Nov 16, 2017, 3:29 PM
The Huskies' offense has struggled to produce explosive plays in 2017. (AP)
(AP)
The No. 16 Washington Huskies will look to pick themselves off the ground after losing their second game of the season – and saw their national playoff hopes dashed in the process. Here are ESPN college football analyst and 710 ESPN Seattle host Brock Huard’s keys for Saturday’s home game for Washington (8-2 overall) against Utah (5-5).
1. Get out of the offensive rut.
What can be a key on offense in this game? How about an explosive play or three? UW’s offense has been workmanlike, at times efficient and much more reliant on the run game than it was a season ago. That said, the home runs have been lacking throughout, and on another cool night at Husky Stadium, the lack of explosive chunk plays will lead to another gritty, compelling four quarter game.
2. Right the ship defensively on third downs.
The Huskies allowed 10 third down conversions to Stanford in their loss to the Cardinal last week, which is exactly half as many as the 20 that UW allowed in its previous five games combined. Getting off the field and controlling time of possession will be essential against the big play potential of Utah.
3. Mistakes on offense will be magnified.
The Utes possess a very physical front seven and are one of the best in the Pac-12 at taking the ball away as a result. Avoiding the negative plays and securing the football will be essential to a Husky win.
4. Make something happen on special teams.
The loss of two cornerbacks and a multitude of offensive weapons to injury has meant tighter games and less margin for error on offense and defense, something that won’t be helped by the indefinite suspension of Azeem Victor, even if he never played up to his excellent 2016 campaign coming back from injury this season. The great equalizer – as Utah felt first-hand in this matchup last year – is often the third phase of the game, and that is where UW has been most the explosive in 2017 led by four punt return touchdowns by Dante Pettis.
5. Use the home-field advantage to tire out Utah.
The Huskies have been pretty dominant at home and will look to wear down a Utah team that has not been the same over the last few weeks. Utah started with two road wins and nearly got a third at USC (28-27 loss) and now finds itself fighting for a postseason bid.
