3 takeaways from Washington’s win over Oregon State
Jimmy Lake earned his first victory as Washington’s head coach with a 27-21 victory over Oregon State on Saturday night.
UW’s 2020 season opener was canceled three times, and there was doubt in the summer whether it would happen at all. But finally, nearly a year after taking for Chris Petersen, Lake got to coach his Huskies.
It wasn’t perfect, and it definitely wasn’t pretty. But it was a win. And judging from Lake’s smile and hoarse voice — he said he lost it celebrating with the team in the locker room — he’ll definitely take it.
As UW turns its attention to its second game against Arizona this weekend, here are three takeaways from the opener.
Dylan Morris, starting quarterback
The off-season’s biggest mystery was solved when Dylan Morris took warm-up snaps with starting center Luke Wattenberg. And sure enough, it was Morris who trotted out at quarterback on the Huskies’ first possession. Despite Lake leaving the door open for more than one quarterback to play, only Morris saw field against Oregon State.
Senior running back Sean McGrew said the Huskies found out Morris would be the starter after the fourth and final intrasquad scrimmage of fall camp. Morris beat out redshirt sophomore Jackson Sirmon, graduate transfer Kevin Thomson and freshman Ethan Garbers for the job.
“I feel very confident about those other three quarterbacks,” Lake said. “It was very close, but Dylan just does a really good job of not making mistakes. You saw that tonight. Didn’t make a lot of mistakes. Didn’t turn the ball over. Got us in and out of plays. The ball handling was good in the run game. Completed some passes when we needed to. We moved the chains. It was awesome to watch.”
Lake was right: Morris didn’t make any mistakes. But he also wasn’t given much to do in new offensive coordinator John Donovan’s offense as the Huskies relied heavily on their run game. Morris completed 14-of-24 passes for 141 yards and rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown. His rushing total did include two key quarterback sneaks and a 14-yard run for a first down late in the first quarter.
To be fair, his passing stats were stunted by several drops from his wide receivers including one each from Ty Jones, Puka Nacua and and Terrell Bynum. Jones dropped a ball in the end zone that could have given Morris his first-career touchdown pass.
Even so, Morris attempted just 24 passes while UW ran the ball 51 times for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Asked about the discrepancy, Lake said the Huskies saw an advantage on the ground and wanted to exploit it. His point was difficult to argue.
“Another opponent, if we see an advantage where we throw a little bit more, we’ll throw a little bit more,” Lake said. “That keeps defenses off balance.”
It was also Morris’ first college game, and Donovan could open up the offense to give him more responsibilities as the season continues. That could start as soon as Saturday.
Run defense concerns
UW started the season without defensive linemen Levi Onwuzurike and outside linebacker Joe Tryon, who both left for the 2020 NFL Draft. A drop-off due to that loss was expected, but the Huskies were dealing with other absences on Saturday, too.
Defensive lineman Tuli Letuligasenoa and outside linebacker Laiatu Latu both missed the win over Oregon State for unspecified reasons. Lake didn’t disclose how long they would be out. Outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui stepped in as a starter and had an outstanding game, finishing with four tackles and two strip sacks.
But after holding the Beavers to 12 rushing yards in the first quarter, UW’s run defense crumbled and the loss of its top personnel was noticeable. The Huskies allowed 251 rushing yards the rest of the way, including 84 in Oregon State’s 14-point second quarter. Jermar Jefferson rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries as the Beavers averaged 4.9 yards per carry.
Was it a fluke or a legitimate concern? How much will Letuligasenoa and Latu help when they return? Keep an eye on both those questions as the season continues.
Sean McGrew and Co.
As expected, UW used a balanced rushing attack. Three players had at least nine carries: McGrew (9 carries, 91 yards, 1 touchdown), starter Kamari Pleasant (12 carries, 61 yards, 1 touchdown) and Richard Newton (15 carries, 31 yards).
Of the three, it was McGrew who made the best case to receive the bulk of the attempts. His touchdown came on a 21-yard burst up the sideline, and he averaged an impressive 10.1 yards per carry.
“It’s definitely easy to hide behind my offensive linemen,” said McGrew, who is easily the smallest of UW’s running backs at at 5-foot-7. “I know the defense can’t see me and then I’m just immediately running through the first hole I see as fast as possible. I think that helps me a lot just being short. Just being able to hide behind them. The defense has a hard time seeing me and then once I get through the hole, I’m running full speed and I think it’s hard for them to catch me.”
Because McGrew had so much success, it was surprising to see UW turn to him less as the game went on. After rushing for 82 yards on six carries in the first half, McGrew had just three carries for 9 yards in the second. UW rushed for 160 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry in the first half. In the second, it rushed for 107 yards and averaged 4.0 yards per carry.
“All three of those guys give you different things,” Lake said of moving away from McGrew in after halftime. “We just try to play to those guys’ strengths and keep them fresh. Running the ball is a physical thing and those guys get worn down very quick.
“We obviously had a bunch of rushing attempts, so we wanted to just keep rolodexing those guys in there so a fresh running back was hitting that defense that started to wear down a little bit. I think you guys saw that in the fourth quarter. They were definitely wearing down.”
If UW is going to continue with such a run-heavy offense, it makes sense to spread out the carries. But when one player has the hot hand, like McGrew did against Oregon State, it also makes sense to stick with him. If McGrew’s success continues, it will be interesting to see if Donovan leans on him more heavily.
This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 4:38 PM with the headline "3 takeaways from Washington’s win over Oregon State."
