Ryan Walters leads the Washington defense into his former stomping grounds tonight. If nothing else, he’s familiar with giving up points in Ross Ade. Time is running out, so once again, I’m skipping the the chatter.
Washington vs the Run
Iowa exposed the Huskies’ run defense last week. Kamari Moulton went for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns on 26 carries, and L.J. Phillips Jr. touched them up for 42 yards on 10 carries in garbage time. That sound you hear is Fame Ijeboi rubbing his hands together in anticipation because Purdue’s
star running back could eat for the second straight game.
Moulton torched Ryan Walters’ defense in every way possible. He averaged over 5 yards per carry in the A, B, C, and D gaps last week. When he wanted to run inside, he ran inside; when he wanted to bounce it to the perimeter, he bounced it to the perimeter. He forced 12 missed tackles and ran for 9 first downs and 2 touchdowns. To put that into perspective, before playing the Huskies, Moulton forced 11 missed tackles…total. He rushed for 208 yards against Washington and 128 yards against the other 3 P4 teams he’s faced…total. That doesn’t seem like a good thing when facing Fame, who leads the nation in forced missed tackles and is coming off a 195-yard performance against Minnesota. Speaking of the Gophers, they rushed for 125 yards in their win over the Huskies and 27 yards in their loss to Purdue.
Their run defense seems a bit, shall we say, suspect.
Their stats don’t look terrible yet, but that’s because they started the season against 3 cupcakes. They’ve played the 62nd-hardest schedule in the nation, and Purdue has played the 8th-hardest schedule. Every Big 1o team they’ve faced has rushed for over 100 yards. That streak should continue tonight.
I anticipate a similar game plan to what you saw against Minnesota last week. Fame will get the ball early and often, with Ryan Browne picking and choosing his opportunities to run and throw. I’d like to see a little more Antonio Harris in this one because I don’t like the idea of giving Fame the ball 30+ times in consecutive games, and this defense dictates 30+ rushing attempts.
Washington vs the Pass
I’m going to say something nice about Ryan Walters, so prepare yourself…he’s pretty good at dialing up unexpected blitzes.
If you’re going to throw the ball on Washington, you need to locate linebacker Jacob Manu and make sure someone is blocking him. For my money, he’s Washington’s best overall player. Walters will move him around and blitz him from unexpected spots. The same goes for safety Alex McLaughlin. It’s rare for a safety to rank second on the team in sacks, but according to PFF, he’s had 9 pass-rush opportunities this season and has 7 quarterback hurries, including 4 sacks. When he walks down into the box or lines up over the slot on passing downs, he’s probably coming; Purdue needs to be prepared.
Assuming the offensive line gets Washington blocked up, Purdue can exploit the matchups. Iowa targeted their corners 8 times, completing 6 passes for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns. As we know, Walters’s defense, in theory, is built on playing man coverage and pressuring the quarterback. In practice, he leaves his corners out to dry when the pass rush doesn’t get home.
I love Assad Waseem and Xavier Townsend in this game. They kill man coverage. I could see Browne finding them on 3rd down on the rare occasions that Fame doesn’t pick up a first down on second down. You know the out-and-out that Minnesota burned Hines with for a touchdown last week. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Purdue do something similar to Washington this week. Once they hit Wasseem and Townsend with a couple of easy out routes and Fame forces the safeties into the box to help with the run, it’s time for the double move. Purdue’s offensive line has been solid in pass protection this season. If Browne has the time, deep shots will be available, especially later on in the game after Purdue has established the run and quick passing game.
It Comes Down to This
Run the ball early and often with Fame.
Use Browne’s legs and quick routes to pick up 3rd downs, and if Washington crowds the line of scrimmage, hit them deep.
If the run game works, and I think it will work, passing the ball should take care of itself.
I would really, really, really like to see another 40-point explosion tonight. I’ll gladly take however many points are required to win, but putting it on this particular defense would be ever so sweet.
