The Washington Huskies have a problem on offense.
Jedd Fisch's unit has now scored 40 points in their first two games combined, ten fewer points than the Huskies were favored to win those two games by (23.5 against Washington State, 26.5 against Utah State). Washington has finished with more than 350 yards of offense in both of those games, but has found itself completely unable to move the ball consistently or score points efficiently through the first two games.
Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. has struggled to throw the ball in rhythm, often opting to scramble and utilize his talent as a runner to keep the offense on track. Washington has needed that from him, too: Williams has been the Huskies' leading rusher in both games as the running back depth
has been decimated by injuries to Jordan Washington, Quaid Carr, and Jayden Limar.
But there has also been opportunity for Williams to throw the ball more effectively. He's missed several what should have been easy throws in the flat and placed longer throws into the end zone out of reach of his receivers more often than he's found those plays. It hasn't been all on Williams, however: starting X receiver Christian Moss left after two snaps in the Apple Cup, and starting Z receiver Rashid Williams left early on Saturday against Utah State, thrusting true freshmen Jordan Clay and Trez Davis into action. Dezmen Roebuck and running back Trey Cooley both also dropped passes that could have easily been touchdowns on Saturday, further putting the offense behind schedule and making for a messy operation.
"As an offense, we shot ourselves in the foot a lot," Williams told the media after the game.
"I don't know," Fisch said with a sigh when asked about Williams' performance on Saturday. "It's hard for me to evaluate that right now. We didn't catch the ball as good as we should. And I believe if we did catch the ball like we have, I think Demond would have had a great day, but we didn't, so therefore, the efficiency didn't show up that I think it probably should have for his stat line. For the offense itself, we are what we are, and we are what happened, but I do feel like he made some really good plays today. Started off a little slow on a couple throws, missed the dagger high in the first 3rd & 18, missed the flat route high on the first throw of the second half of the game. But outside of that, I think he settled in, and I wouldn't say that there were many plays that he missed."
Running the ball has been an issue for the Huskies as well: running backs Carr, Limar, and Cooley combined to take 21 carries for 76 yards last week, an average of 3.6 yards a carry. Cooley and freshmen Brian Bonner Jr. and Ansu Sanoe combined for 21 carries for 49 yards on Saturday, an average of 2.3 yards a carry. Some of that can be chalked up to inexperience at the position with the injuries Washington is dealing with, but it also has been a poor showing from an offensive line that told the media this offseason that their goal was to win the Joe Moore Award as the best unit in the country.
The short-yardage offense has struggled so much that Washington turned to freshman quarterback Derek Zammit on a third-down play in the third quarter, giving him a quarterback run to earn a new set of downs. Fisch said after the game that the play was specifically designed for Zammit and had been practiced all week as a non-traditional way for the Huskies to generate some momentum in short yardage.
"We're trying to create some short yardage offense right now. It's our responsibility as a coaching staff to use any tool we have and any player we have to find a way to get a first down, and if we are not capable on a third-and-one to run the ball with a back in a more traditional set that maybe we have done in the past, then we have to find a way to be creative. We felt that [with Utah State's defensive] front structure, we were going to get to that, we'll call it wildcat formation, with 2 quarterbacks in the game, and it was going to give us an opportunity to convert the first down," Fisch explained after the game.
Center Landen Hatchett has been out with a wrist injury, which complicates the calls along the offensive line, but right guard has also been a rotation between Champ Taulealea and Geirean Hatchett after Taulealea took almost every first-team rep this offseason. The line has had a hard time establishing their physicality, something offensive line coach Michael Switzer listed as the thing he was most disappointed with when he spoke to the media on Tuesday after the Apple Cup.
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"It was hard to totally assess it, the physicality versus handling some movements and handling odd fronts and some pressures and twist games. So I think there's a lot to improve upon up front with the offensive line. I think there's a lot to improve upon as coaches to make sure we're putting the offense in the best possible position to run the football. I think there's a lot to improve upon in terms of developing the running game that really works best for our backs," Fisch said after the game.
Fisch seemed to believe after the game that most of the issues with the offense were either a fluke, like the drops, or a result of Washington's inexperience causing some execution errors. While they wish they could "expedite the process", in Fisch's words, the case for optimism is that this team was always going to play young players, like freshman left tackle Kodi Greene, second-year tight end Baron Naone, Roebuck, and Taulealea. Injuries have forced Bonner Jr., Sanoe, Clay, and Davis into the mix quicker and in a bigger capacity than the Huskies were expecting right away.
Those young players sometimes make young player mistakes, and wouldn't you rather have those mistakes come in ugly wins over non-conference opponents instead of crushing losses against Big Ten foes late in the year?
But until Washington proves that it has matured, there's not much reason to believe that growth in conference play will come so soon. Williams rotated in for designed packages as a freshman but still struggled with some of these moments as a first-year starter last year. Taulealea rotated in and looked solid against Big Ten competition as a freshman last year but hasn't solidified that starting job this season. For a team that has College Football Playoff aspirations - and not necessarily unfounded ones - they need to grow up fast in order to reach that potential.
"We are glad that we have a victory, and we have a lot to learn. And that's two weeks in a row that we're sitting here, out here to learn a lot, and I think we will, but there's also things that we just need to execute better," Fisch said after the game.
Whether or not enough time remains before those learning moments are the difference between a win and a loss is yet to be determined. But on Saturday, the Huskies showed they are still a ways away from being seriously considered a threat on a nationwide scale.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington offense sputters in sloppy 16-14 win over Utah State
