Three takeaways from the Huskies’ victory over Arizona State

Published 1:30 am Sunday, September 23, 2018

SEATTLE — The No. 10 University of Washington football team continued its perfect start to the Pac-12 season, defeating Arizona State 27-20 Saturday night at Husky Stadium. The Huskies (2-0 Pac-12, 3-1 overall) overcame an interception on the game’s first play from scrimmage — which led to an early Sun Devils touchdown — to eventually take a 27-13 fourth-quarter lead before allowing a late score.

Arizona State (0-1, 2-2) had won 11 of the previous 12 meetings, including a 13-7 decision last year in Tempe that essentially knocked Washington out of College Football Playoff contention.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game:

1) Extended drives were an indication of improved blocking by the Huskies.

In the first half Washington had consecutive scoring drives of nine plays for 80 yards in 3 minutes, 57 seconds, five plays for 75 yards in 2:56, and 16 plays for 73 yards in 7:13. The second half included scoring drives of eight plays for 63 yards in 3:23 and eight plays for 67 yards in 4:42. The game-ending drive would have been No. 6 had the clock not ran out, and the Huskies had just 10 possessions. These type of sustained, clock-eating drives had been hard to come by for the Huskies so far this season, but they kept Washington in control for most of Saturday’s game.

Those drives were all set up by improved blocking by the offensive line. The line, bolstered by the return of center Nick Harris from injury, opened up rushing lanes, allowing Washington to gain 171 yards on 39 carries. More importantly, it gave quarterback Jake Browning far more time to throw than he had in previous games. That helped make the play-action passing game extremely effective, and it gave Browning the chance to extend plays, as he did to create Cade Otton’s 5-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter that made it 27-13. The net result was Browning, who was sacked only once, had his most efficient game of the season (15-for-22, 202 yards, three TDs, no interceptions).

2) The one-two punch of Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed finally showed up.

Coming into the season the Huskies made all kinds of noise about how the this year’s rushing game was going to be a two-pronged attack featuring Gaskin and Ahmed. The idea was to get the super-quick Ahmed, now a sophomore, more touches so he could complement the steady between-the-tackles running of Gaskin, UW all-time leading rusher and a Lynnwood native. But coming into the game that had yet to materialize. Ahmed had just 19 touches over Washington’s first three games, including a mere three in last week’s 21-7 victory at Utah, versus 66 for Gaskin. Most observers were left puzzled at Ahmed’s lack of usage.

Saturday night finally showed what those two could do as a pair. Gaskin was his usual self, gaining 86 yards on 21 carries and adding another 23 yards on two receptions, often powering his way through tackles for extra yardage. But unlike in previous games, Ahmed was used early and often as a change of pace, dancing his way through the line and around defenders to the tune of 71 yards on 10 carries. This is what Husky fans had been waiting for, and now it’s also something opposing defenses will be forced to game plan against.

3) Washington’s defense played rope-a-dope.

Arizona State came into the game as one of the most pass-happy teams in the Pac-12, throwing the ball on nearly 60 percent of its plays over its first three games. So what did the Sun Devils decide to do Saturday? Go with the power running game, of course. Arizona State coach Herm Edwards, knowing full well the strength of the Huskies’ secondary, stayed as far away from it as possible.

Washington’s response? Go ahead. Yes, the Huskies gave up 164 yards on the ground, and yes, Arizona State was able to convert eight of 16 third downs. But that played into Washington’s bend-but-don’t-break plan. The Huskies were content to allow the Sun Devils to rack up small chunks of yards in the middle of the field, but then tightened up when Arizona State got within scoring range, forcing the Sun Devils to settle for field goals — Arizona State’s two touchdowns came in the game’s first three minutes, after the interception on a double pass set up a short field, and the game’s last three minutes, when the Huskies were up by 14 points. Meanwhile, Washington turned Arizona State’s preseason All-American receiver N’Keal Harry into an afterthought. Harry was limited to 20 yards on five receptions. That’s a trade-off the Huskies were happy to make.

Follow Nick Patterson on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.