Huskies’ chicken or the egg question

Published 11:46 pm Tuesday, September 16, 2008

SEATTLE — Opening a season with Oregon, Brigham Young and Oklahoma would be a chore for even a veteran college football defense.

For a young, inexperienced Washington defense, it proved to be more than the Huskies could handle.

Three games into the season, the Huskies are 0-3 and have, statistically speaking, one of the worst defenses in college football. Washington ranks 116th out of 119 teams in total defense (520.67 yards per game), 118th in scoring defense (50 points per game), 111th in pass defense (298.33 yards per game) and 109th in rushing defense (222.33 yards per game).

And while no team likes to make excuses, it’s fair to cut the Huskies a tiny bit of slack given the opposition. Oregon is fourth in the nation in total offense, Oklahoma is fifth, and BYU ranks 10th. All three also rank in the top 14 in scoring offense.

The talent of those offenses, combined with the fact that they all run a no-huddle offense that can put young defenders on their heels, combined with the fact that those young defenders, especially those on the line, are physically overmatched at times, added up to an ugly start for the Huskies.

“There was a huge gap in experience in the football game,” defensive coordinator Ed Donatell said of the Oklahoma loss. “That is a primed, ready to go group. I don’t think we’ll see much better lines. There may be some in that class, but that is a heck of an offensive line. With that many young guys — we love our young guys — but our focus is getting them ready. But in that game, we couldn’t match them. Some day. Some day these guys will be able to match these guys, but those guys probably won’t be in the same league.”

Young or not, good opposition or not, Washington’s defense isn’t OK with what has gone on so far this season.

“You can’t give up 500 yards and expect to win, never,” said sophomore linebacker Mason Foster, the team’s leading tackler. “You’re not going to win with people putting up numbers like that on you.”

Of course, looking at Washington’s defensive statistics and their three opponents’ offensive numbers brings up something of a chicken vs. the egg argument. Does Washington’s defense look so bad because it faced great offenses, or are those offenses looking so good because they’re facing a terrible defense?

The Huskies certainly feel it’s the former and not the latter, and the veteran players such as linebacker Donald Butler, defensive end Daniel Te’o-Nesheim and cornerback Mesphin Forrester plan on using the bye week to make sure the younger players don’t get comfortable losing.

“We don’t want to think that’s characteristic of our defense, because it’s not,” said Butler. “We’re young, so there are going to be those mistakes. We’re young all around on defense. That’s where our leadership comes in… We’ve got to get on them and say, ‘Look, calm down, settle down, this is college football.’ We’re young, but things are going to get better.”

The older players probably feel out numbered on the field this season. The Huskies have used three true freshmen on the defensive line, started one at safety alongside a sophomore, and have a redshirt freshman starting at cornerback. Those young players are confident things will get better for them after the bye week.

“I feel like we’re a lot better than that,” said redshirt freshman cornerback Quinton Richardson. “With this bye week, we’ve just got to keep working and keep our heads up. I think we can really pick this thing up and do some damage.”

Running game woes: One season after ranking second in the Pac-10 in rushing, the Huskies are currently eighth in the conference with an average of just 105 yards per game. Fixing that will be a priority during the bye week.

“We need to get our run game cranked up,” said offensive coordinator Tim Lappano. “That’s going to be the number one emphasis going into this week. I’m not pleased with where we are at. There’s not enough consistency in the two-back game or the one-back game. We are better than what we are operating. I think we have improved throwing the football, but I don’t think we have improved running the football, so we’ve got to get that cranked up.”

Lappano said he also plans to take a better look at some younger players during the bye week, particularly at receiver. Two freshmen receivers that could earn playing time with a solid two weeks of practice are Cody Bruns, who was slowed in fall camp with a back injury, and Anthony Boyles.

Speaking of freshmen receivers: Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma was something of a coming out party for freshman Devin Aguilar, who had five catches, all in the first half, for 71 yards.

“It kind of built the confidence up a lot,” Aguilar said. “Now I know I’m able to maneuver and do stuff against a good defense. So now I know I’ll be able to contribute a lot against other defenses.”

Aguilar, like Boyles, is a true freshman this year despite signing in the 2007 class. Both failed to qualify academically last season, and were not able to get into school until after football season.

“It was just a stress reliever,” Aguilar said of finally getting on the field. “I got the weight off my shoulders. I was like, ‘Deep breaths, I’m finally here, nothing can hold me back and now it’s all up to me.’”

Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on University of Washington sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog