SEATTLE — The bad new for Washington’s defense? It gave up 537 yards to UCLA last weekend, including 333 rushing yards.
Worse news? Top ranked USC is coming to town Saturday, bringing an offense that ranks second in the Pac-10 in scoring, rushing and total offense.
The good news? The Huskies think they can fix the problem. After watching film of Washington’s loss to UCLA, defensive coordinator Kent Baer is convinced his team can make the necessary adjustments to avoid the big plays that were so costly against the Bruins.
Despite the lopsided numbers, Baer said his team wasn’t physically manhandled by the Bruins. He said the big plays are a result of mental mistakes more than physical mismatches.
“I don’t think physically was a problem, I really don’t,” he said. “It was so correctable. The reverse pass is nothing physically up front, the draw is not a physical thing. There’s just a few little things that make you shake your head and say, ‘We know better.’”
One of the culprits might be inexperience. Aside from a veteran defensive line, the Washington defense is full of young and inexperienced players.
“I think the more veteran you are, those mistakes become way less prevalent,” Baer said.
The players agree that they can get better, and that they have to with USC coming to town.
“We’ve just got to eliminate some of the big plays that we gave up,” said sophomore linebacker Donald Butler. “I think it was something like five plays for 200-something yards. Eliminate the big plays and play sound, fundamental defense. Everybody play their gaps, know your assignment. Do your job. Don’t try to do somebody else’s job, just do your job. We have to eliminate that stuff that we know as a defense we can’t have, especially against a good team like SC.”
No more sleeping in: Wednesday marked the first day of class at Washington, meaning football players and other fall athletes have to now pay attention to more than just sports.
“You don’t have mornings off, you can’t sleep in as much,” said quarterback Jake Locker. “So we’ll have to get up and go to class, but for the most part it’s just, you have your homework at night, write a paper here and there, but it’s not a huge difference I don’t think.”
Injury update: Linebackers E.J. Savannah and Matt Houston both wore red (no contact) jerseys at practice for the second straight day. Savannah suffered a minor reoccurrence of neck stingers, while Houston suffered an undisclosed injury in the UCLA game while on kickoff coverage.
Cornerback carousel: It’s still unclear who will start at the cornerback spot opposite Roy Lewis.
Matt Mosley started for the first time against UCLA, replacing Vonzell McDowell Jr., who started Washington’s first three games. Byron Davenport, finally healthy after battling a pair of hamstring injuries, also saw significant time against UCLA and is in the battle for a starting job.
“We’re just trying to find the best combination and see who plays the best,” said Baer. “My goal is for this defense is to play at a consistent level every week, and you’ve got to find the right guys at each spot to do that. They’re all going to play. I don’t know how much yet.”
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
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