SEATTLE — The defining moment of the University of Washington football team’s 2016 season thus far didn’t come during Saturday’s 41-17 victory over the Oregon State Beavers at Husky Stadium.
No, the defining moment came two weeks earlier in Eugene.
The Huskies were just beginning their 70-21 rout of Oregon, a cathartic victory that ended more than a decade of frustration against the Ducks. The game was less than three minutes old when Washington quarterback Jake Browning scored the opening touchdown on a 1-yard run.
As Browning scampered untouched into the end zone, he pointed at pursuing Oregon linebacker Jimmy Swain. The gesture earned Browning an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty and cost him 500 push-ups during practice the following week.
But take a look at the photos of that moment. Take a look at Browning’s body position. It’s not quite Desmond Howard’s prophetic pose in 1991, but doesn’t Browning’s posture resemble the Heisman Trophy?
That’s right, I’m hopping on the Jake-Browning-for-the-Heisman bandwagon.
Washington’s sophomore QB posted another set of impressive numbers Saturday, going 14-for-28 for 291 yards and three touchdowns. He added a fourth touchdown with his legs.
And it’s time to start taking Browning seriously as a Heisman candidate.
“Indescribable,” was how Washington receiver Dante Pettis described how Browning has played this season. “He’s honestly done amazing.
“He’s a lot better this year,” Pettis added. “He’s more comfortable with taking shots, he’s not even looking. It definitely helped him to play his true freshman year.”
Browning has garnered just a peep in the national Heisman conversation. Most of the country has already anointed Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson because of his electrifying play both throwing and running the football.
I have to admit, when I watched Browning in person last season I never thought I’d be touting him for the Heisman. Sure, I was impressed like everyone else with how Browning managed to transition into a college quarterback as a true freshman. But the wow factor was missing for me. He didn’t have physically-imposing size. He didn’t have 4.4 speed. He didn’t have a cannon for an arm. And he made some errors in judgment. While Browning clearly had a bright future, I figured the Huskies had the next Keith Price on their hands, not the next Marcus Mariota.
But Browning didn’t just take a step forward between his freshman and sophomore campaigns, his leap has been in moon gravity.
One play Saturday illustrated Browning’s maturation as a quarterback. In the first quarter the Huskies dialed up the flea flicker, with UW receiver John Ross heading straight down the field with a defender on his right. Browning threw the ball to the left of Ross, forcing Ross to adjust his route while keeping the ball away from the defender. The play went for 44 yards and set up Washington’s second touchdown.
Browning’s completion percentage Saturday may not have matched the 72.2 percent he came into the game with, but he made up for it with explosive plays, completing four passes of 30 yards or longer. And while Oregon State may have had just a 2-4 record, the one thing the Beavers can do is defend the pass. Oregon State came into the game ranked eighth in the nation in defensive passing efficiency, with more interceptions (five) than touchdown passes allowed (four), and the Beavers have big cornerbacks who can press receivers at the line of scrimmage. Browning adjusted, then tore Oregon State’s secondary apart.
Not that anyone is ever going to coax any grandiose statements out of Browning about his own play.
“I feel like I have a couple I want back,” Browning said when evaluating his own performance. “But you’re never going to play a perfect game. Go to practice this week, work on those and get ready for Utah.”
But before moving on to Salt Lake City, it’s worth examining Browning’s numbers for the season. Through seven games Browning is 118-for-172 for 1,709 yards and 26 touchdowns with just two interceptions, giving him a passer efficiency of 199.6. The FBS record for passer efficiency in a season is 191.8, set in 2011 by some guy named Russell Wilson while playing for Wisconsin. It just doesn’t get any better than what Browning is doing.
Yes, Jackson had another big day Saturday, and he’s now thrown for more than 2,000 yards, rushed for more than 900, and accounted for 34 touchdowns. Yet Browning has the edge in passing efficiency (199.6-159.6) and passing touchdowns (26-18). Heck, while Browning may not be a match for Jackson running the ball, he has run for four TDs of his own. Perhaps most importantly, Browning’s team is 7-0 while Jackson’s is 6-1. If Browning leads his team to the College Football Playoff and Louisville misses out, could that be the deciding factor?
Probably not. The Heisman ballots are due Nov. 21, which is before the Apple Cup and the Pac-12 championship game. But if Browning keeps trucking along, his name belongs on the top line of some of those ballots.
For more on the Seattle sports scene, check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at www.heraldnet.com/tag/seattle-sidelines, or follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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