Here’s three takeaways from the University of Washington football team’s 41-17 victory over Oregon State on Saturday at Husky Stadium:
1) The Huskies sure look like a championship contender.
This game was never a contest. Washington was in the end zone just 1:22 into the game. It was 14-0 less than five minutes in, and the Huskies led 21-0 before the first quarter was over. Washington eventually built a 38-3 lead early in the third quarter before letting up on the gas pedal. Yes, the Beavers didn’t represent the toughest competition, having come into the game 2-4. However, they never had a chance.
The victory improved Washington, ranked No. 5 in the AP poll, to 4-0 in the Pac-12 and 7-0 overall. Just how dominant have the Huskies been this season? One need only look at the scoring numbers. Through seven games Washington has scored 338 points and allowed just 102. The Huskies’ average point differential is a plus-33.7. How good is that number? It ranks second in the nation, behind just Michigan. How about historically in the Pac-12? None of Chip Kelly’s Oregon teams ever approached that total. Neither did Pete Carroll’s teams at USC. In 1991, when Washington finished 12-0 and earned a share of the national title with one of the most dominating defenses college football has ever seen, the Huskies’ average point differential was plus-31.7. Any UW team that can be spoken of in the same breath as the 1991 team is something special.
Maybe the Pac-12 is down this season, which might make Washington seem better than it truly is. But the Huskies can only play the teams put in front of them, and they appear to have a clear path to the College Football Playoff.
2) Jake Browning is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.
Washington’s quarterback doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of attention when it comes to the Heisman. The hype train is fully behind Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, and it’s hard to argue with that given how electrifying Jackson has been both running and throwing the ball this season.
However, Browning’s numbers are eye-popping in their own right. Browning didn’t even have an exceptional day by his own standards Saturday, going 14-for-28 for 291 yards and three touchdowns — how crazy is it to say those numbers are sub-standard? For the season Browning has a passing efficiency rating of 199.6. The NCAA record for a single season is 191.8 set in 2011 by some guy named Russell Wilson.
And while Oregon State didn’t come into the game with much in the way of credentials, one thing the Beavers do well is defend the pass. OSU came into the game ranked eighth in the nation in defensive passer efficiency and had more interceptions (five) than touchdown passes allowed (four). Browning saw the Beavers’ big cornerbacks were having effectiveness pressing at the line of scrimmage, adjusted, and tore Oregon State’s secondary apart. Browning may not be the frontrunner in the Heisman, but he certainly deserves to be in the conversation.
3) Be careful about getting complacent.
Washington could easily turned this into a laugher. But the Huskies weren’t the same team in the second half as they were the first. They allowed Oregon State to march right down the field on the first possession of the third quarter. After outgaining the Beavers 318-89 in the first half in building a 31-0 halftime lead, Oregon State actually outscored (17-10) and outgained (236-201) Washington in the second half.
Granted, Washington was going to play differently while sitting on a big lead, and for much of the fourth quarter the Huskies had their second stringers in the game. But even Washington’s first string wasn’t nearly the same in the second half as it was in the first. The Huskies may be able to get away with that against Pac-12 foes like Oregon State, which don’t have the talent to turn a game like that around regardless of how Washington plays. But this team has aspirations to get into the playoffs, and the Huskies won’t be able to afford any let-downs against the teams they may face there, regardless of the score.
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