Looking forward to a rematch

Utah has done as good a job as any team this year. WSU scored only 28 points. Oregon lost but WSU scored 34 against them. WSU lost to USC, 39-36.

David Shaw, the Stanford coach, said in the post game show last weekend after their 41-38 loss that the game plan to beat WSU began after their loss to the Cougars in 2017. I thought that interesting, because in the meantime two things happened. Firstly, WSU’s D got even better this year compared to last year when their D was in the top three of the conference along with Washington and Utah. Secondly, they secured the services of QB Gardner Minshew.

Here is an article about Gardner in the SF Chronicle a few days before the Stanford game: https://www.sfchronicle.com/collegesports/article/Stanford-faces-a-big-problem-in-WSU-QB-Gardner-13333448.php

Shaw said of Minshew: “This kid’s got active feet. He’s very quick, and he gets out of trouble. He’s a perfect fit for what Coach Leach does. Quick decision-maker. Great vision. Throws the ball accurately. That’s what Coach Leach wants, and that’s what he’s got.”

Excerpts from that article:

In high school, Minshew not only threw for 11,222 yards and 105 touchdowns in the state’s top classification, but was a 4.0 student.

After going to Troy University for six months, he realized he wasn’t going to beat out the incumbent QB. So he left and led Northwest Mississippi Community College to the 2015 NJCAA title.

He transferred to East Carolina, where he split the starting job with Duke transfer Thomas Sirk, and got his degree in December. With a year of eligibility remaining, he committed in March to Alabama. The Crimson Tide have Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts at quarterback, but Minshew wants to be a coach and hoped to learn under Nick Saban.

Then he got a call from Leach, who said, “Hey, you want to come lead the country in passing?” Minshew said, “That sounds pretty cool.” So he said no to Alabama and yes to Leach’s Air Raid offense.

What Utah did well to keep the score low and be in a position to win was to 1) create pressure on Gardner to hurry his passes and 2) to maintain great secondary coverage. Even so, WSU got their licks in. In the meantime, Utah has improved in most aspects of its game, while Utah has given up more than its share of big pass plays.

Utah is 7th nationally in total D, 3rd in rushing D, tied for 38th for tackles for loss at 6.8/g (BTW, ASU is 15th at 7.9), 12th for 3rd down conversion percentage D, 3rd in the Pac-12 for passes intercepted, and 5th in the conference in passing yards allowed (43rd nationally) at 206 ypg.

The key to the game in my humble opinion on offense is to establish a running game against WSU who is 38th nationally in run defense (133 ypg). That opens up Utah’s passing game. On D, the key is to pressure Minshew and for the secondary to cover receivers very well. Finally, keep the mental mistakes to zero.

Five year win streak goes to the Huskies since 2013. It is so lopsided 72-32 for Washington.