Opponent Analysis: Washington Defense

[Codaxx 5806]

51 minutes ago, alphahydro said:

Yes, if you watch UW / Washington State, UW looks very beatable, just eyeball test.  I couldn't tell you exactly why the offense struggled in that game.  

And it's not that Texas' offense did poorly against tech or Iowa State, just that they didn't do as well as they did against Alabama or Okie St.

I'm just curious if there is a good reason why. 

My own recollection is that Texas was just uneven against Tech and Iowa State - the offense was out of sorts for a few drives (roughly first half against Iowa State) but performed very well the rest of the game (roughly the second half against Iowa State).  So it's not so much that Texas was better against Oklahoma State, just that they performed well for four quarters against OK state and only for two against Iowa State.  Maybe it was just bad luck, bad initial gameplan, defense brought surprises that Texas staff wasn't expecting and had to adjust to, etc.

That's one answer. 

Another possible answer is - yes, Texas offense was better against OK State and Bama, but it was more marginal than those stats (which overvalue field position) suggest.  You're overthinking this, it's 18-20 year old kids, etc.

I'm just curious if anyone sees other answers that I don't see. Like, possibly: 

• Quinn was healthiest against Bama and OK State, and (a) in the middle games, he was hesitant because he was worried about being hit, and it showed in his indecisiveness, which killed several plays with open receivers or (b) his arm status showed in the middle games--he couldn't hit the deep ball, he couldn't hit the out, etc., so the staff neutered the offense for him (I'm just making this up)
• Tech and Iowa State used xyz strategy, which Texas struggles with due to abc, and UW is definitely going to deploy that strategy - don't expect OK state or Alabama results unless UW commits coaching malpractice. 

Just curious.  Just seeing if anyone saw something I missed. 

I think at the end of the day, if the offense shows up against UW like it did against OK state and Bama, the maths get hard for UW.  If the offense plays well in spots but has dry spells, the door is potentially left open for the huskies.  Just curious if there is something to this pattern of offensive output I'm not seeing. 

 

I think ISU is just always been a tough match up on Sark. They will drop 8 and take away the explosives. They make you have long time consuming drives and they run their offense at a turtles pace, those things usually make it a low possession game. One of Sark's weaknesses as a play caller is patience. He has been much better this year, than in the past, but historically it drives him nuts to play ball control offense. 

Bama is the inverse. Bama will leave their Dbs on an island and that works to Sark's advantage. He is very good at finding match-ups. Bama generally does what they do. You dont see dramatic changes from game to game in their defense. 

Tech was just a beating, but Texas had 3 false starts in the 1st half alone.  Also a hold early in the 3rd to stop a drive. That was sloppy. Not sure why Texas seems to have less focus at home (penalties)

Edited December 27, 2023 by Codaxx

[nbmishoid 963]

In addition to the issues listed above, mistakes plagued the OK St game.  The multiple deep PI’s, one not called;  the 3q interception, the lack of “urgency” opening the d\second half, the f.g/delay of game fiasco.   
If the less than great offense shows, we can’t afford game changing mistakes.

[sushihorn 3233]

Some of the bowl games have been so dull, I watched some Washington regular season games on my tablet during them. A few observations to add re: their Defense. The D-Line plays pretty straight up against the run. They try to control their gap and hold their ground - not a lot of penetration. They are honoring their gap responsibilities and eating up blocks.

Because they don’t penetrate much it’s much harder for them to transition from run defense to pass rush. I suspect that is a major reason why they have such a low sack total: 19 in 540 Attempts or 3.51%. That compares to 6.45% for the Horns. I’m fact, the Texas D-Line alone has more sacks than the entire Washington Defense.

Because of their difficulty transitioning, play action tends to be more effective slowing their pass rush. Not only do they have to switch from holding their ground to penetrating, they also lose a lot of the games they use to generate an effective pass rush: stunting, looping, fake pressure and zone drops. They are limited to pass rushing in the gap they are assigned for run defense. Their pass rush is a completely different animal when they have to play the run first.