After playing in games like this, a good friend used to tell me; “whether you win by one point or one hundred points, they still count the same.” His words have never been more applicable; we left Seattle 2-0 with a win, period.

How did I do?

I predicted Locker to be their best player even though he would overthrow his deep receivers all night. Guess what, his men were wide open downfield and he consistently put too much stank on it only to disappoint his wide-open receivers. Despite his obvious weakness and fragile hamstring, Locker will be extremely good when he fixes his footwork and gets healthy.

UW’s defense brought the pressure at various times, which our line picked up well. Also, the Huskies played a lot of zone coverages, which forced Max to throw perfect balls. I also knew that Harvey would have a big day.

I didn’t expect UW’s offense to spread us out so much and throw a lot of underneath routes. I also thought Locker would have carried the ball more – yet with UW’s upcoming schedule, if they don’t have Locker they don’t have a chance.

I also thought that our defensive front would have been able to control the line of scrimmage. Their offensive line won the trench war but we won the battle when it counted the most. That a baby Jan, way to block the point after. (I knew they shouldn’t of made fun of your name, wink wink.)

OFFENSE

Running Backs
Harvey
Harvey played like a man possessed. 23 carries for 136 yards, not to mention receiving yards; he was our go to guy. When the game was close, Harvey could always bounce around, find a hole and then punish the UW safety #8. That poor guy had a busy day, and will not feel well in the morning. Harvey also has great feet and vision – he would bump into the line and then pick his way down hill for a great gain. His vision and feet combination are making him a very dependable feature back.
Fui
While we are talking about the running backs lets not forget Fui. #1 has matured this year. He has taken on a new role of blocking back and is making the most of it. Not only would he pound his first block but he would slip off of it when Harvey stormed by and Fui would find a second sap to drive into the ground – 260 lbs of meanness. Don’t forget his outstanding run taking the pigskin to the Promised Land – Fui is back to his old self.

O-Line
Lets also give it up to the offensive line. They stayed on blocks. This allowed Harvey to find gaps and holes in the line. Last year Harvey was getting a lot of yards on his own, pounding through defenses. This year the holes he has he runs through are clear and wide. Well done Coach Weber, your line is looking great.
QB
Max Hall
Outstanding. He made clutch plays and repeatedly rallied his troops to keep the Cougars in the game. Apart from his one interception down the middle, he had a perfect day – 34-41 for 338 yards 3 TD’s, 73% completion percentage, and a 161 passer rating. I was very impressed with his composure in the pocket and the way he avoided being sacked. He has been reading the coverages well and finding the open man. Again, his line has been giving him all day in the pocket. It will be interesting to see how he reacts when he is really under pressure – if that happens.
Tight–Ends
Pitta
Once again brought his big boy pads to the stadium – 10 catches for 148 yards and a TD. This would be a great day for a receiver, but he is a tight-end, this is ridiculous. I am most impressed by his ability to get yards after the catch. He is proving that he can be counted on every week for solid performances. I love that they added the swing pass to Pitta into the offensive package. That play was great for Harline and Dennis will continue to have success with it because of his ability to turn the corner and get yards after the catch. Did I mention that the guy is 250 – 2.5.0. Dude’s got game.
Receivers
Mike Reed
I am pleasantly surprised with what Mike is accomplishing. Like I said last week, he is quickly turning into a player to keep your eyes on. He consistently puts up solid numbers despite only touching the ball a few times. Props to Mike for not talking about how good he is and just playing well instead. He has a big body and positions himself well to catch those clutch slants to move the chains.
Other good performers: I saw a couple of flashes of potential from Luke Ashworth. Andrew George maximizes his touches. I have to mention Austin Collie… Austin needs to relax after he drops a ball. He is hard on himself. But he stuck in there and made a huge play late in the game to move the chains. It was that move that helped give us the emotional boost we needed to get us into the end zone.

Overall Offense

The Good
Consistency. The offense was encouraging. They came out punching and got on the board quickly. They stayed consistent throughout the game. These post-game wrap-ups could start to sound very similar as the weeks progress.
Tempo. I also really liked the way the offense pushed the tempo in the third quarter. The offense noticed the UW defense struggling with cramps and we instantly switched it into high gear. Running the no huddle – Nice move Coach Anae.

The Ugly
Turnovers. We need to stop the turnovers. We cannot turn the ball over against better teams. Washington’s guys made outstanding plays to cause those turnovers, but we need to win the turnover margin. (Our defense needs to produce more turnovers, period.)
Snaps. Let’s pay a little more attention to those low snaps. They didn’t cost us this game, but they are a disaster waiting to happen. Dallas is trying to get to his block too quickly. By not concentrating on the snap first it is compromising the quality of his snaps. But before we throw rocks at Dallas we need to remember that the center has a very hard job. He has to call the blocking scheme, remember the snap count and then throw a ball under his big legs without looking. It’s not an easy job, but that’s why we moved him there. He is the one of the best linemen we have and by far the most versatile.

Defense
D-Line
The line didn’t play their best game. I thought they would be able to control the line of scrimmage better than they did. For the most part the UW’s offensive line was able to secure good blocks, and keep contact long enough to open great running lanes. Most discouragingly our d-line didn’t win the one on one match ups when Locker pulled the ball down and ran. Our d-linemen need to shed their blockers and close the running lanes that Locker was going for. The fact that Locker was getting through the line put stress on the DB’s and LB’s to play their coverage assignment and also have to worry about the quarterback running. Not to be too hard them the D-line has a tough assignment when playing a duel threat quarterback; they need to get pressure on Locker so he doesn’t have all day, while at the same time not getting too far up field, letting him step up in the pocket and run by them. They need to keep the quarterback in the pocket and make him be one dimensional. A lot of these problems can be cured by simply being more physical at the point of attack. We were soft up front, plain and simple.
Linebackers
The Backers also struggled. They had linemen in their laps all night, which kept them from being able to scrap and flow to the ball. Again, a lot of credit needs to be given to UW’s line. They did a great job of chipping to get to the next level, engaging our backers, and staying on their blocks. Again, this bunch needs to start winning the one on one battles. They need to be better at playing down hill. When the action is being forced on you, it means you are hesitating and/or going through your reads slowly.
It is not all gloom and doom. Our backers did get good pressure on the quarterback at opportune times. Nixon played out of his mind and probably made half the tackles during the game. He also made huge plays, causing Locker to fumble or lose huge chunks of yardage. The inexperience of this group showed throughout the game, but it could be good that they played badly. It will put pressure on them next week to perform above and beyond expectations. Young players can react differently to pressure then older players, and next week the pressure will be on.
Secondary
Hmm… what can I say, it wasn’t pretty. There are some real problems in the back end. As I’ve said, some of the problems need to be addressed up front with the d-line and backers. Yet the secondary cannot allow receivers to get behind them. We are extremely lucky that Locker is unable to throw the long ball, otherwise we would of given up more than one deep TD pass. I went on the line and said the secondary wouldn’t give up a TD through the air and they wouldn’t have if Howard would have used his good position to his advantage. He just needed to go after the ball with a little aggression. We are playing soft. Soft in coverage and soft when tackling.
The most outstanding player was Scottie Johnson, who made a textbook play to break up a pass in the end zone. He also had about 10 tackles. We looked lethargic when Locker tucked it to run and we once again didn’t get any picks (and I know that Mendenhall and Hill are pushing for interceptions in every meeting). Naturally I am the hardest on these guys, but they did make some good open field tackles. It is hard on me because I know they can play better. Quit playing so cautious. Lets get more aggressive at the corner position and move the safeties around to give them the proper support. GET AN INTERCEPTION, PLEASE!

Overall Defense
The Good
The defense learned an important lesson: Play until the horn sounds and the game is over. The defense looked to the examples of their two leaders Jan and Nixon. Although Jan didn’t play his best game ever, he kept strong and made a play when we needed it most. Nixon is leading the defense by example as well, but he played well the entire game. The defense needs to start following their captains.
The Ugly
We need to stop the run in our base defense. I wouldn’t be surprised to know that the coaching staff would like to add a nickel package (taking out a linebacker to provide a little more quickness on the underneath drop) but is a little hesitant about our run stopping ability. We cannot have our safety spending so much time in the box. This just compromises our coverage by opening seams and holes in our zone. As a side note I wouldn’t be surprised to see our juco transfer Andrew Rich getting a few more reps.

Special Teams:

O’Neal Chambers continues to be a reliable kick-off return man. He also has an attitude, which is sometimes not appreciated in Provo – I like it in small doses. He hits the hole with good speed and no fear. I can tell why the coaching staff has moved away from Bryce returning the ball. Bryce was very hesitant when returning the ball; Chambers is aggressive which is why he is having success.

Our coaching staff has given up on returning punts. They have White back there because he won’t drop the ball. Chambers had one punt return in the UNI game, but he catches punts awkwardly, which makes the coaches nervous. White is a good choice, he is the dependable Camry instead of the flashy Porsche.

Santiago. Our punting needs to improve. Santiago gets good hang time but has lacked the distance. Normally I would say kick it higher rather than longer, but lately it has been neither. In games he tends to rush his set up, which means his drop (when he drops the ball to kick it) is different every time. He lacks the consistency of a great punter, not the leg.

I guess Sorensen can’t kick as far at sea level. It might also be that he is kicking too much during the week. I know last year the kickers practiced too much and they all eventually got hurt. This kid should take a day off, rest up and come prepared to smash it out of the end zone.

Our kick-off cover was bad, we kept losing contain. The guys on the ends are responsible for keeping everyone inside of them. If the ball gets outside its bad news for the return team, and most likely those guys will be replaced before next week’s game. That was the quick and dirty version.

Grading this game is difficult because the offense set the curve high, and the defense was an outlier. I think I might have to grade the whole team performance at a 3.75 out of 5, with the offense pulling that score up from a 3. I know changes can be made. It is amazing what a good game plan can do. One thing is for certain, we need some leadership in the secondary, especially someone that will step up and make some big plays. I am counting on Tafuna to be that guy. As a side note we cannot afford for our team to become divided, with the offense blaming the defense for the close game. The game is won and lost because 22 players stick together in achievement of a common goal. Let us criticize and critique, but the players need to listen only to their coaches. Take what your coaches tell you to heart, and prepare yourself to keep the winning streak alive.