You know the score: 55-34. You know that we ran all over them for a school record 465 yards--251 belonging to Snoop, 122 belonging to Crenshaw, and 99 going to Dixon. While the offense was dominant, the defense was bad. I'm quite busy today, so you get bullet point observations:
- We now know that, at least for one game, Stewart can handle a ton of carries. Crenshaw also looked really good--we didn't miss a beat. But as good as the backs are, there are two things that really make this running game go: the offensive line dominated the UW defensive line, and Dixon makes great reads and can really sell the fake. It happened at least three or four times where the camera focused in on Stewart being tackled at the line of scrimmage and the Husky crowd cheering the stop only to realize that Dixon still had the ball ten yards upfield.
- When we did have to go to the air, two players really stepped up. Even though Garren Strong had done nothing all year, he really had a nice first half, and got five catches, including a TD. But its becoming obvious that the most important receiver that we have right now might be Aaron Pflugrad. People are comparing him to Mike Hass, and he has as good a hands as I've ever seen. Jaison Williams might be the biggest playmaker we have at receiver due to his ability to break tackles, but he drops a lot of ball. I see Pflugrad becoming the go-to man on third down because you know that he is going to catch the ball.
- As good as the offense was, this was the worst game our defense has played all year. Aliotti, who should have major heat on him for refusing to make second half adjustments in this game, blitzed Locker all game long, and the secondary was burned over and over again. When our defense was in position to make a tackle, they missed consistently. If our defense plays this bad against USC, even a wounded group of Trojans will slaughter them. Realize that the worst offense in the conference kept pace with us for three quarters. Aliotti is going to need to come up with a better game plan for SC.
That's really all their is to say. Our offense was dominant, the defense porous enough to keep them in the game. The difference was that their D was so worn down in the 4th quarter that they couldn't make a stop, whereas our defense, for all their problems, stepped up when it counted. It wasn't pretty, but as tdawg said, any win in Seattle is a good win.
USC coming up. What's surprising to me is that this will be the first battle between two top ten teams in the history of Autzen Stadium. Should be a hell of a game. We owe them one.
In the meantime, lets enjoy the W over the little puppies up north for another night.
GO DUCKS!!!
--Dave