Behind the Numbers: Oregon State Edition
10
It's not shocking that the Huskies are bowl eligible it's that they are FINALLY bowl eligible. It took 10 games for the dawgs to notch their 6th game to become bowl-eligible. The Dawgs took a 10-0 lead into the locker room but it could have been more if not for place kicker, Peyton Henry's first miss of the season. On the other side of the ball Washington's defense turned in a dominating performance in forcing 8 three-and-outs and 10 punts.
9a
Washington was in control of the game in every aspect. As is the case in most any game: the team controls the line of scrimmage controls the outcome. In this game it was a tail of two tail backs: UW's Salvon Ahmed -v- OSU's. 25 carries for 174 yards and 2 TDs to 9 carries for Jemar Jefferson for 39 yards.
9b
Edefuan Ulofoshio seems to like playing Oregon State but the Beavers but it can be guaranteed that the feeling isn't mutual. At Husky Stadium, in 2018, against the Beavers, he registered his only statistics of the season with 2 forced fumbles on two plays. In Corvallis on Friday night he filled out his scorecard registering 9 total tackles, 5 solo, and 1.5 sacks. His 9 tackles seems to be modest but the Beavers ran just 52 plays putting him in on 17 percent of the defensive stops.
8
The previously mentioned 8 Beaver three and outs produced 13 total yards. OSU's longest offensive drive was 9 plays for 24 yards. Additionally, they had only 2 drives of 7 plays or more.
7
Rush End, Joe Tryon, is becoming a household name in Husky Nation. With no disrespect to Ulofoshio's breakout performance, Tryon's late season surge could be a difference-maker in the final stretch. He had a modest 7 tackles with 6 being solo but 5 of the stops that he was involved in occurred behind the line of scrimmage including two sacks. In all the Washington defense finished with 7 tackles for loss.
6
The Beavers were held to 7.7% 3rd down conversion rate....or 1 for 13. On the night their average line to gain distance was 9.6 yards. That's a huge credit to Ulofoshio and Tryon but also for the wide-split defensive alignment that has worked wonders in Apple Cups in the Mike Leach-era in Pullman. In all the Beavers were 0-6 on 3rd and long (6+ yards to go).
5
In order for Washington to take the next step offensively they will not only need to figure out how to finish off games but they need to finish off drives, as well. There were 5 drives that that didn't result in a punt or TD: Interception, Missed FG, Interception, Downs, Missed FG. They were 5 for 17 on 3rd down plus 3-4 on 4th down, but the missed opportunities left UW fans wondering how they could put 28 on the Ute D and not torch the Beaver D for 50 points.
4
The young Washington defense answered the bell in Corvallis. Even on a short week and after playing a very physical Utah offense it was the Husky D that wore down the opponent. On the Beavers 4 third-quarter drives they mustered a total of 11 yards. The final two drives for the Beavers' offense in the 4h quarter the Beavers had negative 8 yards giving them 3 total yards in the second half.
3
Officially, Washington receivers dropped three passes (Baccelia, Bynum, and Bryant). Unofficially, it felt like a lot more than that given the amount of targets Eason had to TE, Hunter Bryant. Bryant was targeted 11 times and Bryant caught 5 for 90 yards. It would have been a whole lot more but a long TD strike to Bryant was called back for a penalty.
2
Fans of both teams were expecting an offensive showcase with a final score more similar to the one that occurred Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (46-41). However, they were treated to a final score (19-7) more common to games in played in Tuscaloosa. On defense it Washington was in control from the get go and it was the defense that wore down the Beavers' offense. However, despite losing the turnover battle 2-1 the Huskies won the war.
1
Jacob Eason was picked off twice by the Beavers. The first was on Washington's 4th possession that started on the UW 15 yard line. Eason was picked off by Oregon State's Nahshon Wright. The other interception by Jaydon Grant that was returned 60 yards for the Beavers only score. That gives Eason 4 interceptions in the past two games.
