Grubb Blames UW Run Game for 'Worst Half of the Season'

The Huskies went scoreless after the break against the Beavers without a balanced offense.

Most people would have a hard time finding anything wrong with Washington's unbeaten football team these days, but offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb shared something that rankles him — in the second half at Oregon State, his Husky offense went scoreless. 

On Monday as the coaches' regular news briefing, Grubb noted how the UW ran the ball 23 times against the Beavers and 18 were inefficient. His offensive line just didn't get the job done.

"Honestly, I thought it was the worst half of football we've played all year, including the Arizona State game," Grubb lamented. "We executed poorly. The standard was low. We've got to be better. We're underachieving on offense right now and we've gotten bailed out two weeks in a row in the second half. That's got to change."

With the game played in a steady downpour at Reser Stadium that created difficult playing conditions, the Huskies came in prepared to run the ball in order to control the game, similar to what the Beavers did with Damien Martinez, who ran for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns on 26 carries.

However, the holes weren't there for the UW. The Huskies gained just 110 yards on the ground, with 43 of it coming on a second-quarter run by Dillon Johnson that ended with the ball stripped from his hands and recovered by the Beavers on their 5.

"It was tough, it was a tough week," Grubb said. "Normally a room that's super consistent was not. We had to shuffle some people around during the week with injuries and there was things I thought showed up a little bit in practice, and showed up again in the game."

Further complicating the situation, Johnson got stepped on during the game, was seen hopping into a medical tent, is currently wearing a protective boot and might not be at full strength for Washington State in the Apple Cup.

Yet UW coach Kalen DeBoer and Grubb both said they were optimistic the Mississippi State transfer, who has run 152 times for a team-best 879 yards and scored 11 touchdowns, will be ready to go against the Cougars.

Johnson finished with 89 yards on 16 carries against OSU, which ended his streak of consecutive 100-yard rushing games against USC and Utah. Back-ups Will Nixon and Tybo Rogers each ran the ball once in Corvallis.

Grubb entered the season looking for some of his younger backs to emerge after junior Cameron Davis suffered a season-ending knee injury in fall camp, but while there is plenty of promise their production levels have been minimal.  

"I think Tybo has improved a lot and I think he gets better every week," Grubb said of the Huskies freshman running back. 

Rogers, a freshman from Bakersfield, California, has played in nine games this season after enrolling early and taking part in spring practices, while Nixon, the one-time Nebraska transfer, has seen action in all 11 games. 

Neither player has delivered yardage totals similar to Johnson or the scoring punch that Davis provided the year before with 13 touchdowns, as the second option behind starter Wayne Taulapapa. 

Nixon has rushed for 193 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries this season, with Rogers not far behind him with 149 yards on 35 attempts and no scores. 

Of his other backs, Grubb disclosed how injuries have greatly limited sophomore Sam Adams II and senior Richard Newton, who have have shoulder and knee issues, respectively.

Junior Daniyel Ngata, the only other scholarship running back on the roster, has 23 rushing yards and a touchdown in six games this season, but he's spent more time running back kickoffs. 

Whether or not Johnson plays, WSU brings the third-worst run defense in the Pac-12 to the Apple Cup, which should provide ample opportunity for the Huskies rushing attack to get right before the conference championship game. 

The Cougars allow 155.2 yards per game on the ground, better than only Colorado (166 yards) and USC (183.6 yards). 

---

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com or https://www.facebook.com/dan.raley.12

Follow Lars Hanson of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @LarsHanson or @UWFanNation

Have a question? Message me on Twitter!