Here's Why the UW Got Stopped Late at the Goal Line by Oregon

You probably thought someone just whiffed on a block. Yet it was far more complicated than that for the University of Washington's high-powered and seemingly unstoppable offense when it got turned away on fourth-and-goal play at the Oregon 1 with six and a half minutes left in the game.

Husky offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb fully anticipated he would be asked about the rare play-calling failure in the UW's 36-33 comeback victory over the Ducks when he sat down on Monday to meet with media members in his regular briefing.

"Lets get the hard stuff out of the way," Grubb said, looking out at his audience.

OK, what happened?

Everyone saw freshman running back Tybo Rogers take a fly-sweep handoff running to his right and get stopped dead in his tracks for a 1-yard loss by former Husky defensive tackle Taki Taimani, turning the ball over to the Ducks.

To begin with, starting UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was battling a severe case of leg cramps because he was working so hard in this classic college football encounter that demanded a lot physically out of everyone.

When the drive began at the Husky 40, Penix nearly didn't make it onto the field because he was sitting in a medical tent receiving intravenous fluids. Grubb said the coaching staff came within seconds of sending back-up Dylan Morris in as a quarterback replacement at that juncture.

"The situation was real," Grubb said of Penix's discomfort. "He was fighting to stand up at some points."

That said, Penix came trotting onto the field and moved the Huskies to a first down at the Oregon 8. Things were still tricky.

Running back Dillon Johnson nearly scored on first down, running up the middle and juggling the football and getting it back as he fell forward at the goal line for a 7-yard gain.

On second-and-goal at the 1, the Huskies typically might have let Penix keep it and try to score inside, but the cramping was a concern and ruled out that option.

"Mike wanted to do it," Grubb said. "It wasn't a desired piece by Penix [not to]. It was just my comfort level with the cramping."

Instead, Johnson took a Wildcat snap, tried to run up the middle, Oregon got penetration and the UW tailback and Mississippi State transfer got dropped for a yard loss.

On the next play, Johnson took a handoff from Penix and tried to go left and was tackled a yard short of the goal line. Worse yet, wide receiver Germie Bernard was now standing on the sideline, dealing with an ankle injury, with his absence felt the most on the following play.

With everything happening so fast, and the Huskies' facing fourth-and-goal from the 1, the coaching staff sent Rogers into the game to be the hero.

Young Rogers, appearing in just his fourth UW game, which as a freshman puts him at the redshirt threshold, got the call because of his flat-out speed in that situation.

"Tybo is the fastest guy we've got," Grubb said. "That was it. It was just gas."

However, the ailing Bernard normally was part of this goal-line offensive set. Without him, the Huskies lined up in the wrong formation and Rogers never had a chance. It didn't matter how fast he was.

It was a lot of moving parts all at once with so little time for the UW to react and take stock of everything. Yet the veteran offensive coordinator said he and staff need to respond in kind no matter what.

"That was a bummer, obviously at the most critical time," Grubb said. "We've got to evaluate that. We have to read a situation like that and have to be controlled better."

As you can see, it was more than a missed block, a lineman whiff up front. Penix wasn't an option. Bernard was in agony on the sideline. A tough Oregon defense was alert and ready to make multiple stops.

Somehow the UW survived, finding more of an end-zone comfort zone by later having Penix toss one to Rome Odunze covering 18 yards in one-on-one pass coverage for the game-winner. It's so much simpler when the Huskies do that.

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