Huskies Haven't Been Able to Draw a Straight Line to Success

The UW's offensive struggles have been compounded by mediocre blocking up front.

Fourth and 1 at the Husky 46.

Three-plus minutes to the game's end.

Thirty-six inches to certain victory.

A true test of college football manhood, defined by strength and attitude.

Everything the University of Washington football team did on Saturday night in Corvallis, Oregon, came down to this singular play.

Standing directly behind center, Husky quarterback Dylan Morris accepted the snap, bowed his neck and tried to surge forward behind all of his veteran 300-pound escorts.

Typical of a season that has lacked much punch at all, Morris picked up just two of the necessary three feet. 

Football always has been a game of inches. 

The final 12 went to the Beavers.

Score it a takedown for Oregon State, which earned the eventual game-winning field goal rather than their Seattle visitors and walked away with a satisfying 27-24 victory after Everett Hayes converted his 24-yard kick on the game's final play.

"The Beavs and Huskies are pretty evenly matched," remarked a former Oregon State offensive lineman whose father was a 1930s standout UW two-way tackle. "One large difference is that the OSU O-line is everything the preseason-hyped Huskies aren't — athletic."

After five games and saddled with a bye week, the Huskies have 14 days to reflect on a season that has gone south and is flirting with becoming a bust.

Edge rusher Zion Tupuola's lengthy absence because of an Achilles tendon injury has been a big blow. Tight end Cade Otton's multiple-week loss to COVID-19 is another. You don't just shrug it off and replace a pair of first-team All-Pac-12 performers without any falloff.

Yet the UW offensive line was supposed to help make up for any shortcomings, not become one itself. Projected to be dominant, it has been nothing more than average or even mediocre.

Media and fans alike, including this website, were easily romanticized by the O-line for its size and experience, both elements considered unmatched in school history.

Advertised as the program's biggest offensive line ever, it has been more plodding than nimble. Cited for its vast experience, this Husky front wall hasn't been able figure out how to wear down the other side. 

The UW was supposed to have what Michigan and Oregon State has in place, repeatedly pancake people and reap the long runs. Yet it showed it can't capitalize on the all-important short ones.

Left tackle Jaxson Kirkland, a 6-foot-7, 310-pound junior from Vancouver, Washington, has started 34 games over four seasons, and will be an NFL player next year, though here's hoping the lack of overall Husky team success doesn't affect his draft standing any.

He was the one guy without a helmet on standing among 60 UW players before kickoff in Corvallis, exhorting them to rise up and beat the Beavers. A team leader with a heartbeat. He's found the early results from his crew disappointing.

"It certainly has because I see the potential of this offense, and it hurts, too, because you see it all camp, and all the great players we have on our side of the ball," he said before the OSU game. "And to not make it happen on Saturday it certainly does suck."

The Huskies returned all five starters from the 2020 season but began to tinker with things in spring ball and replaced sophomore left guard Ulumoo Ale with redshirt freshman Julius Buelow. The beef in this swap really tipped the scales — Ale's 6-foot-6, 355-pound frame for Buelow's 6-foot-8, 330-pound dimensions.

Was this bad karma to mess with this supposed cohesive group?

Against Oregon State, the Huskies finally switched these guards back, with Ale pulling more game snaps than his one-time understudy. Maybe it was a coincidence that Sean McGrew snapped off a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs. Or maybe not.

Here's the full-season report on the UW's rushing game so far, all five games, with decided mixd results:

Coming off of all of the preseason fanfare, the Huskies fell flat against Montana, opening holes for just 65 yards on 27 carries, averaging a measly 2.4 yards per rushing attempt. The FCS team sacked Morris 3 times.

Again, that's an FCS team.

Against much tougher Michigan, these UW big boys provided only enough room to run for a measly 50 yards on 32 carries, a feeble 1.6 yards per carry. A running back should be able to fall over and pick up 1.6 yards. The Big Ten team also got to Morris for 4 sacks.

The Huskies perked up against a lesser opponent in Arkansas State, picking up a season-high 200 yards on 39 carries, or 5.1 a tote. They scored 3 TDs on the ground, 2 by McGrew and the other by Richard Newton. The Red Wolves sacked Morris once.

Opening Pac-12 conference play against tougher competition, the UW rushing attack slipped again against California to a modest 92 yards on 30 carries, or 3.1 a try. Morris got sacked yet once more. McGrew supplied a pair of TD runs again.

Against Oregon State, the Huskies finished with a much healthier 176 yards on 35 carries for 5 yards a pop. They might have won this game had they picked up at least 177. McGrew became the team's first 100-yard rusher with 104 and scored twice more, giving him 6 rushing TDs in three outings, promising enough. Still, the Beavers found enough open lanes to sack Morris 3 more times, bringing the season total to 12.

SEAN. MCGREW. AGAIN.@smcgrew11

📺 @Pac12Network
💻 https://t.co/hhAQGWlBqN#BowDown x #PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/VofTY5pwJj

— Washington Football (@UW_Football) October 3, 2021

One by one in recent weeks, we've asked four of these big boys up front what gives (as shown in the video above), with only Buelow and Ale spared from an inquisition because as these young, inexperienced players they've been off limits to the media so far.

Each UW lineman comes off as likable and well-spoken, which might be the problem. Often times the best linemen are a little off center, with a crazed look in their eyes and an attitude so deranged they can't put two words together. These Huskies up front simply might be too polite to be great.

Right guard Henry Bainivalu, a 6-foot-6, 330-pound junior from Sammamish, Washington, has a dozen starts to his name. He didn't shy away from harshly critiquing his line play. 

"There's definitely a lot I feel I need to improve on," Bainivalu said. "I haven't played my best football by any means and I think there's just a lot more I need to do."

Luke Wattenberg, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound center, by far is the most experienced Husky offensive lineman on this team and could end up topping everyone who came before him in program annals. He's registered 41 starts over his well-traveled six seasons, coming at three positions. He picked out continuity as a problem.

"Overall, it's just a lack of execution and just playing as one," Wattenberg said. "It's just been one guy here and there messing up, and we've just got to play as one."

At right tackle ,Victor Curne is a 6-foot-3, 315-pound sophomore from Houston, who might be the most athletic blocker of the bunch and someone the NFL will find interest in due time. He has 9 starts over two seasons. He'd like to have more conversation with the guys who are standing next to  him.

"Probably communication, I'll say that, is the biggest thing we have to improve on first and foremost; just talking, getting on the same page," Curne said. "You can never do anything wrong when you're all doing the same thing at the same time."

With seven games remaining on the regular-seasons schedule, trying to find the right words to get these players to respond more effectively as a group might be difficult to unearth. Certainly compliments and other niceties haven't worked. 

Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven