Kaila’s Keys for Washington to Beat the Utes in Unexpected Rematch
After the Apple Cup was scrubbed because of COVID-19, the University of Washington football team found another willing opponent in Utah, which had its game with Arizona State shelved.
The teams play on Saturday in Husky Stadium at 4:30 p.m. and will be shown on ABC-TV.
As coach Jimmy Lake pointed out, he and his staff guessed correctly that they would play the Utes over three other possible opponents and were able to practice since Tuesday with Utah in mind.
Washington needs to focus on these three keys to win its third consecutive game:
Use Its Receivers
Utah has one the better run defenses in the conference. In their only game, the Utes controlled USC on the ground, but lost because the Trojans' Kedon Slovis threw to six different receivers for 264 yards and two touchdowns on 24 completions. USC running backs collected a mere 93 yards rushing on 31 attempts. Washington needs its younger and older receivers to step and put pressure on the Utah defensive backs.
Contain Jake Bentley
South Carolina transfer quarterback Jake Bentley comes to Utah with 33 starts and 7,527 passing yards in the SEC. Bentley possesses a strong arm and plenty of game experience, and presents himself as a dual-threat quarterback. Against USC as a replacement for injured starter Cam Rising, Bentley threw five times for 15 yards or more, the longest a 30-yard completion to Bryan Thompson. He ran for 33 yards on a third-and-13 situation in the second quarter. The Huskies will need to contain him.
Force third-and-long downs
Washington’s defense did a great job of making Arizona punt. The average distance for the Wildcats on third down was 8.5 yards. If the Husky defense can put the Utes in unmanageable third downs, this will shape the outcome.
