Postgame Observations from the Husky Setback in Corvallis
With the season a huge disappointment after just five games, Jimmy Lake has two weeks to rethink a number of fateful strategic and personnel decisions and see if he can keep his underperforming University of Washington football team from completely bottoming out.
First he needs to elevate Faatui Tuitele to a centerpiece role on the defense.
Lake should build the unit around him, take better advantage of this guy's propensity for wreaking havoc and utilize the Huskies' most effective playmaker to the fullest.
For three weeks in a row, the 6-foot-3, 305-pound redshirt freshman defensive tackle from Honolulu is trending upward while most of his teammates are moving the other way.
He's the only one on the roster performing at an All-Pac-12 level, the only one up front with any sacks.
With his aggressiveness, Tuitele set up yet another touchdown by separating Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan from the football in the fourth quarter, just as he did two weeks earlier with Arkansas State's Layne Hatcher.
The Huskies tend to treat this once highly regarded recruit — remember, he picked the UW over Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Texas — as its third defensive lineman behind sophomores Taki Taimani and Tuli Letuligasenoa.
It's time to give Tuitele the mantle as the defensive leader, let him play in an unrestricted manner and let the others slide down the rotation some.
Don't Run the Damn Ball
Lake is married to the idea that his team should be able to run the football whenever and wherever it wants. Well, he's 0-for-2 while maintaining this approach in crunch time. He lost to a lesser opponent in Montana by insisting upon it and now to a comparable foe in Oregon State by gambling on it.
The veteran Husky offensive line has been totally unreliable this season, not nearly as physical or athletic as Lake led everyone to believe, soft even.
Facing fourth-and-1 at the UW 46 with three-plus minutes left to play, Lake went for it and lost. He says he would do this every time. However, the Husky leader might look again and see how often the Huskies have moved the pile up front when it truly matters.
“Any time we’re fourth-and-1 and we can go behind our offensive line with Dylan, we always feel that we can get that yard," said the Husky coach, who preferred to casually blame the officials. "Unfortunately, with the spot, they marked us short. But we’re going for that every single time.”
Here's an idea with something that plays to a higher percentage of success: How about punt the ball, back up the Beavers on their own goal line and unleash Tuitele?
Rare Player Sightings
Ulumoo Ale and Asa Turner, remember those guys?
Banished to depth-chart exile and basically restricted to special teams this season, the two sophomores and former starters received their most extended playing time yet against Oregon State, pulling most of the second-half snaps at their respective positions.
The 6-foot-6, 355-pound Ale, one of the biggest men in the Pac-12 and a four-game starter in 2020, finally supplanted redshirt freshman Julius Buelow at left offensive guard on that laggard offensive line and opened some holes.
Turner, quite possibly the Pac-12 player with the longest hair, was a nine-game starter at strong safety over the previous two seasons but often has been a third-teamer over the past month. His issue is he's not a physical player at all.
In Corvallis, Turner replaced an injured Cam Williams and leapfrogged Julius Irvin, both fellow sophomores, to pull most of the snaps at the safety slot over the final 30 minutes. He came up with his second career interception, both against Oregon State.
Cost of the Undisciplined
It might have escaped notice, but these Lake-coached Huskies tend to lose their cool at times for no good reason and this has proven to be a costly practice for this team so far. At Michigan, special-teamer Dominique Hampton got whistled for taunting, keeping a stopped drive alive and leading to points on the board. Against the Beavers, special-teamer Bralen Trice was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on a missed field-goal attempt, backing up the Huskies on the change of possession and leading to an instant turnover and OSU points.
Missing in Action
While cornerback Trent McDuffie returned from the injury list, nickelback Bookie Radley-Hiles was in street clothes dealing with what appeared to be a knee sprain. It's not clear how long the Oklahoma transfer will have to sit out. Also missing was All-Pac-12 tight end Cade Otton, recovering from COVID-19, and Lake wasn't sure when he would get him back.
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