It was a frustrating loss for the Huskies in the Coliseum on Saturday night, as they fell to USC, 25-21. Let’s get to what we learned!
A Step Forward…
Let’s start with the good, I am, by nature, an optimist after all. After a game in which he was held to 23 yards on 7 carries by Minnesota’s defense, Brian Bonner definitely bounced back. On 19 carries, Bonner tallied 89 yards, thanks to some good blocking by the O-line. If he sticks around, he can no doubt live up to that feature back expectation that has been placed on him. A little more polish, and he can be a future All Big Ten back. The play-calling too helped shake up an offense that has felt stuck in park (not even neutral!) since the season began. Jedd emptied the bag of tricks, first lining up receiver Dezmen Roebuck in the backfield and having him throw to Baron Naone for an early touchdown, then calling a direct snap to USC transfer Kade Eldridge after some subtle shifting, which also went for a touchdown. Creativity in play calling gave this offense some much needed juice, and maybe made it look better than it ultimately ended up being. But I didn’t care because trick plays are always fun, and even more fun when they work.
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After Degraaf’s 42 yard scamper for a touchdown, with the Huskies up 21-10, I thought it was going to be another one of those games where the Huskies play above what they’ve shown in the season and they would be able to use that as a springboard to galvanize the team to a few more wins, playing above the present expectations. I even said, “are we awesome all of a sudden?” I was quickly brought back down to Earth.
…And A Few Steps Back
We paid good money for the return of the Demond Williams Experience™, about 4.7 million dollars. Even got a few lawyers involved, maybe. But, that 4.7 million was always going to be a gamble. As my colleague, the great Raymond Lucas Jr. wrote last week, “During the offseason, Williams showed signs of volatile decision-making. That volatility has carried into the season, where his play can feel like a coin flip between a highlight and a frustrating mistake.” The coin did indeed flip on Saturday, as for every run out of the pocket for a first down, for every pass that was complete for a big gain, there were a few decisions that were baffling. Most involved Williams going through his progressions for too long, hesitating for a split second, finding nobody open, or just flat out overthrowing receivers. That fumble, in which he admitted that he double clutched after a pump fake that the defensive end recovered and brought back for a momentum swinging touchdown for USC?
It was a microcosm of what we signed up for when we brought him back. And I know, it’s not all his fault. The receivers couldn’t get much separation for most of the game, and the injuries to receivers leave Williams with few surefire targets that he can go to for easier yardage when nobody’s open. But it’s year 3, and in terms of development, I’m seeing a regression from last year. I don’t know if it’s a confidence issue or if this is just who he is, or if the coaches just don’t care about his development, but this doesn’t look like a future pro quarterback. This regression showed itself early, as on a 3rd and 3 on the first Huskt drive, Williams had Brian Bonner open as his checkdown, but instead forced the ball to Decker Degraaf for an incompletion, leading to a Husky punt. Then on the last play of the game, why force the ball into double coverage instead of taking a safe completion and giving your guy a chance to get the first down?
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Maybe this is who he always was.
Sure, he’s a spectacular athlete. The escapability, the big runs, the athleticism, they all pop on the highlight tapes. But the talent that used to hide his deficiencies, the likes of Denzel Boston, Jonah Coleman, Quentin Moore, they’re not at UW anymore. It seems like all the weapons that were supposed to replace their production have gotten injured, so his development (or lack thereof) is on full display and he’s getting exposed as a quarterback that is mediocre. His athleticism may be enough to carry the team to 6 wins, but beyond that, I think that’s the Dawgs’ ceiling, which is sad to say. But nothing through the first 5 weeks has shown me he can elevate beyond mediocre. There is no extra gear that he hasn’t hit yet, this is it for him, at least in this program. Fisch is trying to mold a quarterback who would fit in a more wide open system into a dropback passer in the mold of somebody like Jared Goff or Brock Purdy and it’s not working. Both men deserve blame, and both should be held accountable, because these two are responsible (largely) for where the program is right now.
Everyone’s No One’s A Winner
There were intermittent “Fire Lincoln” chants at the Coliseum that were audible on the NBC broadcast. Throughout the week leading up to this game, it was clear that both teams’ vibes were absolutely putrid. And for largely the same reasons as each other, funnily enough. Both fanbases are unhappy with a coach who wears a visor who calls offensive plays, both teams have defenses who are woefully undisciplined, and both teams are playing below expectations with plenty of talent. Also both teams can’t afford to fire their coach. USC tried whatever they could to give this game away. The 2 missed 2 point conversion plays would’ve been capitalized upon if the Huskies had even a marginal play caller, or anything better than a mid tier quarterback. Bad officiating certainly helped swing the game (I would be remiss not to mention the PI on Dylan Robinson which was actually on the guy he was defending), but we lost that because we ultimately couldn’t capitalize, going 1-12 on third down (and 0-4 with 4 or fewer yards to go). No team played like they wanted to win. We had every chance in the world to win, and we just didn’t. It’s not a simple fix, and I’m ashamed to even admit this. I don’t think we can. This team has broken even me, and that’s what’s frustrating.
We have Iowa at home on Friday evening. Go Dawgs!
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
