WSU Stuns Huskies in Apple Cup: Missed Opportunities and Costly Mistakes Define UW's Loss

Washington Falls to WSU in 24-19 Apple Cup Defeat: Offensive Struggles, Costly Penalties, and Coaching Missteps Seal Huskies' Fate

Photo courtesy of Brett Laymon

The Cougars came into Seattle angry.

Angry about Washington ditching them and leaving them for the Big Ten.

Angry about how the last Apple Cup ended.

And maybe even angry about their former athletic director leaving them for Washington.

The Huskies did not come in with the same edge.

And yet, Washington was seemingly just one play away from putting away their in-state rivals, again.

Washington could not execute a fourth-and-goal coming out of a timeout.

The play was a quarterback option to the short side of the field.

WSU stuffed it.

The play call did not stand a chance. Jedd Fisch immediately took the blame for it in the post-game press conference.

The Apple Cup returns to Pullman after WSU’s hard-fought 24-19 win over the Huskies.

My overreaction was that this was the worst regular-season loss since Montana. Probably not. Even Kalen DeBoer dropped two games his first season, and that was with a roster that was not decimated.

My under-reaction is that this team can still get to nine wins. I don’t think that’s happening. The offensive line play is not getting better and the coaches are still trying to figure out what works on offense.

My actual reaction is this. This was UW’s first real test of the season. They obviously failed it. But the season is long, and the goal should be to rip off three more wins. Anything more than six wins is an accomplishment.

What I Liked:

Honestly, nothing.

But two lone bright spots:

Grady Gross 4/4. One sign of an inept offense is how often the team’s kicker gets to showcase his talent. The Huskies settled for four field goals, with Gross converting field goals from 44, 42, 24, and 43 yards. And these kicks weren’t close calls in terms of distance nor accuracy. Everything seemed down the middle. He was the lone bright spot of the offense and special teams.

Will Rogers’ Rainbow Touchdown to Giles Jackson. For the second week in a row, Rogers has shown he can sling it down field. It looked like the Huskies’ offense would be rolling after he connected with Jackson on the 31-yard touchdown. The touchdown was the Huskies’ first score in the first quarter all season.

What Needs Fixing:

Honestly, everything.

Where to start?

The offense stalling, drive after drive after drive?

The defense letting WSU’s John Mateer scramble for two touchdowns?

The 16 penalties for 135 yards?

The fourth-and-goal option run into the sideline by the non-mobile Will Rogers?

One of the takeaways from experiencing last season is that Husky fans understand how good an elite team looks, what kinds of mistakes are tolerable, what kinds of mistakes are intolerable, and how lucky a team may have to be, to win a football game.

Execution on Offense. The biggest thing that needs to be fixed at this point? The offensive game plan and offensive execution.

The Huskies’ singular touchdown drive of the game involved stretching Jonah Coleman and Keith Reynolds into space, and then getting aggressive down the field with completions to Keleki Latu and Giles Jackson.

Washington never replicated the success of that drive.

Here is how the next three drives went after the touchdown drive:

• End of 1st quarter, 3rd-and-7 at WSU 22 yard line - Bad snap to Rogers, Huskies settle for 44-yard field goal.

• Mid-way through 2nd quarter, 3rd-and-5 at WSU 25-yard line - Rogers incomplete pass to Latu, Huskies settle for 42-yard field goal.

• With 4:26 left in the quarter, Rogers scrambles for 17-yards and then Coleman rushes for four, Fisch puts in Demond Williams in at quarterback with the ball at the UW 41. Coleman rushes for 3 yards and the Williams completes a one yard pass to Coleman. Punt.

Coaching. You can’t win rivalry games when the coaching mistakes pile up.

The first one is easy, and Fisch himself took the blame for it — the horrible fourth-and-goal option run to the short side of the field.

Why was it horrible?

Rogers is not a threat to score from that distance with his legs, and even if he was, there was hardly any space to get into the end zone with the amount of blockers going into the direction of the short side of the field.

There were other options. One option, why not give it a shot with some type of conventional run play with Coleman?

The penalties are also on the coaches. Four false starts for 20 yards. Two offsides penalties on Sebastian Valdez. Several holding penalties on the secondary. These types of things kill drives on offense and extend drives on defense.

• 3rd quarter - 2nd and 9 at WSU 10-yard line, someone from UW gets a false start and turns the 2nd and 9 into a 2nd and 15.

• 4th quarter - UW starts drive at 12:26 and has a 3rd-and-15 at its 25 yard-line. Drew Azzopardi false starts, and makes it 3rd-and-20.

• 4th quarter - UW calls at timeout with 1:02 left in the game, WSU has a 3rd-and-11 with the ball at its own two-yard line. Sebastian Valdez jumps offsides, WSU gets and 3rd-and-5. The next play, Jayvon Parker jumps offsides. Game over.

On offense, penalties kill momentum. They also make the football go backwards.

Who Impressed:

In my mind, Giles Jackson is the team’s best receiver. He is versatile. He can make plays after the catch. He can be a down-field threat. He can take a sweep for positive yardage. He can catch a screen and also turn it into positive yards. For all of the blame this offense deserves after the loss, Jackson did his part: 162 receiving yards on 8 receptions, and one touchdown.

What are your reactions after the Huskies’ Apple Cup loss?