The Huskies Lose to The Ducks in a Disappointing 35-31 Slugfest

It was a game that the Huskies could have won. No - It was a game that the Huskies SHOULD have won. The stage was set for the Dawgs to have their biggest win of

Associated Press

It was a game that the Huskies could have won.

No - It was a game that the Huskies SHOULD have won.

The stage was set for the Dawgs to have their biggest win of the 2019 season. It was their chance to catapult themselves back into contention for another Pac 12 championship. The 12th ranked Oregon Ducks were the only thing in the way of the Huskies hopes of returning to glory. And just as it appeared that the Dawgs were going to soar right over their biggest hurdle with relative ease on Saturday afternoon, they fell flat, virtually eliminating themselves from any chance of returning to that glory this season.

The Oregon Ducks opening drive left everyone in Husky Stadium feeling like this could wind up being a long day for the Dawgs. Justin Herbert orchestrated a 75 yard drive in which the Oregon offense bullied their way down the field against the Washington Husky defense. Not to be outdone, Washington QB Jacob Eason led his Husky offense on a 13 play drive on their first possession of the day, finishing with a 13 yard TD scamper from Salvon Ahmed. At that point it was evident that this was going to be an old fashioned, knock down, drag out battle of 2 good college football teams.

Actually, for the next 3 quarters the Dawgs would get the best of the Ducks. In a game that featured a quarterback that will certainly be a first round pick in the upcoming NFL draft —Justin Herbert - the Huskies quarterback Jacob Eason would wind up looking like the best quarterback in the building on this day. Eason would have 23-30 for 289 yards and 3 TD’s on the day, and while Herbert had nearly the same number of yards passing, Eason had the better completion ratio and just appeared to throw the better balls during the game.

The Huskies would continue to get the better of what was considered to be one of the best defenses in college football. The Huskies would put up 414 total yards on the Ducks, including an outstanding 140 yard performance by Washington’s running back Salvon Ahmed. The 31 points that Washington Huskies would score in the game would be more than all of Oregon’s opponents have scored against them to date...COMBINED. The Dawgs would ultimately have a 14 point advantage over the Ducks near the halfway mark of the 3rd quarter and the momentum was clearly in their favor.

So what happened? Well the Husky defense who had proven to be stout at times during the game - forcing the Ducks to punt five times on the day- failed to hold up late in the game. Oregon’s all star quarterback Herbert simply handed the ball to his running backs, and watched them and his beastly offensive linemen bulldoze their way down the field on long sustained drives that resulted in Oregon scores. 

When the Husky offense finally did get their hands on the ball in the fourth quarter, they were unable to capitalize when it mattered most. The Huskies failed to convert a questionable 3rd down “Wildcat” play in the fourth quarter from their own 28 yard line. Running back Kamari Pleasant, who had been unsuccessful on 2 earlier Wildcat attempts, would take a 2 yard loss on the play and they would have to punt it away. The Dawgs would eventually get the ball back and have an opportunity to mount a game winning drive. However the Huskies hopes would be dashed away on a 4th and 3 play when an Oregon defender “appeared” to contact Husky WR Puka Nacua before the Jacob Eason slant pass actually arrived, and the the ball fell haplessly to the ground, ending a potential game winning Husky drive, and all chances of repeating as conference champions. 

So what is next for the Dawgs (5-3  2-3)?

They have a much needed BYE this week. They will have a week to rest, recuperate and get back to the drawing board to prepare for another very good Pac 12 team - The Utah Utes. As coach Petersen said immediately following the game, “The season isn’t over - There’s a lot of football left.”

Husky Head Coach Chris Petersen