The Price is Right

Washington beat Hawaii by a score of 40-32.

At the end of the game a fan was flying a sign, above the tunnel that players were exiting through, that said “The Price is Right”. The sign in and of itself wasn’t all that spectacular because it wasn’t the only sign that read something similar in the stadium. What made it ironic was the fact that this particular fan was wearing a Nick Montana jersey.

Many fans only a year ago seemed to be convinced that Nick Montana was the heir to the quarterback throne at the University of Washington. However, when Keith Price played a full game against Oregon last season there was a small glimpse of what was really to come at the starting QB position for Washington.

Price won the starting gig in training camp, before the season, and today showcased his ability to be an exceptional quarterback. He is dangerous, the type of dangerous where even if you take away a limb or two, he still finds a way to succeed. This was evident in the first quarter when Price went 8 for 8 with 193 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hawaii was unable to stop him or even contain him.

While the defense continues to struggle especially in defending the passing game, Price led his offense on an aggressive attack on almost every drive down the field. He wasn’t predictable as he completed passes to 9 different receivers and he seemed to easily work through his progressions.

Many receivers were able to have an exceptional day. Devin Aguilar looked impressive, creating clear separation from coverage and catching 5 passes for 131 yards. Austin Seferian-Jenkins had 2 great catches to start the game both went for big gains. Even when Hawaii started changing their coverage to account for Seferian-Jenkins, he was still able to haul-in a fade route at the back end zone. Jermaine Kearse only had 2 receptions but he made both of them count for touchdowns. Price also completed passes to; James Johnson, Kevin Smith, Chris Polk, Michael Hartvigson, Kasen Williams, and Johri Fogerson.

He only made one mistake and that is when he

mis-read the coverage and threw a pick-six which put Hawaii right back into the game. Regardless, this didn’t seem to discourage Price as he bounced right back to lead a touchdown drive the next time out on the field.

Washington’s defensive play made sure the game was always within reach for Hawaii and kept Price playing with urgency. The defensive backs still seem to struggle especially in short routes. One example is when Quinton Richardson completely left his man open to chase down the quarterback, Bryant Moniz, who looked to be scrambling but had yet to cross the line of scrimmage. Moniz stepped back and threw an easy pass to a wide-open receiver. The play was then ratified by Cort Dennison who got a hand in there to cause a fumble after Hawaii’s easy catch.

However, unlike last game the defensive backs were able to come up big in a few crucial situations. Gregory Ducre broke up two different crucial passes, one on 4th down and one was a two-point conversion. Desmond Trufant came up with a pick near the end zone after Hawaii had marched most of the way down the field. Trufant also had a returned field goal block by Everette Thompson who was able to block not only that point after attempt but also another one during the game.

Overall, the defensive pressure needs to be more consistent and hands need to be in the opposing quarterback’s face if they want to have any success in pass defense and there just wasn’t enough of that. There were only 2 sacks on the day and Moniz seemed to be easily avoiding any kind of pressure for the majority of the afternoon.

In spite of some things that still need to be worked on and addressed this week in practice on the defensive end. The offense is firing on all cylinders and Price seems to be a legitimate big time threat for the Huskies and he led his team to a 40-32 victory over Hawaii. As the Nick Montana fan so aptly put it on his sign, “The Price is Right”.