Instant Analysis – Oregon 17 Washington 10
By Jeff Taylor
Some first half observations-
1) Clearly Sark is trying to keep Oregon’s high octane offense off the field by playing a methodical, run-dominated offensive scheme to kill some clock.
2) Chris Polk continues to be a beast. Keep riding the beast!
3) But, the O-line is not giving Keith Price any pass protection. They are doing well in run-blocking, but they are forcing Price to rush, which has resulted in four sacks and two interceptions. That 9-yard loss on a 3-man rush where Price didn’t even have time to look or move was rediculous.
4) Price has been rattled, his passes high and wobbly, but I liked the play calling by Steve Sarkisian on that last drive. He designed a perfect drive to pick up small chunks, get comfortable, and move down the field.
5) I ABSOLUTELY loved the pass to Hartvigson on the fake run. It seemed fitting after the call that went against his catch last week!
6) The Husky D has played as well as they have all season. Only 17 points, given the three Oregon drives that started in Husky territory is impressive. Can they keep it up in the second half? We know how Oregon can explode on teams in the 2nd half. That first drive for Oregon to start the 3rd quarter will be huge momentum wise.
7) I am disappointed the D gave up so much yardage with only 30 seconds left after that huge momentum shift with the TD knowing Oregon gets the ball first in the 2nd half. But, no harm no foul with the 3 timeouts with 1 second left.
7) Something tells me Chip Kelly does something gimmicky on that first drive. Maybe even a trick play.
8) Hey, what do you know…Washington is still in this thing! The Huskies just need to get settled down on offense in the 2nd half and the D needs to keep playing big.