Will Washington Football team offense rely more on the pass or the run?

The Washington Football team has QB Jake Browning, WRs Dante Pettis and Chico McClatcher, and RB Myles Gaskin returning from last year’s NCAA playoff run. So which will the team rely upon: the pass or the run?

Washington Football is about winning the battle in the trenches. The team that wins the line of scrimmage generally wins the game.  Recently we’ve been sharing reports of the rankings of both offensive and defensive lines.  It should comes as no surprise that the Washington defensive line, spearheaded by Vita Vea and Greg Gaines, is the top ranked line in the Pac-12.

Subsequently, the offensive line scores high marks as well. In fact, Trey Adams, Coleman Shelton, Andrew Kirkland, and Kaleb McGary Jr. have all earned the right to be in discussions over both the 2018 NFL Draft and NCAA college football watches.

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Chip on their shoulders

It’s that proficiency on the offensive line which makes the 2017-2018 season so very intriguing. Running back Myles Gaskin had a great season last year, But in the Chik-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Gaskin never got on track. Browning, despite an injured shoulder, did manage to hurl the first touchdown pass of the game to Dante Pettis.  But the game went downhill from there.

Now, the team has learned valuable lessons. But what will they do with them?

Well, getting quarterback Jake Browning back to full health is a great first step.  While it is virtually impossible to evaluate each play from last season, Browning had his worst games of the year after his injury.  Does a fully healthy Browning change the outcome for the Huskies?

Perhaps. We’ll see this season.

But the success of the Huskies is based on that balanced attack. Run some, pass some. Set the tempo of the game and keep the defenses guessing.

Dominating offensive line gives options

The key to this season is the play of that stalwart offensive line. If the unit lives up to expectations, there will be few defensive lines who can hold their own against the Huskies.  That means the offense can impose their will upon their opponents.

But if the game is a chess match, what then?  Well, several Pac-12 teams this year have depleted defensive backfields.  You can bet Coach Petersen will test them with some downfield passing.   Should the Huskies get a two or more touchdown lead in the game, then it becomes a different ball game altogether.

Chew up the yards and the clock on the thunderous runs of Gaskin.

With close scores, with the game on the line, I suspect the nod will go to running back Myles Gaskin to push the ball into the end zone.  If the team falls behind, or is working to build an early lead, I suspect the arm of Jake Browning will get a good workout.

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By season’s end, they will likely come in at or nearly at a dead heat.  But in any given game, these Huskies can win with either the passing or the running game. And perhaps that is the best answer of all.  If we can’t tell which the Washington Football team will emphasize this season, you can bet their opponents can’t.