Will Washington Football team play in Siesta or Fiesta Bowl game?

The Washington Football team faces Penn State in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl game on December 30, 2017.

It’s the 2017 NCAA Bowl season, and the Penn State Nittany Lions face the Washington Huskies in the Fiesta Bowl. The Washington Football team ended the season at 10-2.  While that was not good enough for the NCAA College playoffs, it was only one game shy of their 11-1 regular season record from a year ago.  In fact, if you factor in the injuries to offensive standouts such as left tackle Trey Adams, wide receiver Chico McClatcher, and a host of other solid contributors, this was a pretty good season overall. Good enough to get a bid for the 2017 Fiesta Bowl game to face Penn State University.

In fact, this season was one for the record books. Dante Pettis set a record for most college touchdowns scored during a punt return.

Browning too

Not to be outdone, quarterback Jake Browning set a school record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass.  It was not until he failed to thrown a touchdown against Arizona State that his streak halted at 20.  Given the nature of college football, and the eventual draw to enter the NFL, that streak may stand for some time.  But he didn’t stop there.

And while he was at it, he tossed the most touchdown passes as a Washington Football quarterback to boot.  76 touchdowns for the junior, and he may return for his senior season.

Two blemishes on a shiny season

But the team did have two losses. The first happened when the Washington Huskies ran into the desert storm of the Arizona State Sun Devils. In that game, Washington lost by six points, but seemed to all but abandon the run needlessly.

That theme repeated once more, as that same Washington Football team dropped its second and final game to Stanford. As before, the loss seemed to incubate from the laissez faire disinterest in running the ball and working on winning the time of possession. Stanford controlled the clock 13 minutes longer than Washington.  While Myles Gaskin averaged 6.7 yards per carry, his number was only called 18 times.  In sharp contrast, Bryce Love rushed 5.5 yards per carry, but he carried the ball 30 times.

Rigid scheme, disastrous results

In both games, the offensive game plan seemed to be rigid and unaffected by what was actually happening on the field. In both games, Browning was under pressure to deliver, receivers were not getting much separation, and the running game was incredibly effective.  Yet in both games, the script overrode the reality, and the team refused to switch the burden from Browning’s arm to Gaskin’s legs.  In both games, losses may have been avoided.

Hopefully, the Huskies have learned their lesson.  At least, they seemed to when they entrusted Myles Gaskin to power the team to victory over cross-state rivals Washington State. In the Apple Cup Bowl, Gaskin carried the ball 25 times for 192 yards and four touchdowns.  Browning only dropped back 17 times.  Will that continue in the Fiesta Bowl?

Trench Warfare

In the standard cliche to all football game, this one will be fought and won in the trenches. But in this one, the line of scrimmage will truly be the test and the deciding factor for the game.  It will be Washington’s defensive line against the power of Penn State’s offensive front.  And that will be a clash of titans.

Effective offensive line

Penn State’s offensive line blocking allowed the Nittany Lions to rush for over 2000 yards. On top of all that, they protected quarterback Trace McSorley well enough to allow him to throw for over 3000 yards and 26 touchdowns, while only tossing 8 interceptions.  You of course know that the Huskies will be very aware of Lion’s running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley carried the ball 199 times and rushed for 1,134 yards and 16 touchdowns. Surprisingly, McSorley rushed for 132 times for 431 yards and 11 touchdowns.

In short, the Nittany Lions are just as dangerous when the play breaks down.  That means the defensive line must know their assignments, stick to their lanes, and contain the quarterback. But as the loss to Michigan State proved: control Barkley and you control the Lions’ offense. The Spartans held Barkley to 14 carries, 63 yards, and 0 touchdowns. And that got them the win. Now, it’s up to the best rushing defense in the nation to attempt a similar outcome.

Lions defend run, well sort of

Conversely, the Nittany Lions defense plays the run well. They average just 119.2 yards per game on the ground. But the Huskies faced a comparable Oregon defense, and shredded them for 247 rushing yards on their way to a lopsided 38-3 victory.  In the Fiesta bowl, it will be the Nittany Lions lauded linebackers trying to stop a nearly unstoppable running back in Myles Gaskin.

As so much of the nation talks Saquon Barkley, Gaskin had an even more impressive season. He carried the ball 208 times for 1232 yards and 19 touchdowns. And while the Washington Football team faced Bryce Love, the Nittany Lions rushing defense benefited from not facing any of the nations top rushers. They did face Ohio State freshman J.K. Dobbs, who put up 88 yards on just 13 carries. But that game quickly turned into a scoring fest, which took the running game out and put the game’s outcome into the hands of the passing offense.

Pass on passing game? Perhaps..

Unlike Washington’s 19th ranked pass defense, Penn State struggles against the passing game, finishing the year with the nations 43rd ranking.  Still, the skies are not safe over Penn State, as they allow over 210 yards per game, but held offenses to just 12 touchdowns to 10 interceptions and 38 sacks.  In contrast, Washington allowed just eight touchdowns to 13 interceptions and 37 sacks.

Hopefully,  the Washington offensive game plan will not be tempted to exploit the Lions passing defense.  But if they do, this would be the perfect game to go with a tight end trio sets.  Tight end Hunter Bryant is practicing with the team once more, and adding him to the lineup gives Penn State defender plenty to think about. Is it a running play with big bodied blockers? Is it a passing play with big bodied receivers?

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In the end, the Washington Football team has a solid chance to emerge from the Fiesta bowl with the win. But if they neglect Myles Gaskin, it could turn into a Siesta bowl pretty quickly.