Washington Auburn halftime report: rushing defense

At the halfway point, let’s look at Washington Football team is defending the running game of that Auburn offense

Well here we are at the halfway point. Nervous? Confident? The emotions are at their peak right now. While the images of the first half are still fresh in your mind, let’s break down some important factors in today’s game. In this article, we’ll look at how well the Washington Football team is defending the run.

In the minutes leading up to the game, Huskies fans weighed in on our Twitter poll with surprising confidence. The presence of Greg Gaines on that defensive line seems to resonate with Huskies fans today. When asked “What is your take on Washington’s running offense today?”  the votes distributed this way:

Great job – 70%
Not bad –   30%
Needs to improve – 0%
Yikes! – 0%

But by halftime the Auburn running game did not feel on track.

Despite Auburn rushing for 28 attempts for 102 yards. It was obvious that Auburn’s interest was to vacate their passing game to the running game. With the lead, it made sense to do so. Running offenses win time of possession.

The only lapse in the contest in the first half was a fourth down and 1 where Auburn managed to open a crease in the line of scrimmage and burst for a 13 yard pickup. Remove that one play, and the Huskies run defense gets an A for their effort.

With the halftime score Auburn 15 and Washington 13, you can bet the Tigers will try to establish a running game in the second half. But so far, Greg Gaines appears to be everything Washington hoped for. He shuts down the running back for little gains when they take shots in the interior.

Today, it appears Washington’s defense is up for the challenge.  Today’s game is setting up to be a great second half.