Washington Auburn halftime report: special teams

At the halfway point, let’s look at Washington Football special team play against Auburn

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 handling special teams play today.

In the minutes leading up to the game, Huskies fans weighed in on our Twitter poll somewhat confident. As game time kickoff approached, when asked “What is your take on Washington’s football’s special teams today?” the votes distributed this way:

Great job – 40%
Not bad – 35%
Needs to improve – 25%
Yikes! – 0%

But by halftime not even the “needs to improve” crowd seemed pessimistic enough.

Washington’s punting and kicking game simply failed to deliver on an afternoon where scores came at a premium and field position dictated the outcome of the oncoming offense.  Washington’s first punt aired out for 43 yards, only to have Auburn return the ball 32 yards.  Washington kicker Peyton Henry was two of three , missing a 40 yard field goal attempt.

While the Huskies did not return either a punt or a kickoff, Auburn did return kickoffs well. By the time this article finished, the Auburn Tigers had returned 4 kickoffs for 64 yards.

This game is far too hot and contested. With the offense flashing and alternating sputtering, and the defense bending plenty, but not breaking on or near the red zone, special teams will play HUGE in the eventual outcome of this game. Despite the undisciplined play of the Auburn Tigers, their special teams are clearly outplaying Washington today.

In the end, Auburn and Washington are delivering a game every bit as exciting as expected. Perhaps not the cleanest nor most polished football game, but the drama is thick. Washington needs to deliver big on special teams in the second half to win this one.