3 thoughts on Washington Huskies first half road struggles vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights
By Ethan Lee
The first Big Ten road trip in Washington Husky history has been full of frustrating moments and foolish mistakes. At halftime, the Washington Huskies trail the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 14-3 and that’s largely because the Huskies haven’t been able to play a clean game.
Penalties, crucial errors, missed field goals, odd play calling choices, and missed passes have caused Washington to stumble a bit.
On the offensive side of things, Washington has struggled to find its footing. Will Rogers has only managed to get 78 passing yards, but he’s been efficient in connecting with receivers and hasn’t really made many mistakes.
Over on the defense, Washington has had some difficulty in containing Rutgers’ rushing attack. Kyle Monangai gained 57 rushing yards and scored a touchdown in the first half of the game and that has helped Rutgers control the tempo in this game.
With Washington trailing 14-3 at half, we’ve got a few thoughts. Mostly on how this game is bad. Let’s go over those real quick.
No. 1: Washington Huskies’ offense is struggling and that’s not good at all
It’s not shocking that Rutgers has a strong defense. The Scarlet Knights thrive in this area. But it’s bad that Washington hasn’t really been able to get into the end zone despite gaining just shy of 200 yards in the first half.
Washington’s offense hasn’t had any sort of rhythm and part of that is due to mistakes, but some of it might be attributable to Jedd Fisch’s decisions to swap quarterbacks with regularity.
Oh, and Grady Gross misses a field goal. He’s made a 22-yarder, but that miss is going to be painful.
No. 2: It’s worrisome that Rutgers’ ground game is gaining steam
It looks like the Scarlet Knights are really interested in grinding this game out with a strong defense and a powerful rushing attack. While the Huskies were able to slow that ground game early on, it’s starting to feel like Rutgers is gaining steam with their offense.
Kyle Monangai has done well to lead Rutgers’ offensive efforts and his 12 carries for 57 yards and one rushing touchdown have really made it possible for the Scarlet Knights to thrive in this game. He’s been a huge part of their game plan and Washington’s defense will need to be able to keep up with him in the second half. Otherwise this game could get ugly in a hurry.
No. 3: The end of the half was an absolute disaster
Rutgers was able to seize some very real momentum late in the second quarter of the game with a pretty impressive 10-play drive that was sustained by errors from the Washington Huskies. While it looked like Washington would be able to get off the field, block a field goal, and get into halftime down just 7-3, a blunder and a penalty gave Rutgers a chance at scoring again. And that’s what Rutgers did. Now the Huskies are down 14-3. And that’s infuriating to see.
Jedd Fisch and the Huskies have an uphill battle in the second half. Will we see Washington find a way to get back into this game in the second half?
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