The Washington Huskies are looking to rise and fight again when they take on the 23rd-ranked Illini at Husky Stadium on Saturday afternoon . Husky head coach Jedd Fisch and his team are hoping a hard week of practice has prepared them for this week’s challenge. The Huskies are coming off a loss at Michigan’s Big House, while the Illini have had two weeks to prepare for Washington, after a week eight bye. The Illini are the fourth team the Huskies have faced coming off a bye. Washington is (2-1) against teams that have had an extra week of preparation against them. In his weekly press conferece, Fisch outlined the challenges facing the Huskies .
Washington wants to give the ball to their running backs
The Huskies have struggled to get RB Jonah Coleman going over their last five games. After rushing for over 100 yards in his two games, Coleman has yet to hit the century mark . Washington’s ground game attack has come from QB Demond Williams on read options and scrambles. The Huskies have been placing too much of their offense on Williams, and last week was proof of that, as he threw three interceptions. Jedd Fisch spoke about the need to give the ball to his running backs more this past Monday:
“There are some challenges involved in running the ball. You’re also playing against an extremely big and stout defensive front. You know, the week prior, I think we ran for 200 yards. It just happened to be the way they wanted to defend Jonah; they gave us the opportunity to run the ball with Demond. And then the week prior to that, we were down 20 nothing, so we kind of got caught up in a little bit of a cat and mouse game there of how many runs do we have? And yet we still ran the ball pretty decent there. We gotta keep getting, you know, our run game going… It’s not for a lack of trying. I think we get 35 rushing attempts on average this season. I think we had 23 in the game the other day, and we’ll continue to make running the football a priority.”
The Huskies are still trying to find ways to create more rushing attempts for their running backs. The Illini have allowed 131 yards rushing per game through seven games. Making this the optimal time to give running backs Adam Mohammed and Coleman
Washington is still looking for a strong offensive first half.
In their last four games, the Huskies’ offense has been unable to score early. Washington has scored just 20 points combined, averaging just five points per game in the first half. Also, they have been outscored 40-20 and have either trailed or been tied at halftime in each of those contests. While the Huskies have outscored their last four opponents 55-47 in the second half, they need to start better.
Washington seeks its first complete game since the Apple Cup
The last time the Huskies outscored their opponent in the first half came in week four against the Cougars in the Apple Cup. Washington was in control of the game from the beginning. They outscored Washington State 24-10 in the first half, then 35-14 in the second half, rolling to a 59-24 victory. The Huskies are (2-0) when leading at halftime and (3-2) when tied or trailing at the half this season. To win on Saturday, Washington must play well for all four quarters and play a complete game.
The Huskies’ defense faces a big test from the Illini’s offense
Illinois has an explosive offense led by senior quarterback Luke Altmeyer, who has 1,821 yards passing and 13 touchdowns on the season. To win this weekend, the Huskies’ defense must contain the Illini’s high-flying offense. This is what Jedd Fisch had to say about preparing his defense this week for Altmeyer and Illinois:
“Yeah, well, he’s a very good passing quarterback that is also very athletic, and experienced, has a great ability to really run the team. So we’ve had to really work very hard. Mixing coverages, mixing looks, making things more challenging, in practice, to be able to prepare for an elite quarterback, one of the best in the Big Ten. They’ve got a really good slot receiver. They’ve got really good running backs. They’re a team that’s kind of thrown the ball exceptionally well the last year and a half.
And I think Altmeyer has been one of the top guys in the Big Ten. So we got our work cut out for us there. We’ve got our corners healthy, and I think probably in the best health they’ve been in all season. So I’m excited about that, and then we’ve got all our safeties ready to go. So we know that we’ve got a great challenge, and that starts with pass rush, and then it starts with, you know, how tight a coverage we can play.”
Last week, the Huskies recorded just one sack against Michigan QB Bryce Underwood. On Saturday, Washington needs to do a better job with their pass rush and make Altmeyer uncomfortable throwing the ball. The Huskies also need Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis to play sticky coverage against Illinois’s receivers to help frustrate him. Washington has prepared for this challenge, and now they need to execute their game plan to stop Altmeyer and Illinois’s offense.
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