Elijah Molden called it 'old school football'. He said it's like going into an alley to see who comes out last. And really, it's about what you'd expect from the Utah Utes and Washington Huskies, who have had a handful of knock-down, drag-out brawls on the football field the last few years. The series record may be 12-1 in UW's favor, but that doesn't do the rough-and-tumble nature of this series justice.
And, at least talking to the Washington defensive players and coaches on Tuesday, they understand it. They may be coming off a bye week where they feel as refreshed and as rested as they have since the season began, but that doesn't mean they don't know what they're going to be up against on Saturday. They will be matched against a Utah team playing arguably the best ball in the Pac-12. They just dominated California 35-0, a team that beat Washington in their house in week two. Their defense has been dang near unstoppable this year, allowing only 10 points per game.
But the defensive coaches and players wanted to talk about a Utah team with a new offensive coordinator in Andy Ludwig (in his second stint as OC for the Utes), a quarterback in Tyler Huntley playing as efficient as any in the conference, a running back in Zack Moss who is first in the Pac-12 in rushing touchdowns and second in rush yards per game.
Senior defensive back Myles Bryant called Utah a 'well-rounded team', essentially one where, as a defense, you're going to need to choose wisely when attacking a certain aspect of their offense. If you try to shut down their run game, Huntley will just take it himself and RPO you to death. If you try and shut Huntley down by not allowing any deep shots, they'll bleed you out by moving the chains, thereby keeping your offense off the field. And they will be physical with you.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
