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Winning The Key Plays
Tequilla
Member Posts: 19,825
One of the really frustrating things about being a UW fan during this “can’t win the big game” era has been when you look back on those close losses how infrequently UW won on the handful of big plays that decide those types of games … sometimes that’s mistakes UW made and sometimes it’s the opponent making the play
For the first time in a long time UW made the bulk of the key plays with a few that really stood out to me:
1) Oregon’s onside kick attempt
They tried the same thing against UCLA successfully and if you go look at the play from the end zone view UW was perhaps taken a bit by surprise … Oregon had UW outnumbered and a good kick probably gets recovered by Oregon. Fortunately Oregon hit it too hard and the a do or die recovery was made with no room for error
2) Alex Cook making the 3rd Down Tackle on Bo Nix
Oregon got a TD out of a very similar situation earlier in the game and EVERYTHING about this play signaled that it was coming again. Cook recognized the play, fired early, and beat Nix into the hole to win what effectively was a 1 v 1 play. Oregon converts that drive into a TD and the game was over … but they didn’t. The 10+ minute drive for Oregon was a double edged sword because it shortened the game … which played to UW’s advantage. Add to it that Nix hurt his ankle on the play …
3) Penix TD to Taj Davis
For YEARS we’ve talked about how important it is to have THAT QB who can make THAT throw when it matters … let’s be very clear that few QBs in college can even think of making that throw. Go watch the angle the Oregon S made on the play … he thought he was going to undercut that for an INT. Let’s also not gloss over that the play came on 3rd and long which makes the big balls on that throw even bigger.
4) Taking Advantage of a Backup QB
What made the ASU loss so demoralizing is that UW faced a backup QB for a large chunk of the game and made him look great. Everybody will point to the 4th down play, but I’ll look at the 3 plays leading into it. UW had just got mowed over by the Oregon running game … yet when it mattered (and helped by being able to disrespect the pass) put themselves into a position to get the ball back to the offense via a punt and a chance to win … of course Oregon decided to go for it and that blew up spectacularly
5) Peyton Henry’s Redemption
2018 Henry effectively had the same kick to win the game and missed it … it’s rare in sports (particularly in college) where you get to have that redemption moment in the same place against the same team with the same stakes in play. Henry hit that ball like a champ … couldn’t be happier for him
There’s always other plays that you can point to in a game … but for me it’s these 5 plays that really drove and dictated the UW victory. Historically, UW hasn’t made these plays when the bright lights are on. Saturday they did …
For the first time in a long time UW made the bulk of the key plays with a few that really stood out to me:
1) Oregon’s onside kick attempt
They tried the same thing against UCLA successfully and if you go look at the play from the end zone view UW was perhaps taken a bit by surprise … Oregon had UW outnumbered and a good kick probably gets recovered by Oregon. Fortunately Oregon hit it too hard and the a do or die recovery was made with no room for error
2) Alex Cook making the 3rd Down Tackle on Bo Nix
Oregon got a TD out of a very similar situation earlier in the game and EVERYTHING about this play signaled that it was coming again. Cook recognized the play, fired early, and beat Nix into the hole to win what effectively was a 1 v 1 play. Oregon converts that drive into a TD and the game was over … but they didn’t. The 10+ minute drive for Oregon was a double edged sword because it shortened the game … which played to UW’s advantage. Add to it that Nix hurt his ankle on the play …
3) Penix TD to Taj Davis
For YEARS we’ve talked about how important it is to have THAT QB who can make THAT throw when it matters … let’s be very clear that few QBs in college can even think of making that throw. Go watch the angle the Oregon S made on the play … he thought he was going to undercut that for an INT. Let’s also not gloss over that the play came on 3rd and long which makes the big balls on that throw even bigger.
4) Taking Advantage of a Backup QB
What made the ASU loss so demoralizing is that UW faced a backup QB for a large chunk of the game and made him look great. Everybody will point to the 4th down play, but I’ll look at the 3 plays leading into it. UW had just got mowed over by the Oregon running game … yet when it mattered (and helped by being able to disrespect the pass) put themselves into a position to get the ball back to the offense via a punt and a chance to win … of course Oregon decided to go for it and that blew up spectacularly
5) Peyton Henry’s Redemption
2018 Henry effectively had the same kick to win the game and missed it … it’s rare in sports (particularly in college) where you get to have that redemption moment in the same place against the same team with the same stakes in play. Henry hit that ball like a champ … couldn’t be happier for him
There’s always other plays that you can point to in a game … but for me it’s these 5 plays that really drove and dictated the UW victory. Historically, UW hasn’t made these plays when the bright lights are on. Saturday they did …
Comments
Cook it!
That play will live in Husky legend for a long long time
How many of our missed tackles were hesitant flat-footed lunges? Sometimes when you're getting carved up you need to be more aggressive, decisive, and just go.
There was no hesitation with Cook on that play, he just baited the lane for Nix pre-snap and went full speed into him. If Nix makes a juke stick move and scores, you live with it. Just an all-time step up play when he was on the receiving end of some highlight reel runs all night.
It’s nice to be able to call out all of the areas for improvement while winning at a high level
This was the Costanza Oregon Washington game
Everything was opposite
moments. I’d give Lanning the gameball for some amazingly bad calls in the game.
Redemption