A few thoughts on Oregon-Washington

Marcus Mariota had all day to throw all game long. Those conditions won't be repeated against Alabama or Stanford, much less the NFL. With that caveat in place, I was really impressed by his accuracy all day long. In fact, it might be the best game long display of accuracy I've seen by any QB ever. Both deep and intermediate, his passes were consistently on a dime, and that turned potential incompletions into long first downs and big plays into even bigger plays for TDs. I do think he needs a cushy landing spot in the NFL, but like Kaepernick, he's got an elite combination of speed, zip, and accuracy. In fact, I think his combination of those traits exceeds even Papaki, though Mariota does have a weight deficit in the comparison, which will probably impact his usage at the next level.

I lost count of how many blown coverages UW had. Then again, Mariota is a handful on a typical day, and today he was pretty much perfect.

I just don't understand how UW can look so fast and tackle so well on defense, but look so slow and so bad at tackling on special teams.

Oregon was perfect in the redzone. Every red zone trip resulted in a touchdown. Even their one field goal was on a drive that didn't breach the 20. The Huskies have a very good defense, but it's not a disruptive defense like Stanford. It's a bend but don't break type defense a bit like the Seahawks defense in 2012. And today, that defense broke, and broke, and broke, and broke. Most of that is on Mariota for being outstanding, part of that is on blown coverages, part of that is on a questionable officiating decision on the first score of the game, and part of that is on a complete inability to get off the field on 3rd and 4th downs.

The Sankey fumble was the game's turning point. After that fumble, Oregon's offense scored on all but two possesions, and those two possesions were both "kneel down" type situations at the ends of each half. Five touchdowns and a FG in six drives if you exclude those kneel down situations from then on.

Crazy as it sounds, I think UW actually played well, but they had a few tough breaks go against them, Oregon didn't, and Mariota was playing his absolute best. Oregon was the better team going in, and they played the better game on top of that. I do think the score perfectly represents the performances, though I do think that UW got a bit unlucky in the red zone. So many 3rd/4th and goals turned into TDs for Oregon. Even for Oregon, against a very good defense, that's not a sustainable figure. Not saying Oregon didn't earn it, they did, but UW has to bat .500 in those situations, even against a top offense. ESPECIALLY when they force so many 3rd and goals. Their performance on 3rd/4th and goal in this game must have set a school record for ineptitude.

As a Huskies fan, I don't mind losing this game, but I am disappointed it wasn't closer at the end. I do think if both teams play a "typical" game, it's closer than this. Hell, UW played very poorly against Oregon a couple years ago and the final score was closer than this. I was also a little disappointed to see the "quit" in the team at the end. Understandable as it may be, I want to see a team fight. When Shelton got that personal foul at the end, I wasn't even complaining, because at least Shelton showed some emotion out there in the final minutes.

I hope Oregon finally wins a championship. Quite frankly, I'd feel terrible for Ducks fans if they had a team this good this long without getting a natty.

Best (most accurate) game Mariota's played all season, by a long shot.

Huskies need to upgrade there o'line and d'line, imo. Huskies D kind of reminded me of last years Seahawks. Really good, flying to the ball, hitting hard, but no pass rush which really hurt them. I'm surprised Wilcox didn't try to blitz a little bit more. I don't know if it would have worked or not, but had to do something to get Mariota out of his comfort zone.

I hope oregon wins nothing. Sick of that school.

Edit: Looks there was a misprint.

Edited to be nice to my fellow Seahawk fan.

Redacted.

Ditto

JSeahawks":1cib808q said:

Best (most accurate) game Mariota's played all season, by a long shot.

Huskies need to upgrade there o'line and d'line, imo. Huskies D kind of reminded me of last years Seahawks. Really good, flying to the ball, hitting hard, but no pass rush which really hurt them. I'm surprised Wilcox didn't try to blitz a little bit more. I don't know if it would have worked or not, but had to do something to get Mariota out of his comfort zone.

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77% completion rate to KP's 59%

Felt like Keith was holding on to the ball too long and he had some guys open he waited too long on. Although I have a really bad angle from the goal line on the east end zone.

With the possible exception of running back (note the "possible", Duck fans), Oregon has better players than Washington at every position on the field. Until Washington starts winning some recruiting battles that's not going to change and the Ducks will continue to dominate the Huskies on the field.

Dipped in and out. Who was the big Oregon d-lineman (I think he wore #92?) who consistently created pressure up the middle? And is he draft eligible?

SeatownJay":cbb103zj said:

With the possible exception of running back (note the "possible", Duck fans), Oregon has better players than Washington at every position on the field. Until Washington starts winning some recruiting battles that's not going to change and the Ducks will continue to dominate the Huskies on the field.

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Until we play some defense and maybe get a kenny wheaton play of our own. Ducks are elite though, no question.

Hope they stumble soon.

Tech Worlds":3gqq65ry said:

Well its not there now so I guess your post needs editing.

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Your turn.

From a (bummed) Husky fan, Mariota is legit. He couldn't not his receivers perfectly in stride.

One thing though, Stanford looks like a hot mess today, so maybe those conditions will be repeated.

theENGLISHseahawk":1vatbffm said:

Dipped in and out. Who was the big Oregon d-lineman (I think he wore #92?) who consistently created pressure up the middle? And is he draft eligible?

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I think you're referring to Wade Keliikipi, 6'3 300lbs, and he's a SR.

JSeahawks":5hxd0anu said:

Best (most accurate) game Mariota's played all season, by a long shot.

Huskies need to upgrade there o'line and d'line, imo. Huskies D kind of reminded me of last years Seahawks. Really good, flying to the ball, hitting hard, but no pass rush which really hurt them. I'm surprised Wilcox didn't try to blitz a little bit more. I don't know if it would have worked or not, but had to do something to get Mariota out of his comfort zone.

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Part of the reason they went hurry up was the oline just isn't that great.

I think going in without the rivalry hype most knew Oregon had a better overall team. Saying that...... I think the Huskies gave them all they wanted the first half, the turnovers and getting behind took it's toll emotionally I think. Give Oregon credit for going to a hostile conference stadium and coming out with a win. I will say the Huskies did not really embarrass themselves as much as ran out of bulletts in the gun. The Dawgs have come a long way and hopefully will just continue to improve as a overall team.

One note from the Oregon perspective, I think we saw the difference between Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich today. Chip was much more stubborn with the run game and would force the run to try and set up the pass. Helfrich seems much more comfortable airing the ball out and setting up the run by using the pass.

Here's a thought, FIRE SARK. Most overrated HC in UW history

theENGLISHseahawk":2nevgjo6 said:

Dipped in and out. Who was the big Oregon d-lineman (I think he wore #92?) who consistently created pressure up the middle? And is he draft eligible?

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The Dexter Charles defensive lineman of the week.