(Photo: Clutchpoints)
Saturday Spotlight
(5) Washington Huskies at (10) Oregon State Beavers
Washington: Have they been a nice story this year? Yes, without question. They have been one of the two best teams in the Pac-12 this season and a large part in that success has been the play of Michael Penix Jr. Not only has he been one of the best Quarterbacks in the country, he’s more than likely going to get the invitation to New York City for the Heisman Trophy Presentation. Penix and Wide Receiver, Rome Odunze have formed one of the elite tandems in all of college football. It’s something about a Quarterback having that go to receiver that he trusts to make a play for him when he needs it. Every Quarterback has a safety value or security blanket (whichever you prefer to call it). To be very honest with you all, I haven’t been happy with what I’ve seen from the Washington Huskies as of late. They were able to come back and beat Oregon in a thrilling football game, but since then, they haven’t put on the best display of football. They should’ve lost to Oregon back then and even in Southern California against the USC Trojans, they looked shaky, especially on the defensive side of the ball as they were ripped to shreds. But they survived. Even against the Utah Utes last weekend, I wasn’t impressed. I remember when I broke down the Oregon game months ago, I remember saying their defense had improved this year, but they weren’t elite and you all can see they still have some holes. They can be had at any time and that’s why there is so much pressure on their offense to sustain those long drives. Tonight, they will make a trip to Corvallis for a primetime game.
Oregon State: Do you all remember when Bo Nix transferred from Auburn to Oregon and I said that was the best thing for him? I’m applying that same line to another Quarterback who did the same exact thing and that’s D.J. Uiagaleilei. He was at Clemson and things didn’t pan out at all. I would often say D.J. could get you to the promised land, but not the mountain top and as expected, he was under enormous amounts of pressure after replacing Trevor Lawrence who was very successful in Death Valley. A change of scenery is always a blessing in disguise and D.J. has benefitted from this significantly. I see a more confident Quarterback who looks more comfortable in the system now compared to then. He’s thrown 20 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. This Oregon State team is built tough and they are strong in the trenches on both sides of the football. They’re able to run the ball, get that push up front and on the other side, they can punch you in the mouth until you can no longer recover. People will give every excuse as to why they don’t know much about them and the one I always hear is “they play too late” and each time I hear that, I’ll roll my eyes or give my look because if you’re a fan of the sport, you keep up with as much as you can, so I don’t buy that excuse at all. Head Coach Jonathan Smith has his football team sitting at 8-2 in a conference with all the talk about Colorado and USC. Look where both of those teams are now. Tonight, they will welcome an undefeated Washington Huskies team to town.
Washington X-Factor: Dillon Johnson– Because of the attention that the pass attack commands with Penix and Odunze, I can understand why this guy would fly under the radar. Teams don’t load the box when playing the Huskies and when Dillon is fed the ball consistently, he can make his mark. Look what he did a few weeks ago against the USC Trojans. He rushed for 256 yards, but everyone runs all over the Trojans defense. The Beavers run defense can be inconsistent at times, but for the most part, they can hold up.
Oregon State X-Factor: Silas Bolden– He’s the younger brother of Victor Bolden. Silas is by far the most explosive receiver on the field for this Beavers offense. It’s his ability to run the route, stop on that dime, catch the ball and turn the speed up. He’s also a smaller receiver which helps him maneuver his way up the field. Silas isn’t your typical small receiver that just works the inside. He will take the top off a coverage and D.J. will find him down the field. I see some Tavon Austin in his game.
Final Thoughts: What an atmosphere this should be. Corvallis is one of the toughest places to play and I know that crowd will be an intimidating factor tonight. The Huskies have passed each test in front of them so far and the Beavers have lost only one home game at Reser Stadium in the last three seasons. Something must give tonight. I can’t wait to see Running Back Damien Martinez play tonight for Oregon State. He leads the Pac-12 in rushing yards and is a big part of their offensive scheme. The two keys for Washington tonight will be to bottle up the running game and doing all you can to prevent Martinez from extending drives and draining the clock and the other is finishing tackles. Damien isn’t the only back to make a defense worry. Wrapping up and driving into ball-carriers is essential tonight. Can Oregon State get after Penix? He always has forever and a day to throw the ball and if they can get the push up front, force him to get rid of the ball quicker. Both Quarterbacks are capable of taking games over, but I see this coming down to who can limit the oppositions running attacks more consistently. If Washington wins, they will be playing in the Pac-12 title game. I like the Beavers at home tonight. That home-field advantage will come through for them.
Prediction: Oregon State 33, Washington 28
