Some thoughts on the game...
- The glass half full version of this game goes as follows: Washington lost by 6 in a de facto road game against a top 10 team. At one point they had a lead in the fourth quarter, and had the ball with a chance to win at the end. And all of this happened despite Washington missing their starting left tackle and tight end. Washington's young receivers repeatedly made plays against an SEC secondary; their defensive line controlled the second half (until the final drive). Washington should come out of this loss feeling encouraged, right? If Washington's goal is to win the Pac 12 and make the Rose Bowl, then I agree with that assessment. However, if you came into the season expecting Washington to make and be competitive in the playoff (which I did), this game had some troubling signs. For one, Washington's offensive line looked completely overwhelmed. Their two running backs had decent numbers, but I thought that had more to do with Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed finding ways to bounce it outside and make guys miss rather than the line consistently opening holes in the middle. Jake Browning was running for his life from the opening snap. I actually give Browning a lot of credit for craftily evading edge rushers when he could, and taking hit after hit after hit when he couldn't. But that's simply not a winning formula against elite teams, especially with a quarterback like Browning who depends so much on rhythm and timing rather than improvisation. Their blocking woes may disappear as soon as Trey Adams returns - he is that good - but who knows how good he'll be coming off knee and back injuries? I also was pretty disappointed by how unprepared Washington's secondary looked at the start of the game. They eventually settled in, but they didn't smother Auburn's receivers the way I expected. It's fair to point out that Jarrett Stidham is a likely first round picky. However when it comes to competing against potential playoff teams, I thought Washington's secondary would need to be their trump card. They looked alright against Auburn, but not like the the kind of elite position group that can warp the flow of games even against teams like Alabama and Ohio State.
- If I were an Auburn fan, I would be pretty disappointed that Auburn needed to eke out a win in the fourth quarter. In the first half Auburn established a clear advantage over Washington's offensive line while Jarrett Stidham sliced up Washington's secondary. After the first quarter I thought we were headed towards a blowout. Instead, Auburn's corners couldn't cover a fade route to save their lives, and their offensive playcalling went into a shell. Auburn's offensive line didn't answer any of the questions they had coming into the season, failing to consistently open holes in the running game. I thought Washington was pretty fortunate that Auburn kept waiting until 3rd and long to throw the ball. If Auburn wants to win the SEC they have quite a bit to clean up.
