Washington Football: 10 Most important stats of 2017
Washington football (10-2) missed out on the conference title game via a tiebreaker. Here are 10 stats that best define the Huskies’ season.
A year removed from their first trip to the College Football Playoff the Washington Huskies stumbled twice. A loss to Arizona State and another to Stanford were enough to keep them out of the Pac-12 Championship. It turned out that neither Stanford or eventual Pac-12 champion USC would do enough to make it into the final four, leaving the conference with several great, but perhaps a touch short of elite teams.
The numbers confirm that suspicion. In some respects, particularly on defense, the Huskies were dominant. However, an offensive regression proved to be too much for the team to overcome as their once exalted quarterback wasn’t able to produce in the games that mattered the most.
Now Washington is off to the Playstation Fiesta Bowl where they’ll face the Penn State Nittany Lions. Myles Gaskin vs Saquon Barkley and Jake Browning vs Trace McSorley will make for a game with plenty of excitement.
But before that, the regular season must be assessed. It’s impossible to boil one season down into a string of numbers, but a handful of stats do a rather telling job of painting a picture of what the Washington Huskies were. Here are the 10 most important stats for the Huskies in 2017.
One
Games in which the Huskies scored fewer than 22 points
Jake Browning took a step back this season and the effect on the Washington offense was noticeable. The Huskies dropped from 41.8 points per game in 2016 to 36.9 points per game in 2017. Still the Huskies were the No. 18 scoring offense in the nation this season.
When in doubt they were able to depend on the combination of Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin to overpower their opponents. Five different Huskies tallied two or more rushing touchdowns and seven different pass catchers registered at least one touchdown reception. Even during their bad games the offense found ways to manufacture enough touchdowns for their home run hitters to outpace their opponents.
Only once, during a road game against Arizona State, was the offense held to fewer than 22 points. The lull in scoring marked their first defeat of the year, but outside of that one dreadful outing no other team found a way to consistently limited the Huskies’ offense. That firepower, combined with a defense that came on stronger than expected, set Washington up for success more often than not. For the most part, scoring was not the problem.
Two
Losses
The margin for error in the College Football Playoff era is razor thin. Washington lost two games in 2017 and did not earn an invitation to the Pac-12 Championship Game. The USC Trojans, also a two-loss team, would go on to win it and claim the first Pac-12 Title by a team from the Pac-12 South since the conference first formed in 2011.
Washington’s first loss was a stunner on the road to a mediocre Arizona State team. The vaunted offense was kept off the board entirely for the first three quarters, only to have the goose egg pulled off the board by a late Jake Browning touchdown run. Browning went 17 for 30 with 139 yards passing through the air and the rushing attack was limited to 91 yards on 31 carries. For whatever reason that game was just a dud. The massive upset wasn’t enough to save Arizona State head coach Todd Graham’s job.
The Huskies second defeat came at the hands of Stanford, the eventual Pac-12 North representative in the conference championship game. Falling to the Cardinal by a touchdown on the road wasn’t a hideous loss, but it was enough to give the Cardinal the tiebreaker and send them to the title game in lieu of the Huskies.
Three
10 win seasons this century for Washington
Washington fans are a bit restless after missing the Pac-12 Championship Game. That’s indicative of the meteoric trajectory that head coach Chris Petersen has built into his program. Prior to Petersen’s arrival the Huskies had just one 10-win season since 2000. In his first four years at the helm in Seattle he’s doubled that number racking up a 12-win season in 2016 and 10 wins this season pending the Huskies’ bowl appearance.
The job that Petersen has done since arriving in 2014 from Boise is nothing short of incredible. Washington went 0-12 in 2008. Eight years removed from that Petersen had the Huskies in the Pac-12 Championship. A year later a 10-win season is somewhat of a let down.
Petersen’s success is proof that one coach can make all the difference. His 2017 squad lost droves of talent, particularly on defense, to the NFL. However, the Huskies were right in the thick of the Playoff races when the calendar turned to November. That’s the kind of success that nearly every middling program in the country will look to use as a blueprint for building a national title contender. Petersen has proved winning is possible. Even if you’re not that far removed from 0-12.
3.6
Jake Browning’s touchdown to interception ratio
Perhaps the most puzzling and unexpected challenge the Huskies faced was the regression of quarterback Jake Browning. He did a great job of taking care of the football but wasn’t able to find the endzone at anywhere close to the same rate as he did a year ago.
Browning is just one season removed from throwing 43 touchdown passes with nine interceptions. He aired it out 27.9 times per game last season and completed 62.1 percent of his passes. He took to the air 25.7 times per game this season and completed 68.8 percent of his passes.
The higher completion percentage speaks to a more conservative offensive approach. The Huskies completed just eight pass plays of 40 yards or longer this season, 63rd most in the country. That’s down from 14 such plays a year ago. The loss of Chico McClatcher to injuries and John Ross to the NFL left Dante Pettis as the only true game-changer at the wide receiver position, allowing opponents to focus on Pettis and take the deep ball away.
Browning threw 18 touchdown passes and five interceptions. That’s four less picks, but 25 less touchdowns from last year. His touchdown to interception ratio fell from 4.8 to 3.6, a 33.3 percent drop which had significant repercussions on the Huskies’ offense.
7-0
Washington’s record in home games
Washington was dominant at Husky field. They outscored their opponents 305-114 at home and played in more blowouts than close games. Two cupcake games inflate those margins significantly. Washington pummeled Montana 63-7 and followed that up with a 48-16 dismantling of Fresno State the week later. However, even if you remove those two games the home field advantage of the Huskies was staggering.
Their home scheduled was just as easy as their road slate. Washington played one ranked opponent this season, No. 13 Washington State in the Apple Cup. The Huskies ran through the Cougars, winning by a final score of 41-14 to knock their rivals out of the Pac-12 Championship Game.
A 33-30 Week 12 win over Utah marked the only home game they played this season that was decided by fewer than 21 points. They shut down good offenses, holding UCLA to 23 points and Cal to seven points. They overwhelmed mediocre defenses, scoring 40+ against UCLA and Oregon State.
The first step to a successful season is taking care of home games in conference play. Washington finished with a perfect 5-0 record against Pac-12 foes at home.
Nine
Career punt return touchdowns for Dante Pettis
The Washington offense did not have to be as effective as it was a year ago because of the all-purpose heroics of wide receiver Dante Pettis. More than just a pass catcher, Pettis had already carved a name for himself in Washington history, passing Beno Bryant on the all-time punt return list a year ago.
He entered the year with five punt return touchdowns, the most of any player in Washington history and tied him for 16th all-time in NCAA history. It was expected that he’d find a way to get another score of two, but he came one big return shy of doubling his career totals this year.
Pettis had punt return scores in the Huskies’ first three games of the season against Rutgers, Montana and Fresno State. He added the record-breaking score against Oregon on November 4. The Rutgers score was surprisingly significant. The Huskies were actually trailing the Scarlet Knights in their season opener before Pettis snaked through the defense for a 61-yard score to give his team the lead.
The speedster will forever hold a place in Washington history and his record of nine return scores stands a decent chance of staying intact for a long while.
+11
Washington’s turnover margin
The +11 margin was doubly impressive because of the two stats that create that number. The defense took a step back but the offense stepped up in a big way when it came to protecting the football.
There was little chance of Washington matching their incredible turnover rate from a season ago. They nabbed 33 takeovers, the best mark of any team in the nation. Had they been able to replicated it in 2017 it would have led the nation once again. Turnovers are hard to project, but a regression back towards a realistic level was somewhat expected.
The Huskies forced 21 turnovers this year. That gave them the eighth best mark in the conference. The drop in takeaways was significant, but the Huskies managed to avoid a commensurate drop in giveaways to balance it out.
Washington’s offense and special teams turned the ball over just 10 times. There were only eight teams in the nation that were that good at protecting the football and that kept the Huskies on schedule despite getting less help from the defense. Jake Browning threw just five interceptions and Myles Gaskin’s surehandness was a safety blanket that the team was able to ride all season long.
34.2 and 44.5
Percent of third down conversions allowed and converted
One of the biggest reasons for this team’s success was the effectiveness of their defense when it mattered most. Not only were the Huskies able to limit scoring opportunities and big plays, they stood strong on third down.
Washington allowed its opponents to convert on 34.2 percent of their third down conversions, the third best mark among Pac-12 defenses. That became all the more effective when the offense was setting themselves up for success on the other side of the ball.
While Browning might not have had the best statistical season he did a phenomenal job keeping his team on schedule and in manageable third down situations. When he needed to air it out he was more than capable, but manageable down and distances allowed the Washington offense to convert 44.5 percent of their third down attempts.
Those two stats together meant the Huskies excelled at getting their opponent’s offense of the field and getting their offense onto it. More opportunities led to more points and additional chances to take the lead and keep adding to it.
38
Sacks recorded by the Washington defense
The entirety of the Washington front seven was too much for most of their opponents to match. Potential first round draft selection Vita Vea held down the middle of the line and took up multiple blockers freeing the other pass rushers to take their shots at opposing quarterbacks.
Washington finished second in the Pac-12 in sacks. 16 different Huskies registered at least one full sack this season and five different players were responsible for three sacks or more. Linebackers Ryan Bowman, 5.5, and Tevis Bartlett, 4.0, led the way as the defense that fancies themselves as #PurpleReign did just that to nearly every opponent they faced.
Colorado was the only team to not allow a sack to the Huskies while other foes weren’t so lucky. They Washington defense registered eight sacks against Cal and five against Washington State. They did pick up seven combined sacks in games with Montana and Fresno State, but the majority of their takedowns came in important conferences games. This wasn’t fluff, this was the Washington front seven absolutely manhandling everyone that stood in their way.
1,282
Rushing yards by Myles Gaskin
The most consistent member of this team all year was junior running back Myles Gaskin. He toted the rock 208 times for 1,282 rushing yards and an astounding 6.2 yards per carry average. He also made a few big plays through the air catching 18 balls for 228 yards and three more scores.
Gaskin started the season slowly, failing to register more than nine carries in any of the Huskies’ first three games against Rutgers, Montana and Fresno State. After that the real meat of the Washington schedule began and Gaskin kicked off conference play with a gigantic 202 yard, two touchdown day against Colorado on the road.
100-yard days became the norm from Gaskin after that. He topped the century mark in six of Washington’s final nine games and fought to the bitter end for this team on several occasions. In the Huskies’ loss to Stanford Gaskin carried the ball 18 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns. He was the only Washington player to get in the endzone during that game.
Gaskin had a handle of big plays, but it was his consistency that made him the anchor this team needed. He wasn’t boom or bust, he was five yards (or more) every time he touched the football. As Jake Browning struggled to find the endzone it was he who picked up the slack, doubling his total touchdowns from a year ago, 11, with 22 scores this season.