Washington football took on UCLA Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. Here are three takeaways from the Huskies’ victory.
The Washington Huskies improved to 5-1 with a closer than expected victory over UCLA Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. The Huskies won 31-24.
Washington looked poised to run away with the game early. Through the first 30 minutes, they led the Bruins 24-7. However UCLA made it interesting in the second half. The Huskies were shut out in the third quarter, but managed a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Washington can breathe some after the close win. They are still sitting atop of the Pac-12 North midway through the season. Here are three takeaways from their win.
3. Washington not dominant
Last week the Huskies dominated BYU, ranked 20th at the time, from start to finish. This week they looked lackluster against a winless UCLA team, especially in the second half.
UCLA controlled most of the third quarter with a 12 play drive ending in a field goal and then a big 17 play 90 yard drive ending in a touchdown to put the Bruins within a touchdown. Washington eventually responded with a long drive of their own that ate up most of the remaining clock and ending in the touchdown.
Unfortunately for Washington, the Bruins would not go away. UCLA pulled within a touchdown again before failing to recover the onside kick. The Huskies defense on that final UCLA drive looked lost.
Washington needed to dominate a bad UCLA team and they failed to do so. While they looked so good last week, they disappeared on offense and defense for a stretch of this game. If the Huskies want to win the Pac-12 and keep their slim playoff hopes alive, they need to start dominating inferior teams.