2. The defense also struggled against Salvon Ahmed
After losing four-year starter Myles Gaskin from the backfield this offseason, it became Salvon Ahmed’s opportunity to shine at running back for Washington. Through the first seven games of the season for the Huskies, Ahmed posted a solid if unspectacular 522 yards and six touchdowns.
While he topped the 100-yard mark three times, and posted three rushing touchdowns against Arizona, his performance has largely been hit or miss for the Huskies. In the rivalry showdown against the Ducks, though, Ahmed posted one of his best games of the season.
Entering the contest, Oregon was giving up only 107.5 yards per game on the ground. Ahmed passed that mark before the fourth quarter even started. At the final whistle, Ahmed boasted a total of 140 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He added four catches out of the backfield, though he struggled to serve as much more than a safety valve for Eason.
This is the kind of performance that Chris Petersen and offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan were hoping for when Ahmed took over as the feature back for the Huskies. While the tailback ultimately couldn’t put Washington over the top, his hard running exposed weaknesses in the Oregon defense that will need to be ironed out if the Ducks hope to remain in College Football Playoff contention.