Washington Football: 3 takeaways from road win over Oregon State in Week 11
By Zach Bigalke
1. Salvon Ahmed saved the day for Washington
The biggest catalyst for Washington’s success on Friday night was their star running back, Salvon Ahmed. Taking over as the feature back from Myles Gaskin this season, Ahmed has been a hit-or-miss runner this year for Washington. Through his first eight games, the running back notched 712 yards and seven touchdown carries as he eclipsed the 100-yard mark only three times.
That makes his performance on Friday night all the more impressive. Ahmed ran for a career-high 174 yards in the big victory over the Beavers, gashing the Oregon State defense for an average of nearly seven yards per carry. He didn’t get involved in the passing game out of the backfield, but he didn’t need to do so to contribute the bulk of Washington’s points.
The junior tailback singlehandedly outscored the Beavers, ripping off a six-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter and then icing the contest in the third quarter with a 60-yard burst that re-extended Washington’s lead to 12 points.
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If Washington is to win their final two games of the regular season against Colorado and Washington State, they need Ahmed to continue peeling off big runs. With Eason offering only so much potential to the passing game, it is incumbent on Ahmed to carry the Huskies as far as they are going to go on offense this season.