Washington Football: 3 takeaways from 2019 Apple Cup victory

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – NOVEMBER 29: Anthony Gordon #18 of the Washington State Cougars throws the ball while being hit by Joe Tryon #9 of the Washington Huskies in the first quarter during their game at Husky Stadium on November 29, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

3. Washington took advantage of strengths

There’s a reason the Washington State Cougars run the Air Raid offense. There’s a reason when Alex Grinch was defensive coordinator in Pullman he preached turnovers. The Cougars don’t get five-star recruits to Pullman.

Usually Washington State gets the recruits Washington, USC and the other schools in the Pac-12 don’t want. They get the other guys. The Cougars have to develop and out scheme their opponents in order to have success. On Friday afternoon, Washington State had no such luck with the Huskies.

Washington did an outstanding job of taking advantage of their advantages. They were superior up front on both sides of the ball and it showed. The Huskies had five sacks and chased Cougars quarterback Anthony Gordon all around the field this afternoon. Huskies quarterback Jacob Eason, on the other hand, had plenty of time to throw the ball.

The Huskies’ athletic advantage was evident in the secondary. The Air Raid offense is built around the idea of masterful route running and yards after the catch. Washington didn’t allow any receivers to get behind them, and they tackled well.

One reason Gordon was pressured with three linemen was the secondary disrupted the timing of the Cougars receivers all game long. They kept everything in front of them, and tackled on third-and-distance all game long.

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