Measuring Stick for the Washington Run Defense Against Iowa
· Yahoo Sports
Two years ago, Iowa rushed for 220 yards on the Washington run defense, averaging nearly six yards per carry inside Kinnick Stadium. The Huskies lost 40-16 in what was just the fourth Big Ten game of Jedd Fisch’s tenure in Seattle. The loss demonstrated the physicality and stylistic gap that Washington aimed to close as it transitioned to Big Ten play. Two years later, almost to the day, the Huskies again meet the Hawkeyes in a game Fisch views as a measuring stick to see how his team has grown, specifically as it relates to the run defense.
Visit somethingsdifferent.biz for more information.
Measuring Stick Game Against Iowa
“I’m very curious to see,” Fisch said on Monday of this week, “What does a game look like for us against Iowa?” Fisch recalled the 24-point loss on the road from two years ago: “We couldn’t stop their run game at all. So we’re looking forward to seeing where we are at this point.”
And at this point, Washington’s defense is allowing 3.2 yards per rush and 111.4 rush yards per game through five weeks. Both of those metrics rank eighth in the Big Ten. Back in 2024, Washington’s defense ranked 15th in the Big Ten in both yards per rush and rush yards per game with 4.6 and 161.9, respectively.
Washington Run Defense
Those two metrics don’t necessarily rank within the top echelon of the conference this season. But they do hide an important piece of information in how Ryan Walters has been able to adjust his rush defense in-game. Against Minnesota, the Huskies surrendered just 125 rushing yards and 27 points. But the defensive adjustment from the first half to the second half presented the offense with an opportunity to close in on the game.
Photo courtesy: Griffin Hooper-Imagn ImagesSecond-Half Adjustments
Minnesota rushed the football 16 times in the first half for 5.6 yards per rush. In the second half, the Gophers carried the football 17 times, but for just 2.1 yards per attempt. A similar trend was observed in the USC game. Again, the Huskies gave up a respectable 115 rush yards. In the first half, the Trojans averaged 5.3 yards per carry on 15 rushes. In the second half, that number was cut to just 1.8 yards per rush allowed on 20 attempts. In both games, Washington allowed a first-quarter explosive rush of at least 35 yards. But in the remaining three quarters of each game, it did not surrender another rush of more than 15 yards.
“I thought [the run defense] executed the game plan well,” Walters said on Tuesday. “Everybody doing their job, making some adjustments on the sideline to some of the type of plays we were seeing out of certain formations. And I thought they did a great job of that, being able to adjust without reps on the sideline.”
Walters added, “I thought tackling was better in the second half. We had proper leverage on the ball, proper leverage in taking on blocks. So that’s why I thought we attacked the run game a lot better in the second half.”
Iowa Rushing Rollercoaster
The Hawkeye rushing offense is another tale of two scenarios that can play into Washington’s advantage on Friday night. This year, Iowa is averaging 180 rushing yards per game (5th in the Big Ten) with almost six yards per attempt. Those numbers look good on the surface, but are inflated by the team’s 422 rushing-yard performance against Northern Iowa and its 289 rushing-yard performance against Northern Illinois. Against Power Four competition, the Hawkeye offense has yet to rush for more than 100 yards in a game.
In contests at home against Iowa State and Ohio State, and a road trip to Michigan, Iowa averaged just 2.6 yards per rush and 63.3 rush yards per game. There’s been a significant drop-off in the Hawkeyes’ ability to establish the ground game against Power competition. Kamari Moulton leads the Hawkeye offense in rushing with 311 yards on 50 carries this year with two scores. But four different running backs have at least 19 carries this year in a room with quality depth.
It is, however, running into a defensive front in Washington that’s now shown its ability not just to hold Minnesota and USC to low rushing outputs, but also to adjust in-game to force opponents to become more one-dimensional.
“I hope that this year, year three for us, we’re able to see, ‘Where are we as a measuring stick to Iowa?’,” Fisch concluded on Monday. “And then from there, be able to figure out what more we need to do to become that team in the Big Ten that can get to nine to 12 wins every season.”
Main Image: Griffin Hooper-Imagn Images
More College Football Content:
What Does the Big 10 Playoff Picture Look Like?
Alabama’s Physicality Could Be a Difference Maker