For the second-straight week, Washington will play a team without a win in the Big Ten. Wisconsin ended its conference losing streak with its win over the Huskies last week, and now Purdue is in town with a Big Ten record of 0-7. But at home, Washington has been lethal. Outside of the Ohio State loss, where it scored just six points, the Huskies are averaging 47 points and 541 yards of offense per game at home this year. In those games, its average margin of victory has been 28 points.
The challenge for Washington this week will be establishing its run game. It has injuries along the offensive line, and the status of Jonah Coleman is still in question. Saturday’s matchup provides the Huskies with an opportunity to get their running backs going again. It begins with field position.
Washington Hosts Purdue
Winning Field Position
Washington’s average starting field position has not been outside its own 30-yard line since the win at Maryland in early October. Three of the Huskies’ final five drives at Wisconsin began inside their own 10-yard line. “The second half field position was just brutal,” Jedd Fisch said on Thursday regarding the Wisconsin game. “We had to go over 90 yards [on] all five drives that we had in the second half. Which is impossible, really.” Purdue’s defense ranks just inside the top 50 nationally in starting field position forced. On average, opponents have started drives at their own 27-yard line against the Boilermakers this season. The Huskies’ average drive start has been their own 26-yard line on the year.
“You’ve gotta convert and you’ve gotta make plays so you can flip the field,” Fisch said, when asked how his team can win the field position battle. He referenced two plays from last week in particular. One was the failed fourth, and two on the Wisconsin 39-yard line on the first drive of the game that gave the Badgers a short field. Fisch also noted the interception thrown while on the Wisconsin 36-yard line that eliminated a field position flip.
Fisch wasn’t specific on what he’d like to change to win the field position battle. For him, it just comes down to converting. “You’ve gotta be able to flip the field. That’s the best way to handle it.”
Establish The Running Backs
Saturday needs to be the game in which Washington gets its run game back on track, specifically with its running backs. It’s been since the UC Davis game that a Husky running back has surpassed 100 rushing yards in a single game. On Saturday, it will have to happen with a potentially limited or unavailable Coleman. “He’s still all in rehab right now,” Fisch said on Thursday. “We’ll see if he can get some practice reps in [Thursday], get some running [Friday], and make a decision on Saturday.” At this point, it seems as though Coleman will be a game-time decision for the Husky offense.
But Adam Mohammed didn’t miss a beat stepping in for Coleman last week. The sophomore running back averaged 4.5 yards per carry against the Badgers and forced nine missed tackles (career high). “I think he’s running the ball a lot better this time of year than he was early on in the season,” Fisch said of Mohammed. “He’s really doing a great job of breaking tackles… really good in pass protection,” he added.
“If this is [Mohammed’s] week to go out there and start, I think he’s gonna have a fantastic game,” Fisch said. “If it’s Jonah’s week to continue to go start, then I think we’ll have a lot of Adam this week as well, we’ll be able to see what he can do.” Even if Coleman is cleared to play on Saturday, expect to see Mohammed earn the bulk of the carries on Saturday. Purdue’s run defense ranks 15th in the Big Ten. It allows 161 rushing yards per game and 4.2 yards per carry on average.
Purdue’s Run Game
Purdue’s strength on offense lies in its run game. It has rushed for 200-plus yards three times this year (Southern Illinois, Minnesota, Rutgers). The group also averaged six yards per carry on 25 attempts with three rushing scores against Illinois’ defense. The Boilermakers averaged a respectable 4.2 yards per carry against Ohio State last week.
But the Purdue offense is without its leading running back, Devin Mockobee. He suffered an ankle injury at the end of October that ended his season. It also ended his career at Purdue as he is in his final year of eligibility. He had played in 45 consecutive games as a Boilermaker prior to missing the Michigan game. Mockobee had 125 attempts this season. Which, at the time of his injury, was 101 more attempts than the next running back on the roster, Malachi Thomas.
Purdue’s backfield has since turned to Antonio Harris and Thomas, in addition to the running threat of quarterback Ryan Browne. He has the team’s second-most carries this season with 60 thus far. On true rushing attempts, of which Browne has 47, he’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry. The quarterback has scrambled for 196 of his 253 rushing yards with 11 runs of 10-plus. But he’s fumbled five times this season.
Prediction
Purdue hasn’t thrown for more than 300 yards in a single game since October 4th against Illinois. It attempted 50 passes in that game, but its attempts per game have decreased continuously since that outing. Purdue has thrown the ball fewer than 26 times in each of its last three games. And in each of those games, the Boilermakers haven’t exceeded 140 passing yards while averaging fewer than six yards per attempt.
Washington’s success on defense will likely come down to how well it defends the run. Against a run-heavy opponent last week in Wisconsin, the Huskies allowed just 3.3 yards per carry and only three runs of 10-plus yards on 47 attempts.
Conversely, Purdue’s pass defense is the worst in the Big Ten and 132nd nationally in terms of yards per attempt (8.8 yards allowed). The Boilermaker defense allowed 300-plus passing yards in two of its last three games. This sets up well for Washington, as it serves as another path for the offense to diversify its offense.
Washington – 31
Purdue – 17
How To Watch
Date and Time: November 15, 7:00 PM ET
Where: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA
TV: FS1
Main Image: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
