Know Your Opponent: UCLA Football vs. Washington Huskies 2017

Petersen has a type. Going back to his Boise State days when you think of Petersen QBs you typically think of guys that don’t have prototypical arms or huge size but are incredibly intelligent and they protect the football. That’s exactly what he has in QB Jake Browning. His 73 career touchdown passes and 22 interceptions are absolutely ridiculous. This year alone he’s tossed 14 scores to only three picks.

Many assumed that with the loss of speedster John Ross, who was selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, that Browning would have a difficult time moving the ball through the air and might take a step back. Well when you have a guy like Dante Pettis out wide you can pretty much throw the ball when you want to. Oh and Pettis won’t just make cornerbacks look silly, he’ll make whole coverage units look bad. Watching him battle with UCLA Football punter Stefan Flintoft will be a fun one.

There’s a steep drop off from Pettis’ number of catches and the next leading receiver. There’s also a position change. Hunter Bryant, a freshman tight end has 21 catches on the season at 15 yards a clip and one score. Will Dissly rounds out the top three receiving options but with him also being a tight end it’s clear this team will look to Pettis for catches outside.

Usually only having one major threat at receiver would kill an offense with opposing defenses able to load the box and double him forcing someone else to win. Luckily for Washington they have a ground game that tends to occupy defenders. Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman are lightning and thunder in the Pacific Northwest. Gaskin has the wiggle to get outside and the speed to go the distance while Coleman will come in and pound defenders into submission.

Of course none of this gets done without a very good offensive line and two weeks ago that’s exactly what it was. However against ASU the Huskies didn’t just lose a game they lost a couple of big names including their big left tackle. Trey Adams is a mountain of a man and a veteran protector on Browning’s blindside. It will be interesting to see if the Bruins try to bring more pressure on the backside to try and overwhelm Adams’ replacement whether it be senior Andrew Kirkland or Rs. Fr. Luke Wattenberg. You can bet you’ll see a tight end over on the left on passing downs to help out in pass protection.

Another mini game to keep an eye on is right guard Nick Harris. A smaller guard at six-foot-one and under 295 pounds, Harris wins with tenacity, leverage and technique. He can however struggle with power and against ASU he lost snaps to Tashon Smallwood and Jojo Wicker. The Huskies will pull Harris often as a lead blocker and he does it well. Think “supersized fullback”.

This offense incorporates a number of RPO concepts despite Browning being no threat to run. In that sense it’s very familiar to the UCLA Football offense. Rosen doesn’t keep the ball often but uses the bubble screen as an extension of him tucking the ball when the DE crashes down. They can however attack defenses with traditional power runs and intermediate strikes through the air that don’t overtax Browning’s arm. Play-action are a staple of this offense so eye discipline will be key to avoid giving up huge plays.