UW Dawg Pound - Washington Huskies Vs Illinois Fighting Illini Game UpdatesAll I Blogged Was Purplehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/51197/uw-fav.png2014-09-14T10:42:13-07:00http://www.uwdawgpound.com/rss/stream/59089722014-09-14T10:42:13-07:002014-09-14T10:42:13-07:00Shaq Thompson Wins Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="/rss/stream/5908972">Shaq Thompson Wins Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the&nbsp;Week</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>He was also named Athlon's DPOW:
<br /><a href="http://athlonsports.com/college-football/west-virginia-qb-clint-trickett-athlon-sports-national-player-week" target="new">http://athlonsports.com/college-football/west-virginia-qb-clint-trickett-athlon-sports-national-player-week</a>
<br />Two defensive touchdowns are hard to beat.</p></p></div>
https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/14/6148181/shaq-thompson-wins-walter-camp-national-defensive-player-of-the-weekAnthony Cassino2014-09-14T09:15:45-07:002014-09-14T09:15:45-07:00Husky Game Awards - Illinois
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<figcaption>Otto Greule Jr</figcaption>
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<p>Shaq Thompson gets a lot of love, John Ross is electric, where is Kasen Williams?, Hau'oli Kikaha's big game, Sidney Jones leading the secondary's improvement, and tuck it away Cyler Miles.</p> <p><b>Player of the Game: </b><span>Shaq Thompson</span>. His defensive touchdowns on a fumble return and interception made him the first Husky player to do so since 1978, and those two scores went a long way in putting the game out of reach even in the first half.</p>
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<p><b>Play of the Game: </b>The ones where <span>John Ross</span> touched the ball. He had a 54 yard return, a -1 yard catch, a 75 yard TD catch, a 16 yard return (which went to the house but came back on a penalty), and a -7 yard run. And for the third straight week, the coaching staff let him disappear in the 2nd half, getting only 1 of his 5 touches then.</p>
<p><b>Goat of the Game: </b><span>Cyler Miles</span>. Don't get me wrong, he played well, but he can't flop the ball around on scrambles like it's a loaf of bread.</p>
<p><b>Stat of the Game: </b>Zero catches for <span>Kasen Williams</span>, and just one target (on which he drew a pass interference).</p>
<p><b>Who Stepped Up: </b><span>Hau'oli Kikaha</span>. As we've been clamoring for, we saw Kikaha rush the passer more this week and he led the Huskies in tackles with 6 and sacks with 3. He's 7 sacks away from tying Daniel Te'o Nesheim's UW record.</p>
<p><b>The Game Tipped When: </b>With the Huskies up 14-3 and Illinois facing a 3rd and 9, <span>Wes Lunt</span> threw a beautiful pass right to Shaq Thompson which went for 6 the other way. It completely changed the course of the game; before that play it looked like the defense was going to be just like it was against Eastern Washington, and after that play the defense tightened down.</p>
<p><b>It Was Over When: </b><span>Andrew Hudson</span> forced a fumble on a sack, and Shaq Thompson scooped and scored to put the Huskies up 35-5 midway through the 2nd quarter. It was clear at this point that the Huskies had come to play and were finally playing in a manner that reflected the team's talent level.</p>
<p><b>Surprise of the Game:</b> Sidney Jones. The true freshman was making his first career start and acquitted himself pretty well. Most of the big plays in Illinois's passing game came on the opposite side of the field, and Jones also played a role (with <span>Kevin King</span>) in forcing a fumble that Hau'oli Kikaha recovered.</p>
<p><b>WTF Moment of the Game: </b><span>Tim Beckman. With a 35-12 lead and the ball with a little over a minute left in the half, the Huskies looked content to just run out the clock and get in to the locker room. Beckman decided to use his timeouts, and turned the Huskies running out the clock into the Huskies running a two minute drill. Cyler Miles completed passes of 28 and 25 yards to set up a <span>Cameron Van Winkle</span> field goal as the half expired, and Beckman successfully turned 0 points for his opponent into 3.</span></p>
<p>Also the quick kick. Always the quick kick.</p>
https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/14/6147599/husky-game-awards-illinoisAnthony Cassino2014-09-13T16:28:24-07:002014-09-13T16:28:24-07:00Huskies Defeat Illini 44-19: Instant Reactions
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<li><span>The <a href="https://www.uwdawgpound.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Huskies</a> are a lot more banged up this year than they were last year. With Jermaine Kelly out, <span>Ben Riva</span> out, <span>Marcus Peters</span> suspended, and Josh Perkins not 100%, that's a lot of quality talent that they're missing from the field, and it undoubtedly hurts them as those guys are all starters when healthy.</span></li>
<li><span><span>John Ross</span> needs to get the ball more. There's no reason not to get him multiple touches every quarter. He started the game with a 55 yard return, and UW's second drive was a 75 yard TD reception by him. The TD he housed which came back on a block in the back was a thing of beauty. He's easily the most explosive player the offense has at their disposal.</span></li>
<li><span>The defense after the first drive changed when one thing happened: <span>Hau'oli Kikaha</span> started rushing the passer more. These things are not coincidental.</span></li>
<li><span><span>Shaq Thompson</span> is living up to his billing this season (finally). He disappeared a bit in the Hawaii game, played better against EWU, and probably earned Pac-12 DPOW after his play today -- including an INT for a TD and a fumble return for a TD. He's also been delivering some bone crushing hits. He good.</span></li>
<li><span>The quick kick needs to die. They've run it twice and both were touchbacks, and are averaging 17.5 per attempt. There's no upside to doing it, especially when you've got a 4th and manageable as they did in this game (3 yards to go). It's a bad decision from an expected value standpoint, which makes it the wrong decision. The field position gained will almost never be good enough to offset the points lost.</span></li>
<li><span>We saw some more downfield passing from <span>Cyler Miles</span> than we did last week, and he looked capable. He ran the 2 minute offense pretty well, finding open receivers and turning 0 points into 3 (thanks for the timeout, Tim Beckman). Still some issues with his delivery, including a ball that just fluttered and died in the second quarter when <span>Jaydon Mickens</span> was wide open, but get used to it, because we're probably going to be seeing those for the next three years.</span></li>
<li><span>This is more like the Husky team that we expected to see coming into the season. There's just too much talent on the roster to not blow some teams out this year, and though Illinois is on the lower end of the spectrum of teams UW will play talent-wise, they're probably comparable to teams like Colorado and Cal.</span></li>
<li><span>The secondary still cannot defend go routes. The corners don't jam enough and then the safeties don't provide any help over the top, which is a pretty deadly combo. It's something that needs to be addressed (and getting Marcus Peters back out there will help), as there are a few Pac-12 teams (read: Oregon) which will be more than happy to exploit that.</span></li>
<li><span><span>Dante Pettis</span> has some really nice wiggle as a punt returner. It won't be a surprise at all to see him take one to the house at some point this year, but he's got to improve his ball security.</span></li>
<li><span>The Husky 4th quarter run game continues to impress. Now for three straight games the Husky offense has had a lead in the fourth quarter with everybody in the stadium knowing they're going to run the ball, and they've just crammed it down their opponent's throat.</span></li>
<li><span><span>Cameron Van Winkle</span> looks every bit as good as any college kicker you're going to see this year. He's 5/5 on the year, and his 51 yarder today was the longest for UW since <span>Erik Folk</span> hit one from 53 in 2011. We'll see how he does when he has to take a kick that matters, but right now he looks every bit as good as <span>Travis Coons</span> did.</span></li>
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https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/13/6145157/washington-huskies-defeat-illinois-fighting-illini-44-19-instantAnthony Cassino2014-09-13T16:25:52-07:002014-09-13T16:25:52-07:00Huskies Vs Fighting Illini 4Q Recap UW Wins 44-19
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.uwdawgpound.com/">Huskies</a> started the quarter faced with 3rd and 5. They decided to run a reverse-pass with <span>Jaydon Mickens</span>, which was thrown out of bounds. <span>Cameron Van Winkle</span> snuck a field goal through to give UW a 41-19 advantage.</p>
<p>A 20 yard throw by <span>Wes Lunt</span> got the Illini drive off to a nice start, but a third down sack by <span>Hau'oli Kikaha</span> -- his third of the game -- forced Illinois into a 4th and long punt which was returned 14 yards by <span>Dante Pettis</span>.</p>
<p><span>Dwayne Washington</span> took over on UW's next drive, going for consecutive carries of 3, 6, 4, 8 and 6yards before giving way to Lavon Coleman. Coleman picked right up where Washington left off with carries for 9, 3, 2 yards. <span>Cyler Miles</span> went incomplete on 3rd and 6th, and Van Winkle was back for another attempt, which he knocked in from a 51 yards.</p>
<p>A three and out for Illinois gave the ball back to the Huskies, which all but ended the game. <span>Troy Williams</span> got his first career action, as UW took to the ground to run out the clock, but couldn't get a first down and punted back to the Illini.</p>
<p>The second stringers for both teams were out on the field as the game wound down.</p>
https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/13/6145645/washington-huskies-vs-illinois-fighting-illini-fourth-quarter-recapAnthony Cassino2014-09-13T15:48:50-07:002014-09-13T15:48:50-07:00Huskies Vs Fighting Illini 3Q Recap UW Leads 38-19
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<p>The Illini started the half off moving the ball on the ground, and continuing their luck for this game they then put the ball on the ground after a hit by <span>Sidney Jones</span> and Kevin King. Hau'oli Kikaha recovered the fumble.</p>
<p><span>Shaq Thompson</span> got the series at running back. He took a carry off of right tackle, and get taken down by a shoestring tackle that would have gone to the house. The drive ended after a <span>Cyler Miles</span> sack and a couple of <span>Dwayne Washington</span> carries forced a 4th down, an <span>Korey Durkee</span> punted.</p>
<p>Illinois on their next drive threw three incompletions and punted the ball back to Washington. Dante Pettis returned the punt to inside of Illinois territory.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.uwdawgpound.com/">Huskies</a> took over and fed the ball to <span>Lavon Coleman</span> four straight times, until a holding call on <span>Micah Hatchie</span> backed the Huskies up and a Miles fumble on a scramble where he was carrying the ball like a loaf of bread was recovered by Illinois.</p>
<p><span>Wes Lunt</span> took over the next drive, throwing down the field completing passes of 11, 36, and 27 yards and a touchdown. The Illini pulled to 38-19, as the UW secondary began to show the weakness that EWU exploited a week ago.</p>
<p>A 15 yard rush from <span>Jesse Callier</span> was followed by three more from him that were unable to get a first down, and the Dawgs were punting back to the Illini, but the Huskies forced a three and out thanks in part to a nice tackle by Jones. Dante Pettis had another nice return which ended with a fumble that he recovered.</p>
<p>Penalties continued to be a big part of this game, and on a terrible call that the ref was in no position to make <span>Darrell Daniels</span> was called for an illegal block below the waist which put the Dawgs way behind the sticks. On 3rd and 17 however, Miles eluded some defenders on a scramble and picked up 19 to move the Huskies into the red zone. A trick play to <span>John Ross</span> moved the Huskies back out of the red zone with a 6 yard loss. Miles again scrambled for a nice gain to end the quarter.</p>
https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/13/6145471/washington-huskies-vs-illinois-fighting-illini-third-quarter-recap-uwAnthony Cassino2014-09-13T14:46:38-07:002014-09-13T14:46:38-07:00Huskies Vs Fighting Illini 2H Recap UW Leads 38-12
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<p>The second quarter opened up with the Dawgs in the red zone. They ran one play: a toss to <span>Dwayne Washington</span> for 12 yards and a touchdown to go up 28-3. The route certainly appeared to be on.</p>
<p>The Illinois offense tried to get cute with a trick play of their own, but it was no dice and ended up a UW party in the backfield and a 6 yard loss. A false start put Illinois in a deep hole, and after a nice bounce on the Illinois punt, UW was back with the ball in their hands looking to expand upon their lead.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.uwdawgpound.com/">Huskies</a> went in the wrong direction on their first two plays, to set up a 3rd and 17 from their own 1 yard line. A <span>Cyler Miles</span> throw away, and a <span>Korey Durkee</span> fumbled snap gave Illinois a 5 spot with the safety.</p>
<p><span>Shaq Thompson</span> made another appearance in the endzone, also as a defender after <span>Andrew Hudson</span> forced a sack and fumble, which Thompson scooped and scored with to put UW up 35-5.</p>
<p>UW's defense continued to be stout and sent the Illinois offense back to the sideline after a Kikaha sack. <span>Dante Pettis</span> had a nice punt return which was negated by a holding penalty.</p>
<p>The Husky offense started off well with Mile completing passes and moving the sticks early in the drive, but after a couple of penalties which put them into a 2nd and 27 (and negated a big <span>Lavon Coleman</span> run) and then a 3rd and 19 the drive looked done. They converted the 3rd and 19, but it came back on a hold to create a 3rd and 29. Penalty luck evened out though, on a back shoulder fade to <span>Kasen Williams</span> which was incomplete but UW got a first down on a pass interference. The drive ended with a quick kick, the worst thing in UW's playbook so far this year.</p>
<p>Illinois finally got some offense going after a PI call and a 60 yard TD, both at the expense of <span>Travell Dixon</span> to cut the UW lead to 35-12.</p>
<p>UW was content to just run out the clock and end the half, but Illinois coach Tim Beckman called a timeout, and the Huskies decided to put together a two minute drill. Cyler Miles completed a few passes, they got some help from Illinois in the form of penalties. They got to the ball inside the 5, and Cameron Van Winkle knocked in a chip shot to give the Dawgs a 38-12 lead heading into the half.</p>
https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/13/6145319/washington-huskies-vs-illinois-fighting-illini-second-quarter-recapAnthony Cassino2014-09-13T13:54:48-07:002014-09-13T13:54:48-07:00Huskies Vs Fighting Illini 1Q Recap UW Leads 21-3
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<p><span><span>John Ross</span> opened the game with a 55 yard kickoff return to put the Dawgs in business and t</span>he Husky offense started off the game by marching down the field methodically, picking up yards on the ground and through the air as <span>Jesse Callier</span> scored on a 3 yard run. <span>Cyler Miles</span> converted a 3rd and 7 on a crossing route to <span>Jaydon Mickens</span>, and later avoided a sack and turned it into a 9 yard gain in the red zone, which likely turned 3 points into 7. <span>Lavon Coleman</span> converted a 4th and 2 by picking up about two yards and a an inch to keep the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.uwdawgpound.com/">Huskies</a> in business. Cyler Miles was a perfect 4/4 on the drive, but for just 12 yards.</p>
<p><span>The Husky defense was up to their old tricks, allowing the Illini to march down the field primarily through the air but also picking up some chunks and a 4th down on the ground. They did, however, tighten up as the Illini closed in on the goal line and forced Wed Lunt into some incompletions. A field goal was the ulitmate end of the drive, which if you saw last week, you'll take it. 7-3 UW.</span></p>
<p>The next Husky drive was fun. A 1 play, 75 yard TD pass to John Ross.</p>
<p>Illinois started their next drive with a holding penalty, and a couple plays later <span>Shaq Thompson</span> was waltzing into the endzone after a third down interception to give UW a 21-3 lead. It was the first interception on the year for UW's defense.</p>
<p>UW's defense looked like it did a 180, with a three and out on the next drive, which ended on a <span>Hau'oli Kikaha</span> sack.</p>
<p>We saw a trick play on the next UW drive, with <span>Kendyl Taylor</span> throwing a reverse pass to Jaydon Mickens, and the Huskies were poised to score again.</p>
https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/13/6145105/washington-huskies-vs-illinois-fighting-illini-first-quarter-recap-uwAnthony Cassino2014-09-13T12:30:03-07:002014-09-13T12:30:03-07:00Huskies Vs Fighting Illini Gamethread
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<p>The Dawgs play their first major conference opponent of the season and look to continue to be undefeated in moving to 3-0.</p> <p><br>Marcus Peters is suspended for today's game, while Jermaine Kelly will sit out with an injury. An already struggling secondary takes a couple of hits before the game even kicks off.</p>
<p>The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/8/6122931/game-notes-for-uw-vs-illinois" style="font-size: 12px;">game notes courtesy of UW can be found here.</a></p>
<p>Jesse <a target="_blank" href="http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/9/6124489/illinois-position-previews-offense">previewed the Illinois offense</a> as well <a target="_blank" href="http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/10/6129955/illinois-position-previews-defense" style="font-size: 12px;">as their defense.</a></p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/12/6139133/illinois-preview-q-a-with-the-champaign-room">Q&A with The Champaign Room</a>, SB Nation's Illinois site.</p>
<p>Alex and Ryan <a href="http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/12/6139695/dawg-talk-illinois">talked EWU and Illinois</a> in their weekly post.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/12/6139017/the-prediction-washington-vs-illinois" style="font-size: 12px;">Predictions from some of our writers, and you</a> in the comments.</p>
<p>Randall's <a href="http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/13/6143041/how-to-watch-illinois-at-washington-game-preview-game-time-tv">essential gameday preview post is here</a>.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, <a href="http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/11/6134141/week-3-college-football-tv-schedule-and-open-thread">here's the open thread to discuss the other games of the day</a>.</p>
<p>And here are <a href="http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/11/6120453/picking-the-pac-12-week-three-plus-tv-schedule">predictions to accompany the other Pac-12</a> games on today's docket.</p>
https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2014/9/13/6144883/washington-huskies-vs-illinois-fighting-illini-gamethreadAnthony Cassino