Don't Drink the Alabama Kool-Aid, Washington Might Have a Chance to Upset The Tide

The Huskies defense looked dominant against Colorado, and that's the kind of performance they need to produce in order to upset the Crimson Tide. Let me preface everything I'm about to write with the fact that I am picking Alabama in this game. I just can't pick against Alabama. They're the best college football team in the nation, and I don't think it's very close. They have the most dominant front 7 that Nick Saban has ever coached, and NFL talent all over the roster. Their Quarterback though, his name is Jalen Hurts and he's been playing at a pretty high level. But... He's a true freshman. Yes, that's right. Alabama's starting Quarterback is barely a legal adult at 18 years of age, and Washington has to capitalize on that in order to have a chance at winning this game.

The key for Washington against Alabama is going to be their secondary. The Huskies must force The Tide to lean heavily on the ground game. Jalen Hurts is an underwhelming passer, and the Huskies will need to force mistakes and turnovers. The Tide doesn't exactly have the weapons on the perimeter to make UW pay either. Calvin Ridley is their best weapon on the outside, but with Hurts' limitations as a passer and Kevin King likely to shadow him all game, I'm not expecting much of an impact.

Washington's secondary matches up favorably to Alabama's receiving options. Calvin Ridley is a game changer, but he's not exactly a burner. Ardarius Stewart is the real vertical element to Alabama's passing game, but with a more than capable safety over the top in Buddha Baker Washington should have no worries. Kevin King and Sidney Jones are shutdown corners and they need to help buy time for the pass rush to apply pressure to Jalen Hurts. Even if the Huskies can get to Hurts, he can still get out of the pocket and hurt them on the ground. This is why with Hurts being a shaky pocket passer to begin with, they need to contain him and force Hurts to make plays from the pocket.

Even if the Huskies can keep the Tide out of the air, the read option can hurt them if Alabama wins up front (they have a pretty good chance). Alabama has more than capable running backs to establish the run, and they have some hogs on their offensive line. If Alabama comes out of the gate and wins in the trenches against Washington, Jalen Hurts can REALLY hurt them with his legs:

I'm fairly skeptical that Washington will give the Tide problems up front though, as their pass rush looked terrible against USC whose offensive line compares favorably to the Tides. Washington MUST stay disciplined in their assignments and set the edge well. One slip up could lead to a long run from Hurts or Damien Harris.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Huskies are going to have to protect Jake Browning like their lives depend on it. If they let Browning look like he did against USC's pass rush the game is as good as over. And here's the problem; Alabama's defensive line is MUCH better than USC's. Whether it's Jonathan Allen or Tim Williams, the Huskies have to chip those guys with running backs or bring in an extra tight end to block, and even that might not help:

If Washington can hold up in pass protection, they have the weapons to make the Tide pay in the passing game. The obvious weak link to Alabama's defense is their secondary. They had hard times defending against the vertical passing game (LSU), and who do the Huskies have? CFB's premier deep threat in John Ross, as well as speedster Chico McClatcher:

That's against Adoree Jackson one of the best corners in the nation, and the Tide doesn't have an Adoree Jackson. Washington can exploit Alabama through the air, but they'll have to keep Browning off the ground to do so.

Washington's offensive line has been playing very well (minus the USC game) and for the most part has given Jake Browning a clean pocket to work with. This might not be the case against Alabama's monstrous pass rush. Washington has to commit to running the ball, as well as do it successfully to give Browning a chance to exploit the Alabama secondary. The Huskies have looked powerful in the run game at times this season, and this needs to continue to be the trend against Alabama. I don't think they'll be able to win at the line against Alabama's front 7. But hey, anything can happen and the Huskies will NEED to make it happen to have a shot at the upset.

Lets be honest. The chances the Huskies win are pretty slim. I don't think they'll be able to overcome their problems against Alabama and it'll hurt them. But, Alabama's offense is headed by someone who's as old as I am. Washington needs to force turnovers and win in the trenches in order to create as many possessions for their offense as possible. The Huskies might not have a good chance but don't drink the Kool-Aid, the dawgs still have a sliver of hope to pull off the upset.