Pre-Snap Preview: Washington vs. UC Davis

Washington will be back under the lights for another “Big Ten After Dark” showcase at 8 pm local time with UC Davis in town. The Aggies are ranked 5th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS Top 25 and bring a physical, lengthy defense to Montlake. Their safety and linebackers were significant contributors to their win last week over Utah Tech. Washington’s receivers will be challenged by the disruptive play of the UC Davis secondary. Under center, the Aggies tout redshirt freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick, whose calm demeanor and dual-threat abilities helped his team overcome a 17-point deficit for the win last week. 

Washington, UC Davis Preview

Quarterback Caden Pinnick

It took Pinnick until the second half to settle into the game last week, prior to finding his rhythm. Utah Tech was able to confuse the Aggie offense with different alignments and coverage adjustments than they were expecting. The Aggies scored on just one of their first nine possessions. The others included two turnovers and a missed field goal. But Pinnick stayed steady, not seeming to force the football or become rattled. Pinnick led the Aggies to 24 unanswered points, earning the comeback win. He threw three second-half touchdowns in what was just his second career start for UC Davis.

“He can make some good throws, he can make some back shoulder throws, he can make a good deep ball throw,” Fisch said about Pinnick on Thursday. “All together this is a very talented kid, [a] talented quarterback that has all the tools to be able to continue to play at a high level.” Pinnick earned FCS National Freshman Player of the Week honors by StatsPerform after his performance.

Unique Play Designs

“I think their coach does a great job of scheme and putting them in a really good position,” Fisch said on Thursday. “They do a lot of cool stuff, they do some stuff in the red zone that is really interesting.” UC Davis showed a little bit of that last week against Utah Tech, and it was on a play that turned out to be the game-winning score.

For the majority of the game, UC Davis utilized short passing concepts. Leading receiver Stacy Dobbins hauled in five of his six receptions on throws of nine yards or less. Of Pinnick’s 21 completions, 16 of them were thrown nine air yards or fewer. This had the defense anticipating short passing plays for much of the game, setting up a passing opportunity late in the contest. UC Davis drew up a sluggo seam that worked to perfection. “I saw a really good double move the other day [while] watching them play,” Fisch said on Thursday, likely referencing this passing concept. “I think they’ve got a lot of tools to score some points.”

In this play design, the receiver sells a slant route for three steps before planting the inside foot to cut upfield on a seam route. This works when the defense is expecting a short route concept and cheats down in anticipation. In the fourth quarter, receiver Samuel Gbatu Jr. began a slant route, drawing the secondary in. That’s when Gbatu cut upfield on a seam route, coming wide open behind the baited defense. Pinnick hit Gbatu for a 60-yard touchdown reception on this play in the fourth quarter to ultimately seal the game. In addition to containing the quarterback on the ground, the Husky secondary can’t overanticipate in this matchup. 

Physicality in the Secondary

On the other side of the ball, Washington’s offense will be up against one of the most versatile defenders it has seen thus far. Safety Rex Connors earned Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors last week against Utah Tech. He tallied 15 total tackles and a pass breakup in the contest. Six of his tackles were classified as ‘stops’ according to Pro Football Focus, which are tackles that result in a ‘failure’ for the offense. “He’s exceptionally physical,” Fisch said on Thursday. “This guy makes plays all over the field, really, really impressive kid. Reminds me of watching Alex McLaughlin play when he was at NAU.” 

The UC Davis defense is going to test the Washington receivers from a physical perspective on Saturday as well. “Defensively, they do a really, really nice job of disrupting the receivers in space,” Fisch said. “They like to jam the receivers, they’re really physical.” Cornerback Ty Richardson allowed just two receptions for 24 yards a week ago. Drew Cofield notched an interception and a pass breakup on 10 targets at corner. Cofield had the highest coverage grade on the team against Utah Tech.

At linebacker, Nate Rutchena stands at 6’-4” and 240 pounds in the middle of the defense. He made plays at every level of the field last week, including a forced fumble, a tackle for loss, and an interception. Sam Goligoski is another linebacker with exceptional length at 6’-3”. He produced a team-high three quarterback pressures last week on seven pass rush attempts. These two take up a lot of space and will challenge Williams by taking away passing lanes and picking up tight ends in coverage. 

Predicting Washington UC Davis

Pinnick is a two-phase quarterback who stood up to adversity last week as a redshirt freshman. The Utah Tech defense made things difficult for him, but failed to really get him rattled. Walters’ defense has the challenge of trying to get to Pinnick early. But the versatility of his group, combined with the matchup advantages Washington has on the back end can help it do so.

UC Davis’ starting receivers all stand at or below 5′-10” in height, lending an advantage to the Huskies in coverage. Walters’ five-man defensive fronts create one-on-one matchups against an experienced Aggies offensive line. It also opens up lanes for the linebackers and safeties to make plays on the football. Last week, McLaughlin and Makell Esteen led the team in tackles. That’s not by coincidence. Walters designs his defense to play to the strengths of the secondary – whether that be in man coverage responsibilities by the cornerbacks, or in run defense with the safeties. This Husky defense has the personnel to make things difficult on Pinnick.

Washington – 35

UC Davis – 13