DawgmanRadio: Huskies lose to themselves and Rutgers at the same time

Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano is a smart man, and when he sees an opponent that can't get out of their own way, he's not going to do anything to change that. If anything he's going to play ball control offense, bend-but-don't-break defense, and rock-solid special teams. It's what he's known for.

But most importantly if you're a Rutgers fan, he didn't outthink himself. He got out of the way when it became clear that the Washington Huskies were hurting themselves more than their opponent, and that was all Rutgers needed to escape with a 21-18 hard-fought win Friday night in Piscataway, New Jersey.

While Kim Grinolds was trying to figure out how to get back to his Newark hotel in the dead of night, the other guys from Dawgman.com - Scott Eklund and Chris Fetters - tried to make sense out of all the nonsense exhibited by the Huskies on the night, one where they outgained their hosts by over 220 yards and still lost.

To start the post-game podcast, the guys relay Kim's thoughts when setting the scene for the night, including whether or not the rain or wind would pr ove to be factors in the game (hint: they wouldn't). And then they jump right into the things that immediately jumped out at them, which was mostly negatives.

And it's a shame too, because Washington did so much on offense that could have set them up for success, but could only punch it in for six once in four chances. But it was mostly penalties in all three phases that absolutely killed UW's momentum. They talk about those, including the one on the first drive of the game that stalled out a promising drive.

After a quick break the guys come back and give the defense their flowers. Of Rutgers' 10 offensive drives, over half of them were three-and-outs. And all three of Rutgers' touchdowns were on drives that lasted over 75 yards. They made the Scarlet Knights earn every inch of grass Friday night.

But between the statistical discrepancies and the missed kicks by Grady Gross, including a failed golf analogy by Chris when Scott asked him if he was surprised UW ended the game on the left hash, knowing he had missed two kicks to the left earlier in the night.

And they certainly had things to say with regards to Vincent Holmes and his celebration that turned into an illegal substitution penalty. Rutgers scored on the very next play.

And with their final thoughts, they ask the question: is this what Washington just happened to do on the night, or is this who they've become? Are they a team that can be relied on defensively but can't get out of their own way on offense and special teams? Are they a team that will simply have a number of boneheaded penalties in any one game, and those penalties could end up spelling the difference between winning and losing?

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