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Nobody has converted a short yardage run on Walters' defense, and Fisch's offense is wasting it
Watch what happens when somebody tries to sneak for a yard against this defense. The pile goes backward. On third and short, fourth and short and goal line runs, opponents have converted 0% of the time, the best mark in the country.
Last year this defense kept points off the board but almost never won at the line. It ranked 115th in stuff rate, the share of runs blown up at or behind the line. Now it is 15th. Walters brought back 11 starters and added DeSean Watts from Sacramento State, who had the top run defense grade Pro Football Focus gave anyone in FBS or FCS last season.
That is what makes the offense so maddening. Washington beat Utah State 16-14 with dropped touchdowns and an offensive line that got pushed around, then fell out of the AP poll. Fisch chose not to hire a coordinator after Jimmie Dougherty left and kept the play sheet himself, and with Quaid Carr, Jayden Limar and Christian Moss not being re-evaluated until November, nobody is walking through that door to save him. A defense that gets off the field like this one should not have to sweat out a two point game at home.
Can this defense carry a Big Ten schedule on 16 points a game, or does Fisch need to give up play calling before it costs Washington a real shot at the playoff?
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