What we learned from Chris Petersen: Comparing air raid offenses, Eason’s improvements and more

Chris Petersen is 5-0 at Washington against Mike Leach’s incarnation of the air raid offense. In those five games, Washington State has lost by an average of 24 points and mustered just 13.8 points per contest. First-year USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell is a noted Leach disciple (and former Texas Tech quarterback), and the Trojans will start either their No. 2 or No. 3 QB in Seattle on Saturday.

So, with all that said, one would think No. 17 Washington will win handily this weekend.

But, Petersen warned on Monday, don’t disregard the details.

“(USC’s air raid) is definitely different than Washington State’s,” said the Huskies’ sixth-year head coach. “You have some of the core concepts that are the same. Certainly (the Trojans) run the ball more than Washington State. But both like to throw it a lot.”

And both throw it exceedingly well. Through four games this season, No. 21 USC (3-1) ranks eighth nationally in completion percentage (75.2%), 17^th in passing offense (324.5 yards per game), 25^th in touchdown passes (9), 25^th in yards per attempt (9.2) and 28^th in pass efficiency rating (165.06). Moreover, the USC offense has operated with three different quarterbacks under center.

The Trojans’ season-opening starter, sophomore JT Daniels, tore his ACL and meniscus in the opener against Fresno State. Three-star freshman Kedon Slovis replaced him and started in three games, completing 77.9% of his passes and throwing for 732 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions, before he was sidelined with a concussion in last weekend’s upset win over Utah.

And thus, the spotlight unexpectedly shifted to redshirt junior Matt Fink, who promptly completed 21 of 30 passes for 351 yards with three touchdowns and an interception against the Utes’ supposedly stout secondary.

Fink or Slovis could both conceivably start against Washington.

But regardless of who starts, the system will be the same.

“I think (the quarterbacks) are similar,” Petersen said. “I think they’ve both done a nice job. They’ve thrown the heck out of the ball. (They’ve got) big-time receivers. Those guys have done a nice job, both those quarterbacks, of giving their receivers a chance to make plays. If you do that, those guys can make plays. This is a really good receiving corps as well.”

Wellington’s risky return

Senior linebacker Brandon Wellington returned a fumble 69 yards for a touchdown in UW’s 45-19 win over BYU.

But should he have?

Considering Cougar right guard Tristen Hoge was lunging for the ball as Wellington scooped it up, the safe decision would have been for Wellington to simply fall on it and secure the turnover. And on Monday, Petersen said that he teaches his players that “generally, if there are a lot of people around you, fall on it. (If there are) not a lot of people, let’s see what you can go with. You’ve always kind of got to make that decision.”

Because of the result, we can say with certainty that Wellington made the right decision.

And, besides, Petersen isn’t exaggerating when he says that rules are meant to be broken.

“I always tell the guys this: We can’t coach you if you don’t do what we tell you to do, and we can’t coach you if you only do what we tell you to do,” he said. “Like, there’s got to be instincts involved, right? So there’s a lot of gray area there where they’ve got to go play, and you’ve got to let them play and trust their instincts.”

Regarding the wildcat (and other wrinkles)

It’s true, redshirt freshman running back Richard Newton fumbled (and eventually recovered) an attempted handoff to Sean McGrew out of the wildcat formation from the Cougar 7-yard line last weekend. That was a rare scenario early this season where the wildcat didn’t pay immediate dividends.

Still, don’t expect Petersen and Co. to abandon the look any time soon.

Why? It’s pretty simple.

“We usually get first downs and yards. Go look at the effectiveness of that formation,” Petersen said. “Part of it is who has got that ball in their hands. Myles (Gaskin) — and again, this is four years running — but Myles was seldom slowed down in that (formation). We just kind of always like it and there’s good stuff off of it and it’s been pretty effective.”

But the wildcat isn’t the only wrinkle offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan and Co. have employed throughout the season’s opening month. The Huskies will also occasionally motion starting right tackle Jared Hilbers to the opposite side, lining him up next to left tackle Trey Adams and creating an uneven advantage on the left side.

“You’ll see that when we’re going fast, when we’re going slow, short yardage, medium yardage,” Petersen said of the Huskies’ O-line shifts. “That’s just part of our package and what we do in terms of … people in the stands don’t know what’s going on there but the coaches and the players have to adjust to those things. If they do, then we have some counter stuff off of it that we’re looking at.

“There’s a lot of chess matches going on with those different formations.”

Evaluating Eason’s improvement

In his first four games as Washington’s starting quarterback, junior Jacob Eason has completed 73.1% of his passes, throwing for 1,063 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.

So, is this the Eason that Petersen expected?

“I don’t really know where I thought he would be,” Petersen said. “I know he’s improving. He’s a lot different now than he was five weeks ago. That’s how it should be. That’s what you really like is a guy that is steadily making progress. He’s been doing that.”

Physically, Eason isn’t visibly different than he was five weeks ago. Same size. Same arm strength. Same accuracy. Same speed (or lack thereof).

But the improvements have come in Eason’s understanding of the offense.

“I just think he’s seeing it. He’s commanding our offense better,” Petersen said. “There’s still areas that we’re tightening up. It’s one thing knowing (the offense) on chalkboards; it’s another when looks are changing, how we’re calling things. We’re always game planning and there is a lot there on a quarterback’s plate.”

Through four games, at least, Eason has been eating.

Extra points

• Petersen watched Washington State’s stunning 67-63 loss to UCLA, in which the Cougars blew a 32-point third-quarter lead. “That’s why I’m scared to death until the game ends, always,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what the score is. I’ve seen it happen. Sometimes it’s rare, but I’ve seen it happen. Teams get a few plays, momentum changes fast, guys get on their heels a little bit. It’s just not over until it’s over.”
• Starting sophomore outside linebacker Joe Tryon was penalized for targeting BYU quarterback Zach Wilson on the first play of the second half, which earned Tryon an ejection as well as a suspension for the first half of Saturday’s game against USC. And, after further review, Petersen’s opinion hadn’t changed. “It’s all about strike zone,” he said. “Don’t leave it in the officials’ hands because you can see what can happen. That’s on us. We’ve got to keep lowering the strike zone.”
• Starting junior running back Salvon Ahmed, who missed the first game of his UW career last weekend with a leg injury, is week to week but “doing really good,” per Petersen. Ahmed has rushed for 246 yards with 5.6 yards per carry and two touchdowns in three games.
• Senior wide receiver Quinten Pounds — who missed the opener with an injury before being suspended for the last three games — is available to play against USC, Petersen confirmed. The 6-foot, 176-pound senior caught eight passes for 166 yards and a touchdown in seven games last season.
• The Oct. 5 road game at Stanford will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN, UW announced on Monday.