When a team faces one of the best teams in the nation, changes are typically made to the game plan with hopes to exploit the opposition's weaknesses. For the Washington Huskies and head coach Steve Sarkisian, the obvious solution would be to change up the play calling on offense to keep Andrew Luck and Stanford's offense off the field.
Many teams have tried this in 2011 and they have all failed, seeing as the Cardinal are yet to lose a game this season. Will Washington try a similar method on Saturday as they head to Palo Alto? Coach Sarkisian is not so sure at this point, as he explained during his radio show earlier this week:
Sarkisian said he hasn't necessarily decided to try to slow it down to keep Luck off the field. "The first goal is we need to score against these guys,'' he said, noting UW has scored just 14 points (and only one offensive touchdown) against Stanford the last two years. He said "then it becomes what's the best chance to win as well as score.'' He said if the best way to score and win is to play at a fast pace then that may be what the Huskies would decide to do.
As is the case with every game, Washington needs to get out to a fast start and avoid any early deficits that could limit their play calling the rest of the game. With Stanford's ability to score points in a hurry, it seems foolish to try to limit their time of possession.
The Huskies should play their style of football and adjust as the game goes along; any major changes to a team's philosophies for a single game typically do not work well and that will likely be the case this Saturday. For UW, do what has brought them so much success throughout the season.
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