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Washington continues red zone woes and kicking struggles on first drive vs. Iowa

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Washington has looked like one of the best offenses in the country at times this season. Unfortunately, issues in the red zone and kicking struggles have hampered the production, and that’s the case once again in the first drive vs. Iowa.

After getting backed up to their own 12-yard line to open the game, the Husky offense would rattle off a drive that covered 14 plays and 73 yards while taking 7 and a half minutes off the clock. The problem? Washington reached Iowa’s 13-yard line and immediately stalled.

Facing 2-and-8, the Huskies were flagged for a false start before a disastrous play on 2nd-and-13 led to a short 1-yard pass pickup to Jonah Coleman. The 3rd-and-long play was also blown up by a pass rush with Will Rogers escaping only to throw the ball away.

Instead of a game-opening touchdown, the Huskies called on kicker Grady Gross while facing 4th-and-long. Unfortunately, his struggles cropped up yet again as Gross’s low line drive kick from short range was easily blocked by the Hawkeyes.

Instead of a 7-0 or 3-0 lead, Washington came up empty on a drive that saw Rogers going 6-for-8 and Jonah Coleman averaging 6.7 yards per carry. To make matters worse, Iowa ran right back down the field and punched in a touchdown to make it 7-0.

If the Huskies are going to get the win on the road, they’ll need to find a way to deliver when they get close to the goal line.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.