Washington Huskies: Winning in the Red Zone

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

When it comes to the Red Zone defense, the University of Washington Huskies Football team is one of the PAC-10's and nation's best.

The red-zone defense success continued a season long trend that has seen the Huskies get incredibly tough and physical the closer opponents get to the end zone.

It all seems to give Washington the appearance of a "bend but don't break" defense, but the Husky coaches are resisting that label.

Sarkisian has stated that passing teams can have more difficulty scoring in the red zone. "I think it's a big deal because the concern of the deep ball isn't there," he said. "You’re able to sit on routes and route recognition."

The Huskies have allowed opponents 30 drives inside the red zone this year—tied for the fourth-most in the nation—but have given up just 11 touchdowns. Opponents have attempted 14 field goals, making them all. The ratio of touchdowns per score inside the red zone (11-of-25, 44 percent) is tied for sixth-stingiest in the nation.

Washington has forced 14 three-and-outs this year, 11 in the first three games of the season. They've been solid in stopping teams on third down, but what has killed them is the 15-yard-plus pass plays—especially in three of their last four games. Against Idaho, Notre Dame, and Arizona, Washington has given up 29 pass plays of 15 yards or more.

The Washington Huskies have a season-high plus-three turnover ratio margin and have scored defensive touchdowns in each of the past three games.

The visitors have spent a lot of time in Washington's red zone—30 times so far in six games. Only 2-4 UTEP (34), 3-3 Toledo (33), 0-6 Rice (32), and 0-6 New Mexico (30) have been tested as many times as the Huskies inside their own 20 this year in the FBS. And those 30 drives are out of a total of 67 drives against Washington the entire season.

"I think it comes down to execution," head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "In the red zone, the players are really locked into the calls we're making. For us, it's something to grow on. We need to transition that out to the middle of the field now."

Defensive tackle Cameron Elisara agreed that, "when we get in the red zone, I notice we have more energy."

When the University of Washington Huskies plays football on Saturday's, they bring their "Red Zone" defense and "Expect to Win" mantra.

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