Running back Dillon Johnson, who had a nagging ailment early in the season, became a focal piece of the Washington Huskies attack in key games.
In the biggest games, Washington’s running back has performed at his peak.
In Washington’s five games against ranked opponents, the second-team All-Pac-12 running back averaged almost 23 carries per game. Against the Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl, he will be expected to repeat that performance.
The Longhorns, who are led by defensive tackles T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II, possess maybe the best defensive tackle duo in the nation, making defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s front a formidable opponent for the Huskies this season.
Texas has one of the greatest run defenses in the nation, allowing 80.8 yards per game, which is third in the nation behind only Penn State and UCLA, in large part because of those defensive lineman.
Playing five games against teams ranked inside the top 20, including Arizona, Utah, Oregon State, and Oregon twice, Washington has had its fair amount of exposure to top-ranked rushing defenses.
Johnson averaged 107.2 yards over those five games and has gotten a lot of support from his offensive line, which was honored with the Joe Moore Award that is given out each year to the best offensive front in the country.
“They’ve got a really good team, a really good defense and they play together,” Johnson said of Texas’ defense. “They’re more experienced [than the 2022 Alamo Bowl] but this year we’re a lot better, especially in the run game and we’re ready to ball out.”
Washington’s offensive line has improved as run blockers throughout the year and has been as physical as any group in the country this season. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb found a way to limit the damage Sweat and Murphy caused in the Alamo Bowl and will be looking to do it again, with much higher stakes.
“We did a really good job on working on our double- teams,” Grubb said of Sweat. “We have really good clips of [center] Corey Luciano getting into double-teams on him. We had good clamps on him, not a lot of daylight. That’ll be the key, is getting two bodies on him.”
Johnson, who has shown to be just as physical as his offensive line all season, will have another opportunity to have a big game with a trip to the national championship on the line.
