The Washington Huskies are going into their first matchup with the Washington State Cougars since the school left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. The Cougars should be playing inspired football as they look to make the Huskies pay for leaving them in the now-struggling conference.
The Cougars have started 2-0 this season, largely due to the play of quarterback John Mateer, who brings a dual-threat skillset that the team has yet to face this season. It will be a new challenge for defensive coordinator Steve Belichick as he looks to keep the opponent out of the end zone for the third straight game.
Belichick may take a page out of his father Bill Belichick’s playbook and load the field with athletic players who can keep Mateer contained. During his time in the NFL, the elder Belichick utilized safeties in the box to limit the running ability of the dynamic quarterbacks littered throughout the league.
Former New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung was an excellent example of this, during his second stint with the team, Belichick utilized his athleticism and size to roam in the box rather than play a traditional backend “safety” alignment.
This season, Steve Belichick has already rotated Cameron Broussard and Kamren Fabiculanan down into the box when they are comfortable dropping linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala down to an edge alignment. Fabiculanan and Broussard offer faster and more rangy options against the run in the middle of the defense.
When facing a quarterback like Mateer, who has thrived on scrambling when the play breaks down, using a player like Fabiculanan as a spy could limit the damage he can cause.
Fabiculanan struggled at times to be decisive when reading the play from the linebacker spot but started to get into a groove toward the end of the game against Eastern Michigan. His aggressiveness makes him a prime candidate to be assigned to Mateer.
Texas Tech had a front-row seat to the havoc that Mateer can cause for a defense as he rushed for 197 yards on their defense. The Huskies will need to make Mateer beat them through the air, or else it could be a challenge for the Huskies’ offense to keep pace.