While we’ll never know what would have happened, there’s a very good chance No. 6 Washington beats No. 9 Auburn with a healthy Trey Adams. As it stood, the Huskies already came extremely close, clawing back from an early 9-0 hole to take a 16-15 lead in the fourth quarter before falling 21-16.
Without Adams, Washington struggled mightily to run the ball and protect Jake Browning. Auburn sacked Browning five times and accumulated 22 yards’ worth of negative rushing plays, limiting the Huskies to 3.1 yards per carry.
Either way, it appears that What If could hang over Washington’s entire season like a Seattle raincloud, as Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reported Monday the back injury that kept Adams from playing in Atlanta for “significant time” and perhaps the entire season.
In the event Adams does miss all of 2018, Jude reported through a source Adams would consider returning as a fifth-year senior in 2019.
“We’re getting the doctors to look at him and figure it out. It could be (long-term), might not be. I don’t know,” Washington head coach Chris Petersen told the paper. “He practiced his tail off (last) Monday and was rocking and rolling, and then he wasn’t.”
With Adams out, junior Jared Hillbers filled in for Adams and played every snap against Auburn.