Pop “Quizz” In what has become a prolonged era of defensive disparity for Washington, many of the Pac-10’s best running backs have padded their stats at the Huskies’ expense. So there’s little doubt that Oregon State’s freshman phenom Jacquizz Rodgers, who is boasting a rushing average of 119 yards per game, has his eye on a huge day Saturday at Husky Stadium. And there’s little reason to believe he won’t have one. Even USC — which has a defense considered by many to be the best in the nation — couldn’t contain Rodgers. That’s bad news for Washington, which is allowing 233 yards rushing per game — a total that ranks 114th in the nation. “Quizz has done very well for us,” OSU coach Mike Riley said. “He was one we earmarked as a guy that would enter into the competition to play for us at tailback.” Rodgers stands at 5-feet-7-inches, fitting into the typical OSU mold of the small, compact running back — think Ken Simonton and Yvenson Bernard. “We’ve had guys that are shorter,” Riley said. “I think that those guys had tremendous quickness and very good vision and were very tough and I think Quizz has all those qualities.” Rodgers’ size may even be an advantage. Shorter running backs are harder to see in the backfield, which makes it tougher for defensive linemen to identify where the ball is. “He’s small, and we’re going to have to look for him,” UW defensive end Daniel Te’o Nesheim said. “If you just stay in your gap, and everybody’ ...
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