Washington’s bye week consisted of a return to basics. Jedd Fisch detailed the different things the team focused on during its additional week of preparation before traveling to Wisconsin. He also delivered injury updates, both positive and negative, and lent insight into how the team is approaching the final four games of the season with a lot on the table still to play for.
Fundamental Bye Week Approach
“We looked at it as a fundamental week,” Fisch said on Monday during his press conference. “We spent a lot of our time on the fundamentals of tackling and blocking, we spent a lot of our time on route running…blitz pickup and preparing ourselves for some of the pressure packages that we expect this week and beyond.”
In three of Washington’s five Big Ten Conference games this season, it has allowed double-digit missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Those three games were consecutive, against Maryland (12), Rutgers (10), and Michigan (10). The Illinois game was an improvement, as the defense gave up eight missed tackles. During the off week, an emphasis continues to be placed on executing basics.
In addition to that, Fisch said that the team spent the majority of the bye week on individual sides of the ball. “We only had one day where we competed against the other side of the ball – offense vs defense,” Fisch described. “The other two days were just about offense getting better at offense, defense getting better at defense.”
Injury Updates and Availability
On the injury side of things, the good news is that tight end Quentin Moore practiced “full-go” on Sunday, according to Fisch. The senior tight end was carted off the field at Michigan three weeks ago and was treated for what Fisch described as a concussion. It sounds as though Moore will be fully available for the game at Wisconsin this weekend.
Unfortunately, wide receiver Rashid Williams suffered another setback during the bye week. On Monday, after defeating Illinois, Fisch announced that Williams would be ready to return to the field at Wisconsin. He had been recovering from a collarbone injury sustained during the UC Davis game. But on Monday of this week, Fisch said that Williams suffered another injury during practice over the bye week. It’s a hand injury, unrelated to his collarbone injury of before. “He’ll be out at least a few weeks,” according to Fisch.
Jacob Manu has one game left to play before he reaches the four-game limit to utilize his redshirt season. He’s appeared in games against Ohio State, Maryland, and Michigan. In terms of whether or not he’ll play this week at Wisconsin, it seems unlikely. On a game-by-game basis, Fisch said, “We’ve made the decision [on whether or not Manu will play] based on the health of the players around him, really more than anything.” Fisch added, “Right now, going into this game, we’re healthy at the linebacker position.” Xe’ree Alexander’s 12 tackles last week against Illinois were a season-high for him. Deven Bryant is currently averaging six tackles per game. And Zaydrius Rainey-Sale is off his best game of the season with a pair of pass breakups.
Where’s Washington?
The back of Fisch’s t-shirt at practice during Fall Camp in 2024 asked this question with regard to the Preseason AP Top 25 Poll. Now entering week 11 of 2025, the Huskies are ranked for the first time in the Fisch tenure, at 24th in the nation. “It’s good, I think, hopefully we’ll continue to stay in that conversation,” Fisch said on Monday. “The more you win, the better situation it is. But it’s nice to be recognized for our players, for what our players have done.”
Entering the late stages of the season, Washington sits at 6-2 with a favorable schedule in its next three games. The Oregon game on the Saturday after Thanksgiving has a chance to be a game of great significance for postseason placement – for both teams. “I’ve looked at every time you play in the postseason as a championship opportunity,” Fisch said this week. “Each week’s going to mean something so we’re really looking forward to that.”
Main Image: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
