Washington’s Big Ten opener was an evening highlighted by its stout defense. The Huskies allowed a mere 112 total yards and showcased their stinginess in goal line defense on more than one occasion. Denzel Boston had a career day at wide receiver, hauling in two touchdowns against Northwestern. We also witnessed a two-quarterback package from the Jedd Fisch offense. Washington opens league play with a Big Ten-esque 24-5 winning score over Northwestern.
Defensive Stands and Standouts
“Strain” was a word Fisch used multiple times in his post-game press conference. He used it specifically when referencing Washington’s two goal line stands on the evening. Not once, but twice did Washington stop Northwestern in goal-to-go situations. A fumbled snap set the Wildcats up with their best field position to that point of the game. Northwestern gained possession at the Washington 33-yard line and moved down to the four-yard line in four plays. Then, true freshman linebacker Khmori House made back-to-back touchdown-saving tackles. The first was a hustle play to the far side of the field, forcing Lausch out of bounds. On the ensuing play, House made a goal line stop on a run up the middle, forcing a field goal attempt.
In the fourth quarter, Washington’s special teams coverage slipped up following the offense taking a 24-5 lead. Running back Joseph Himon returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to the Washington two-yard line. The only reason it wasn’t a touchdown was because of Elijah Jackson‘s effort play to save the score. Fisch called Jackson’s effort “strain.”
“It starts with the mentality that we’re going to defend every blade of grass,” Fisch said after the game. That’s exactly what Jackson did on that play, and it sparked another goal line stand. “Seeing him run like that just made me want to keep going harder,” Isaiah Ward said after the game. After committing a defensive holding on first down, Northwestern was just one yard from their first touchdown of the evening. But the Washington defense stood up again. The sequence went incompletion, rush for no gain, incompletion, and incompletion. The Huskies took away every passing lane, and Jack Lausch was forced to fit it into difficult windows.
1st Down Defense
Washington held the Wildcats to just two of 13 on third down on Saturday evening. Northwestern’s average yardage to go was 6.9 yards. “We talked about winning on first down, ” Fisch said after the game. The Wildcats ran 22 first down plays. They averaged just 3.2 yards per play, and allowed just four completions on 12 attempts on first down plays. “It felt to me like they were in third and eight-plus a lot,” Fisch said after the game. Northwestern was in third and five-plus on eight of their 13 attempts.
“If you win on first down, then you have the ability to make a team more one-dimensional.” Overall, Washington didn’t allow Northwestern to establish any dimension. The team held Lausch to 8 of 27 for 53 yards and an interception through the air. On the ground, Northwestern averaged just 2.3 yards per rush and 59 yards.
Denzel Boston’s Career Day
Washington’s win over Northwestern was also built on a successful passing game. The primary beneficiary of that production was Boston. He finished with seven receptions for a career-high 121 yards and two touchdowns. His second catch was a 46-yard touchdown to put the first points on the board.
“We’d been scheming it all week,” Boston said after the game. He beat his defender to the inside on a post route. He also got behind the safety on the route. Will Rogers delivered a high-arching pass over the retrieving safety placed perfectly in the hands of Boston on the run as he crossed the goal line. “It was an open shot, we took it, and we made it,” Boston concluded.
Two-Quarterback System
Fisch said at the beginning of the week that he hadn’t seen any indication that a two-quarterback system has hindered Rogers’ play. We saw evidence of that on Saturday. Demond Williams Jr. came in for two plays in a row as the Huskies approached drove toward the red zone in the first quarter. He handed it off both times, and when Rogers came back in he didn’t miss a beat. On the ensuing play, Rogers took the snap and fired a strike to Boston on a slant. It was the pair’s second touchdown connection of the afternoon.
For the first time this season, we saw both quarterbacks on the field for the same play. Rogers lined up in the shotgun but motioned out to the left. Williams shifted behind the center and took the shotgun snap. The Huskies ran a fake reverse to Rogers, and Williams kept the football to the near side of the field. He carried it five yards on the trick play before heading to the sideline. Williams threw two passes and had two completions with 24 yards. He also rushed three times for nine yards.
Road Test Up Next
Fisch said that the Huskies will have tomorrow off. Treating it like the week after a Monday Night Football game, the head coach is again using the “pro” mentality to prepare for next Friday’s game. The team is going to practice in the evenings to prepare for the Friday night game in Piscataway against Rutgers, and they fly East on Thursday morning. “I felt like we just left a lot of meat on the bone. We’re just looking forward to attacking next week,” Boston said. All eyes are on Rutgers.
