{"id":80498,"date":"2025-09-26T11:00:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T15:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=80498"},"modified":"2025-09-25T22:05:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T02:05:30","slug":"pre-snap-preview-washington-v-ohio-state-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/09\/26\/pre-snap-preview-washington-v-ohio-state-prediction\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-Snap Preview: Washington v. Ohio State, Prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"
The atmosphere in Seattle this week feels mighty. Saturday\u2019s bout against the Ohio State Buckeyes lends Washington an opportunity on a national stage against the top team in the land. Though unranked, the Huskies have played an unstoppable brand of football through three games. The Jedd Fisch offense has averaged 536 yards of offense per game and holds a streak of 21 straight scoring drives.<\/div>\n

Ohio State, having beaten Texas earlier this season, will enter one of college football\u2019s loudest environments in its first road game of the year. Its defense is poised to test Washington in ways its offense hasn\u2019t been thus far. It\u2019s the Huskies\u2019 number two scoring offense (55.7 points per game) against the Buckeyes\u2019 top-ranked scoring defense (5.3 points per game). Something\u2019s going to give.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington Hosts No. 1 Ohio State<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Biletnikoff Hopefuls<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Washington and Ohio State will showcase two of college football\u2019s top wide receivers on Saturday. Denzel Boston<\/a> and Jeremiah Smith<\/a> both lead their respective teams in receiving through three games. Boston has 16 catches for 249 yards and three touchdowns on the year. Smith has pulled down 20 catches for 315 yards and three scores. Each was named to the preseason Biletnikoff Award Watch List, given annually to the nation\u2019s outstanding receiver. Each is on pace to finish the season among the best at their position.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Apple
Photo Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Question Marks in Secondary<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
For Ohio State, it\u2019s going to be against a secondary with a potential missing piece. We won\u2019t know the status of senior cornerback Tacario Davis<\/a> until the availability report comes out two hours before kickoff on Saturday. He was out for the Apple Cup, and Fisch is keeping the cornerback’s health close to the vest in preparation for the Buckeye offense. On the season, Davis has been targeted seven times and has allowed just one completion for 10 yards. He recorded a pick and a pass breakup in two games played. His absence on Saturday would be a detriment to the Husky defense.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As such, it\u2019s likely that either a true freshman or redshirt sophomore will start at outside cornerback opposite Ephesians Prysock<\/a> against Ohio State. Leroy Bryant<\/a> started at cornerback in the Apple Cup, but he struggled in coverage. Bryant played 25 coverage snaps, was targeted seven times, and allowed seven receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown. The staff inserted freshman Dylan Robinson in his place after Bryant allowed a long touchdown. Robinson played 16 snaps in coverage and was only targeted once. But the freshman did force a fumble in the fourth quarter.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rahshawn Clark<\/a> can be expected to start at nickelback with the absence of Davis at corner. He\u2019s been sure-tackling this season, with eight tackles, three stops, and zero missed tackles. Clark has given up six receptions for 63 yards this season on eight targets. But despite the higher completion percentage, he\u2019s been mitigating big gains in coverage. Clark has allowed just seven total yards after the catch this season.<\/div>\n

Sayin’s Down Field Excellence<\/h3>\n
Ohio State\u2019s top two receivers, Smith and Carnell Tate,<\/a> are each averaging north of 15 yards per catch on the season. Of Smith\u2019s 315 yards, 115 have come after the catch. Behind those two, Brandon Inniss<\/a> has the next-most receptions with five, but has yet to find the end zone. This group is going to test the back end of the Husky defense with its ability to stretch the field vertically.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Quarterback Julian Sayin<\/a> has been among the best in 20-plus-yard pass attempts this season. The redshirt freshman has completed nine of nine passes traveling 20 or more air yards. He\u2019s thrown six touchdowns and zero interceptions in this category with 43.8 yards per completion. One of those deep touchdowns came in the Texas game, and two were against Ohio.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Washington relies heavily on man coverage responsibilities in the secondary. If the group is without Davis, the group will need to take a step forward this week in order to slow down the Buckeye passing attack.<\/div>\n

Game-Planning Against The Spy<\/h3>\n
When you remove sack yardage, Demond Williams<\/a> has run for 265 yards this season on 28 rushing attempts. That\u2019s a head-turning 9.5 yards per attempt. Williams has broken off six runs of 20-plus yards through three games this season. That ranks fourth-most among all of college football, running backs included. Containing the Husky quarterback has been a problem for the team\u2019s first three opponents. On Saturday, Ohio State will have a similar challenge.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Linebacker Arvell Reese has been used as a quarterback spy frequently<\/a> in the Buckeyes\u2019 first three games. Against Texas, Ohio State held Arch Manning to just 38 yards rushing on 10 attempts. Dual-threat Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro had just three rushing yards against the Buckeyes. In those two games, Reese was responsible for seven combined pressures, recording a sack in each game. The Buckeye linebacker also notched a combined nine stops in those two FBS games.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWe would expect them to have some spy variation,\u201d Fisch said on Thursday of this week. \u201cWhether they use Caleb Downs<\/a> or whether they use Reese.\u201d Williams\u2019 running capabilities have opened up the offense on another level, allowing it to find success in other areas as defenses have to respect the speed of Williams. \u201cThey\u2019ve gotta keep an eye on Demond, and then Jonah [Coleman], and Adam [Mohammed] and Denzel [Boston], and other players as well.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As far as preparing for the looming presence of Reese mirroring Williams, Fisch sounded confident in his plan for Saturday. \u201cWe understand that challenge of what they\u2019re going to do to try to take away the quarterback run game. And we\u2019ll have to adjust.\u201d<\/div>\n

Continuing Rushing Success<\/h3>\n
Washington has excelled this season with the zone run. Earlier in the week, we discussed the challenges that Ohio State poses to the zone run scheme<\/a>, and Fisch commented on the strength of the Buckeye defensive line on Thursday. \u201cWe have to see how we match up one for one against Ohio State – one of the premier defensive lines in the country year-in and year-out.\u201d This season, the Buckeyes have generated 79 stops according to Pro Football Focus. The unit has a success rate of 33.7% (27th nationally) against the run thus far on the season.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThey run a lot of five down front,\u201d Fisch said, referring to defensive coordinator Matt Patricia\u2019s diamond front. \u201cWhen they have five down front they try to isolate and make everybody have one-on-one blocks. When that\u2019s the case we have to win those one on one blocks.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Buckeyes\u2019 stuff rate is just 17.1% this year, which is better than just four Big Ten teams, and tied with Rutgers. Stuff rate is the percentage of plays that are stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage, and it does take into account both run plays and pass plays. The Husky offensive line is averaging 3.6 line yards per play, signaling significant push at the point of attack. But Saturday’s opponent will be different than anything the Husky line has faced thus far. \u201cEach one of our players are going to have a challenge in and of itself,” Fisch said, “Whether they\u2019re lined up against their D-Ends, or whether they\u2019re lined up interior.”<\/div>\n

Prediction<\/h3>\n
The Huskies have elite talent at the key skill positions on offense. But three games into the season, we have yet to see a receiver firmly step into the number two role. Dezmen Roebuck<\/a> is second on the team in wide receiver receptions with six for just 104 yards. Raiden Vines-Bright<\/a> is right behind him with just three catches on the year.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Buckeyes will be challenged by the trio of Williams, Coleman, and Boston. But Patricia’s group has a pair of college football’s best cornerbacks, an elite safety, and a physical front that can force Washington to work the football to other players on its roster. If Huskies not named Boston and Coleman can emerge on Saturday, this offense has an opportunity to continue its efficiency. If not, the Buckeye defense will be more likely to dictate the game’s pace.<\/div>\n

Ohio State – 38<\/strong><\/div>\n

Washington – 37<\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Photo: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The atmosphere in Seattle this week feels mighty. Saturday\u2019s bout against the Ohio State Buckeyes lends Washington an opportunity on a national stage against the top team in the land. Though unranked, the Huskies have played an unstoppable brand of football through three games. The Jedd Fisch offense has averaged 536 yards of offense per […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3944,"featured_media":80512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2,17,35609,2056,35612],"tags":[33770,1666,35702],"class_list":["post-80498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-featured","category-news","category-ohio-state-buckeyes","category-top-25","category-washington-huskies","tag-dylan-robinson","tag-jedd-fisch","tag-parker-navarro"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3944"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80498"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80514,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80498\/revisions\/80514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}