{"id":83238,"date":"2025-11-29T21:49:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T02:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=83238"},"modified":"2025-11-29T21:49:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T02:49:52","slug":"game-defining-plays-lift-oregon-past-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/11\/29\/game-defining-plays-lift-oregon-past-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Game-Defining Plays Lift Oregon Past Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"
Washington\u2019s defense held sixth-ranked Oregon to its second-lowest rushing output of the season. Ryan Walters\u2019 group was on the field for the majority of the game while Oregon\u2019s offense controlled possession all afternoon. But it held strong against Oregon’s nationally ranked top-ten rushing offense. However, there were two game-altering plays in the first quarter and fourth quarter that kept the Huskies from ever taking the lead. Washington\u2019s 26-14 loss ends its season at 8-4, as it now eyes a bowl destination.<\/div>\n

Game-Defining Plays Lift Oregon Over Washington<\/h2>\n

Difference-Making Plays<\/h3>\n
\u201cThere were just a few plays in the game that were difference makers for us,\u201d Jedd Fisch said after the loss to Oregon. One of the plays Fisch referenced in this regard was the first quarter. \u201cI thought we missed some check downs. The interception we had, Raiden [Vines-Bright] sitting right there that we can just pop it to.\u201d Instead, Oregon safety Jadon Canady<\/a> ranged to his left and made a quality play on the football. As far as what Demond Williams<\/a> saw on the play, he detailed it after the game. \u201cI thought the safety got held up, and he made a good play on the ball, breaking to it.\u201d<\/div>\n
Fisch agreed, \u201cThe safety made a good play. I mean, I think nine out of ten times that ball\u2019s gonna get thrown. When you have Denzel [Boston] on a linebacker one-on-one, you\u2019re going to throw that.\u201d Williams made the same point after seeing the coverage mismatch develop during the play. \u201cIn those situations, I have to know where my check-down is at,\u201d Williams concluded.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Another difference-maker on Saturday was the Ducks\u2019 64-yard dagger of a touchdown on third down in the fourth quarter. Following Washington\u2019s touchdown pass to Boston that cut the deficit to just five points, Oregon struck back. \u201c[We] had momentum at 19-14 on third and nine,\u201d Fisch said after the game when discussing this play. \u201cThought we had a great opportunity for a stop, get the ball back, and hopefully take the lead. And they hit a 64-yard touchdown there.\u201d The pass from Dante Moore<\/a> to Malik Benson re-extended the Ducks\u2019 lead, ultimately sealing the game.<\/div>\n

Forcing One Dimension<\/h3>\n
Forcing Oregon into one dimension hindered its offense at times throughout the season<\/a>, especially in its loss to Indiana. Washington\u2019s front seven was able to replicate that on Saturday against the Ducks\u2019 run game. Oregon rushed the ball 42 times in the game for an average of just 2.5 yards per carry. The Ducks totaled a mere 106 rushing yards. It was their second-lowest output of the season behind only the Indiana game. It had just one explosive rushing play against the Husky defense, a 17-yard run on fourth down. That fourth-down conversion set up a touchdown rush by Moore. A third difference-making play.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Fisch noted the defense\u2019s ability to gang tackle and get off the blocks in its effort in the run game. \u201cI thought we were very physical up front. Our defensive line and linebackers up front did a really nice job.\u201d Washington\u2019s run defense allowed it to maintain pace with Oregon despite the time it spent on the field. The Ducks finished with a near-10-minute time-of-possession advantage in this game. But their run game was not a factor.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just doing what we do,\u201d EDGE Zach Durfee<\/a> said after the game. \u201cWe practice really hard, and that shows up in the games. You turn on the tape, you\u2019ll see elite defense week-in and week-out.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Photo Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Imbalance on Offense<\/h3>\n
Adam Mohammed<\/a> didn\u2019t start the game against Oregon, but he had the most attempts out of the backfield. The true sophomore running back had 14 carries for 105 yards against the Ducks. It was his second-straight 100-yard rushing performance, and he averaged 7.5 yards per carry in this one. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s running harder as much as it\u2019s running with more confidence,\u201d Fisch said of Mohammed after the game, noting how Mohammed has run with force all season. \u201cThe more you run the football, the more you play, the more confidence you gain\u2026 He\u2019s taken on the role of being the guy.\u201d Jonah Coleman<\/a> started his final game inside Husky Stadium and logged 22 yards on nine carries. He also caught a pass for nine yards in the game.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Mohammed\u2019s rushing performance accounted for 37% of the offense on Saturday, as the passing game was never really a threat. Williams finished 15 of 30 for just 129 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Boston led the team with four catches for 25 yards and both touchdowns. But eight different receivers caught a pass, including three true freshmen. \u201cI\u2019m really excited about what\u2019s ahead of us,\u201d Fisch said after the game. \u201cWe\u2019ve probably played more young players than anyone, we\u2019ve probably played more freshmen in total snaps than anybody.\u201d<\/div>\n

Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
There\u2019s significant young talent on this roster as attention turns to Bowl Season and 2026. The Huskies started three true freshmen on defense, and the offense featured first-year wide receivers and linemen in addition to Williams and Mohammed, who are sophomores. Washington\u2019s eight-win season will earn it a bowl bid that will be announced next week. Said Fisch, \u201cFrom where we were a year ago to where we are today, we\u2019ve really done a nice job of becoming a better team.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Main Photo: Ben Lonergan\/The Register-Guard \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington\u2019s defense held sixth-ranked Oregon to its second-lowest rushing output of the season. Ryan Walters\u2019 group was on the field for the majority of the game while Oregon\u2019s offense controlled possession all afternoon. But it held strong against Oregon’s nationally ranked top-ten rushing offense. However, there were two game-altering plays in the first quarter and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3944,"featured_media":83253,"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":[5,2,17,35602,35612],"tags":[1666,10272],"class_list":["post-83238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-featured","category-news","category-oregon-ducks","category-washington-huskies","tag-jedd-fisch","tag-ryan-walters"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83238","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=83238"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83254,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83238\/revisions\/83254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}