Happy Thursday, TOC Nation. Our Michigan State Spartans Football Team is riding high after knocking off um, and is now looking to turn that into some momentum for the final quarter of the season. I sat down with Mark Schafer from UW Dawg Pound to learn about this weekend’s foe, the Washington Huskies. Let’s see what he had to say.
The Only Colors: This is year 3 for Washington in the Big Ten. How are you enjoying life in your new conference? Do you feel like the distance component of many of your games
is an issue? What were your expectations coming into 2026?
Mark Schafer: While I do like the variety in all of the teams the Huskies face, and I do think it’s interesting to
see how the Huskies slot into the pecking order of the new Big Ten, part of me misses the old regional based conferences. But, right, wrong or otherwise, this is the business we’ve chosen. So I like it from a competition standpoint, but I do miss being in the PAC 12 sometimes. Part of that is the distance component. Before this year, Jedd Fisch’s major pitfall as a coach was his inability to win outside of the Pacific Time Zone. He has surprised some by winning both conference road games outside of the Pacific Time Zone (at Purdue and at Nebraska). However, the team has fallen well short of expectations for this season. Ranked at 17 to start the year, there was talk of a playoff berth with all the talent on offense and defense. However, that talent has yet to translate into many decisive victories, which has been incredibly maddening. In my mind, it comes down to 2 men, the head coach and the starting quarterback.
TOC: Your quarterback is Demond Williams Jr. He got knocked out of the sixth game of the season with an injury, missed a game, got put in late in the following game, and then started your most recent game – a loss to Penn State. Washington did win the 2 games he did not start, though Williams was on the field for the Huskies’ only offensive TD of the latter one. Is he the better QB option? What are his strengths and weaknesses?
MS: For starters, because of his athletic ability, I believe that he is a better option over Elijah Brown (who gets the ball out faster but doesn’t have the best arm). But don’t mistake this for him being head and shoulders above the competition. He has regressed in terms of his decision making from a pretty good 2025 season. It seems like he holds onto the ball too long and doesn’t know what to do when you pressure him, which results in him sailing throws, overshooting on deep shots, and missing receivers when he should be hitting them in stride. It also seems like he’s trying too hard to make a big play and he forces it when it’s not there. But it’s also part of the Demond Williams experience, because when he does make the big play, it gives the Huskies the shot of momentum they often need to sustain drives. Most of the time, it’s frustrating, but when he gets going and takes what’s there, he can be a pretty good quarterback. The issue is the consistency is not where it should be in year 3.
TOC: Who are the skill position players on Washington that MSU fans should worry about?
MS: The wide receivers are particular standouts. Due to the rash of injuries to the running backs, both
Chris Lawson (the Huskies’ leading receiver with 48 catches, 727 yards and 3 touchdowns) and
Dezmen Roebuck (who leads the team in receiving touchdowns with 4) have seen occasional
time in the backfield. They are great receivers with incredible athletic ability, and Lawson
especially has been a particularly surprising breakout. At tight end, the 270 pound Baron Naone
serves as Demond Williams’ primary safety valve. With 21 catches, 275 yards receiving and 3
touchdowns, the big guy has shown supreme athletic ability for his size, and emerged as an
unexpected TE1 (a role Husky fans expected would go to Decker Degraaf).
In the backfield, it’s been a struggle, as the committee of Trey Cooley (a 6th year senior) and Brian Bonner (a true
Freshman 4 star) have shouldered the load to frustrating results, though Bonner has shown
flashes that suggest he could be a star. I blame that on injuries, as season opening RB1 Quaid
Carr and Jayden Limar have been sidelined for much of the season, but Limar came back for the
Nebraska game and had a team high 66 yards against Penn State. But thanks to said injuries, this
team is pass first, second, and third.
TOC: What is the base formation of the Huskies’ defense? Which level of the defense is its best? Who is the one name on this side of the ball that the MSU coaching staff must scheme for?
MS: DC Ryan Walters runs a base 4-2-5 defense, but uses a lot of exotic looks to disguise what he actually is going to try to do, often sending defenders on late blitzes for instance. In terms of personnel, I’d say that the secondary is the best unit of the defense. With talent like safety Rylon Dillard Allen (43 tackles, 2 pass breakups, 3 picks), nickel Dylan Robinson (37 tackles, 4 pass deflections, 1 interception), freshman cornerback Jeron Jones (22 tackles, 3 pass deflections, 2 interceptions), and Emmanuel Karnley (who leads the team is pass deflections with 11), that group has been by far the best on the defensive side of the ball. But the best player on defense is Alex McLaughlin. McLaughlin is a high motor guy who is in on seemingly every play, leading the team in tackles (with 63) and interception return yards (52), and who also has 3 defensive touchdowns in his 2 years at UW. It’s tough to scheme for him because he has great instincts, and hits hard lining up everywhere on the field.
TOC: Fill in the blank: Washington will win if ___. Washington will lose if ___.
MS: UW will win if they can keep Demond Williams comfortable and allow him to get the ball to his
receivers in space where they can make plays (which in my opinion is where he excels the most).
It also won’t hurt to get the running game going if they can, even if that means doing so with
screens or receivers in the backfield. Any extra option to get yards without relying on one guy is
always good. Defensively, it really comes down to keeping everything in front of them, and
doing that early is key because I, and most other fans, do not prefer wild comebacks and swings
in momentum like last week. If the defense plays like they did in the first half last week (a
distinct possibility), and the offense continues its slide into something worse than mediocrity,
they will lose.
TOC: Predict the final score.
MS: I predict a low scoring first quarter, Michigan State to slightly pull away and for the Huskies to be down at half, before a few momentum swinging plays allow the Huskies to pull out the victory.
Washington-17, Michigan State-14
TOC: Bonus question: Aside from former athletes, who is Washington’s most famous alum?
MS: UW has plenty of non-athlete alums who are notable. Frank Herbert (author of Dune) went to UW, as did Beverly Cleary (author of the Ramona Quimby series of children’s books), smooth jazz saxophonist Kenny G, Ken Jennings (owner of a 74 day winning streak on Jeopardy!, and now the show’s host), Rainn Wilson (known for playing the role of Dwight Schrute on The Office), and the late great Bruce Lee. Joel McHale (best known for playing Jeff on Community) is a unique case, as he was actually a walk on tight end for 2 seasons, though he did not play in any games.
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TOC would like to thank Mark for his contributions to this article. I read his answers and it very much sounded like a description of our own team. Let’s hope we can make his prediction wrong and get the W over UW.
