Gameday is just around the corner, and the Scarlet Knights are preparing to cross the country for their Friday night battle in Seattle with the Washington Huskies. Last year, Rutgers defeated Washington 21-18 in a thrilling blackout environment, their first-ever win over the program after dropping two nonconference games in 2016 and 2017 against the Huskies.
The Scarlet Knights were able to capitalize on Washington’s struggles to convert on third down, being derailed by penalties and missing three
field goals to hang on for the win last season. However, this year, the Huskies look much improved. Here is what to expect from Jedd Fisch’s team this Friday night, using UW’s games against Ohio State and Maryland for my usual film breakdown.
There was a lot of anticipation for the Buckeyes-Huskies game in Seattle, with the spread under double digits in favor of Ohio State. That showed immediately, as Washington came thundering out of the gates with a fourth-down stop to prevent OSU from scoring on its first drive.
That is the type of play fans have gotten accustomed to seeing Ohio State make in the red zone, but the Huskies’ run defense was stout here and ranks ninth in the country in rush defense, averaging under three yards per rush allowed. Antwan Raymond and the ground game will have a strong unit to contend with on Friday night.
The Huskies could not get their next drive going, with penalties returning Washington to its own four-yard line after a 16-yard gain had gotten UW away from the shadow of its own end zone. However, the special teams unit forced a fumble, stripping the ball away from Brandon Inniss and diving on it. With the Scarlet Knights’ own special teams units struggling as of late, they will need to be on their toes during any kick or punt returns.
Rutgers fans might remember the running back duel between Kyle Monangai and Jonah Coleman the last time these two teams met in Piscataway. Coleman made a nice cut and burst through the hole for a 34-yard gain into Ohio State territory. The Scarlet Knights must make sure their own leaky run defense is truly improved, as Coleman is a different beast than Fame Ijeboi and the Gophers without their top two running backs.
I wrote a lot about how the offense would be revitalized under quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in my opponent preview article this summer, and the arm talent is certainly there from Williams. On this play, he makes a well-placed throw over the middle of the field to Penn State transfer receiver Omari Evans.
The Huskies got all the way two-yard line, but Ohio State’s patented goal-line defense forced two negative run plays, while a five-yard penalty on second down prevented UW from going for it on fourth down. Nonetheless, the Huskies took a 3-0 lead on the #1 Buckeyes in the second quarter and forced a punt on the ensuing OSU possession.
A long UW drive stalled out with Grady Gross faking a field goal and throwing incomplete to tight end Decker DeGraaf, which Ohio State was all over. Julian Sayin marched the Buckeyes down the field, and the next drive culminated with Julian Sayin finding Jeremiah Smith on a slant route over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown.
After Ohio State took a 7-3 lead into halftime, the Buckeyes spent nearly half the quarter engineering another touchdown drive, with an 11-yard pass to Carnell Tate setting up a one-yard touchdown run for CJ Donaldson. Williams put together a nice response on the next UW drive, with an 18-yard pass to Dezmen Roebuck and a 23-yard pass to Decker DeGraaf.
However, a third-down sack on Williams from Kayden McDonald cost the Huskies seven yards on third-and-goal from the OSU 3, and Washington was forced to kick a field goal to cut the lead to 14-6. A Jacob Lane sack held Ohio State to a field goal on their ensuing possession, with Sayin taking a deep drop and not having anywhere to throw to before being dragged down in the backfield.
This is a problem that Kaliakmanis has also displayed, oftentimes holding onto the football for too long. Even when he tries to take off, he is not fast enough or decisive enough to get away from a rusher, which has resulted in multiple sacks this season. The Scarlet Knights’ offensive line will look to avoid having Athan get into situations like this on Friday, with Minnesota registering seven sacks the last time Rutgers took the field.
Despite the strong effort from Washington, Ohio State was just too talented and won the game 24-6. However, do not let that scoreline fool you into thinking that Rutgers will do something similar, that Washington’s offense is inept, or that their defense is not very good. None of those things is true, and the film shows that to be the case.
The questions I had about Washington’s defense coming in were largely erased by the Huskies holding OSU to just 24 points, and even most of those came in the second half. Similar to the Ohio game, Ohio State wore Washington down, and that will happen to every non-elite team that the Buckeyes face this season, especially when Ohio State has sealed off the end zone from inside 20 yards.
Moving on to the game against Maryland, this one was truly an enigma. The Terrapins took a 20-0 lead on Washington, with the Huskies finally scoring in the third quarter, but UW rallied all the way back to seize a 24-20 road victory. Here is how that one went down in College Park.
Early in the game, Williams Jr. made an errant throw, with Maryland safety Jalen Huskey in his lane for the interception. Even a quarterback as talented as Williams can make mistakes, and it is up to Rutgers to take advantage if that happens. Kaliakmanis put several balls in harm’s way against Minnesota, with one of them being picked and setting up an easy touchdown for the Gophers two weeks ago.
Maryland converted on that drive with a game-opening field goal before Terps quarterback Malik Washington (this is confusing, right?) executed an RPO in the red zone perfectly to run into the end zone untouched. The Terrapins tacked on a field goal before halftime while continuing to disrupt Washington (the team) on offense.
On this play, a scrambling Williams is chased down by Maryland defensive lineman Zahir Matthews from behind, showing that Williams can be bothered by a strong pass rush. Bradley Weaver, Eric O’Neill, and the guys on the interior of the line will need to play their best football to contain the mobile Washington quarterback.
The Huskies finally got on the board with a Grady Gross field goal late in the third quarter, but the fourth quarter was straight out of cinema for the fans in purple. Williams found Denzel Boston on a quick strike to the end zone early in the fourth quarter, cutting the Maryland lead to 10 with over 14 minutes left to play in the contest.
The Huskies held Maryland to a three-and-out with just one yard gained before Demond Williams Jr. put on his Superman cape, dialing up three 10-plus yard passes and a 20-yard run, the last pass being a 34-yard touchdown to Denzel Roebuck.
With the Scarlet Knights allowing a 10-plus yard pass to nearly every pass-catcher on Iowa and Minnesota’s rosters, the back seven is going to need to do a good job protecting the intermediate and deep areas of the field. This has been a major concern all season, and Washington has the right playmakers to take advantage.
The Huskies cut the deficit to just 20-17 with this touchdown, with Maryland being forced off the field in just six plays on its next possession. Once again, Williams mixed the run and the pass to move the ball at will against the Terrapins, which included a 17 yard and a 26-yard pass to Boston. Coleman secured an 11-yard pass from Williams to set up a 1-yard rushing score for the dynamic running back. Washington took the first lead of the game and stopped Maryland on downs for an improbable 24-20 win at The Shell.
So what does all of this mean for Rutgers? Washington has shown its explosiveness on offense, both in the loss to Ohio State and especially in that fourth quarter against Maryland. On defense, it has shown a tendency to play extremely well, getting fourth-down stops, generating turnovers, and forcing the other team off the field, even when they really need to stay on. On special teams, Washington has been more reliable in making field goals while taking advantage and even forcing opponents to make mistakes, as evidenced by the Inniss fumble.
On the flip side, the Huskies are far from invincible, not only because Ohio State beat them soundly, but also because Maryland raced out to a 20-0 lead before the tables turned. Rutgers has been able to start strong on offense, building early leads, but has collapsed in the second half in back-to-back games and three out of five this season. A second-half collapse could play right into Washington’s hands, with the Huskies putting touchdown drives together while getting the Terps off the field on repeat for the entire fourth quarter.
Washington is also expecting reinforcements on defense, with defensive tackle Jayvon Parker and freshman linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale expected to make their season debuts this week. Parker was injured against the Scarlet Knights last season and is one of the top tackles on the Huskies. Jedd Fisch is also hopeful that starting cornerback Tacario Davis will be able to return after sitting out three games.
With a strong run defense to face, the Scarlet Knights will have to mix up the run and the pass, with their three big receivers needing to step up and deliver in a big moment. On defense, Rutgers must defend the middle and deep parts of the field while attempting to bottle up Jonah Coleman on the ground, as Washington’s talented cast of playmakers can explode for big plays at any time. The Scarlet Knights must not have major breakdowns in coverage in either the pass or run, and certainly cannot afford another massive second-half slowdown on offense.
On special teams, Jai Patel must be on the money with his kick angles, as the last thing Rutgers needs is any more field goals being blocked. In addition, the coverage teams must do a better job of not giving up long returns, and ball security will be paramount when the Scarlet Knights return kicks of their own. Finally, Husky Stadium is known for its home environment and loud crowd noise, so Athan Kaliakmanis and the offense must be able to use the silent count and avoid blunders like what happened against the Gophers.
The Scarlet Knights will go into Washington looking to rebound from two Big Ten losses and desperately need this win for bowl eligibility. Coming off a bye week, let us hope that the team has made enough adjustments to pull an improbable but not impossible upset in Seattle this Friday night.
