The Huskies, as double digit favorites, lost to Minnesota 27-24 in a frustrating effort. Let’s get to what we learned!
Deer In Headlights
I said in my prediction that this game would go a long way in determining whether this team is any good. It turns out they may not be. Part of that, of course, is injury (having the top 2 running backs be out is practically a death sentence in the physical Big Ten), but part of that falls squarely on the shoulders of the quarterback. It looks as though Demond Williams has taken several
steps back in his development. Multiple times, he would hesitate, step up into the pocket, and throw it away instead of taking a checkdown. Either that or run out of bounds, but in any case, it’s frustrating. We can’t use the excuse of “oh he’s young, give him time”! I’d wager to say that train had left the station back in January. Take one look at this play and tell me we’re getting 4 million dollars worth of quarterback:
It shouldn’t have to fall to him to make plays, but unfortunately, that’s where we are on offense, and he hasn’t shown that he can be the guy to win the game for a team! The lack of a run game really puts that fact in sharp relief. If we had an experienced running back, that more than likely would take a lot of pressure off of Williams in both the run and pass game, but as has been established, the cupboard is pretty bare! The receivers couldn’t get separation either and left Demond scrambling for any way to make a play. The only one who could was Dezmen Roebuck, and he mostly did so off screens. By the time Williams did make plays (with a 13 yard touchdown run (and a passing touchdown to Baron Naone before that), it was already too little, too late. On the Fox broadcast, there were audible “let’s go Gophers” chants. That, more than anything else, is the most damning indictment of where this staff and this quarterback have put this program! That’s shameful, and if this program is serious about winning, they’d try anything to turn the ship around!
Flop Like A Fisch
I’ve excoriated Jedd’s playcalling on here a number of times, and Saturday was another disastrous effort by the head man in that department. Demond is not solely to blame, a lot of that falls on Fisch! I’ve alternated being forgiving and tough on Jedd. Not anymore, the gloves are off now, Coach! It’s not just playcalling either, it’s also personnel decisions. For instance, why is Trey Cooley in the game? Cooley has 23 carries for 50 yards on the year, good for an average of 2.2 yards per carry. He also had 2 fumbles in this game. Not that the rest of the running backs were much better, but he’s the real head scratcher here! I get that we have been decimated by injuries, but this offensive line should at least be able to create some push. Through 4 games, they haven’t, and they got Demond sacked 7 times for their trouble! I don’t know what we can do to fix that, I’m just a fan, but all my optimism has evaporated! I’m trying to be diplomatic, because I want to maintain a professional tone, but do you see any way we can get to 6 wins? I honestly am struggling to see a way there! With the way this team looks, we’d be lucky to get to 5 wins.
There has been a problem with Jedd that I’ve had since he’s been at UW. Two actually. The first is that he has shown a stubbornness in not changing his system to fit his players, and instead forcing his players to mold to the system. We saw that with the 2024 Apple Cup’s infamous Will Rogers Speed Option, and that has shown itself this season with Demond straining to fit into the mold of a pocket passer. He’s 5’10” and any attempt to make him a pocket passer exposes that fact, and he has looked pretty good throwing on the run. So why not call some designed bootleg or slide plays? My guess is that they’ll try to get some Combine tape for Demond, at the expense of winning football games! This stubbornness is tough to overcome, and it’ll take a miracle for Jedd to give up playcalling, but the issue I have with him comes down to culture as well.
This whole “Be a Pro” thing is his cultural touchstone. “Play at Washington, you’re going to the NFL”. Okay, great! How does this help us win football games? Running a pro style system is fine enough, but I haven’t seen this team take any steps forward from last year! Heck, we might even be worse than in 2024! That team was actually kind of fun to watch! This is just frustrating and it all comes back to 2 men, Jedd Fisch and Demond Williams! Until I see something from both of these men, I continue to believe we won’t go anywhere!
Out-Physicaled
Minnesota has some good running backs. And Greg Harbaugh has a good quarterback. Drake Lindsey started 8 for 8, and ended the first half 15-16 for 125 yards and 3 scores. Minnesota rushed for 125 yards but it felt like a lot more, as their running backs ran angry, frequently gaining yards after first contact. The defense also inexplicably missed a lot more tackles (the tackling was praised for being fundamentally sound before this year). This proves that the defense has a lot more weaknesses than last year, and Minnesota was able to exploit that in their own way offensively on their way to a victory that was a lot closer on the scoreboard. In that way, Minnesota is a team with an identity, something that the Huskies don’t seem to have on either side of the ball. It’ll be very tough to survive the rest of Big Ten play if this continues. That play on defense, coupled with giving up 7 sacks on offense, is enough for fans to be in full blown panic mode! It felt like the DBs were getting burned, the line was getting pushed back, and the communication wasn’t where it needed to be. In short, a frustrating day for the defense!
We have USC at the Coliseum next week, Go Dawgs!
