Since Jedd Fisch took over as the Washington Huskies' head coach in 2024, he has taken full responsibility as the Huskies' offensive play caller, which was nothing new at the time of the hire, as the former Arizona coach held the same responsibility in his three years in Tucson. While the long-time offensive mind has been able to produce high-quality numbers in his short time in Seattle, Fisch's offense has faltered mightily in the opening period of games.
In the Huskies' 27-24 loss to Minnesota, Washington fell behind the eight-ball almost immediately. Despite forcing two punts on the Gophers' first two possessions, a Demond Williams Jr. interception and two three-and-outs led to a pair of quick touchdowns for quarterback Drake Lindsey and the Golden
Gopher offense. Despite outscoring their opposition 24-13 through the next three quarters, the Huskies were unable to put together enough to complete the comeback.
Dating back to 2025, Fisch's offense has only scored three first-quarter touchdowns in Big Ten play, with two of those coming in the same game last season against Illinois. Washington ranked 105th in the FBS last year in first-quarter scoring, averaging a mere four points per opening period.
As of now, the Huskies picked up right where they left off last year, averaging a lone one point per first period, according to TeamRankings.com, which is good for No. 122 in the nation. Through four games, the only two touchdowns that Washington has scored in the opening quarter this season came in Week Three against Eastern Washington. Besides that, they have scored a combined three points in the first quarter.
It's one thing to have a conservative, rhythm-based approach to open up games, but to fall behind by multiple possessions is almost a death penalty for a team that has little to no run game. Along with struggling to establish anything on the ground, Williams and his receivers are still in search of connecting on throws deep downfield, with the exception of a few spectacular plays that came late in the fourth quarter against Minnesota.
With a trip to Los Angeles on the horizon, Fisch and his veteran quarterback will have the opportunity to turn things around against a USC Trojans defense that ranks No. 15 in the Big Ten in points allowed per game.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Slow Starts Continue to Cost Washington Football in Big Ten Play
