For the first time since the LA Bowl against Boise State, the Washington Huskies found themselves behind on the scoreboard in the first half against Utah State.
Although the deficit lasted less than five minutes before UW retook the lead and never turned back to beat the Aggies 16-14, it marked the first time since 2024 that Jedd Fisch's offense failed to score in the first quarter when facing non-conference opponents. In his first two games at the helm, Fisch saw his offense go scoreless in the fourth quarter in both games against Weber State and Eastern Michigan.
UW nearly had a defensive touchdown in the opening 15 minutes when veteran edge rusher Isaiah Ward appeared to punch out his second forced fumble this season with fifth-year linebacker
Buddah Al-Uqdah housing the recovery 42-yards for a touchdown—it got erased after video replay showed USU running back Sesi Vailahi's knee was down.
Instead of being ahead 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Huskies found themselves behind 7-3 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter after wide receiver Javon Robinson housed a 78-yard touchdown. The 5-foot-6 pass catcher weaved his way through the UW defense, put second-year safety Rylon Dillard-Allen in a blender, and went in untouched to put Fisch and Co. behind for the first time in 2026.
"That's two weeks in a row that we're sitting here learning a lot," Fisch said after the game. "But there's also things that we just need to execute better. We're 2-0, which we're happy about. We need to do some things better. We need to find points. We need to not pass up opportunities for touchdowns when they're there. We need to put the team in a better position from the coaching staff, starting with me, and we need to finish games."
Washington hasn't been held scoreless in the first quarter by a non-conference opponent since 2024 in both of the first two games against Weber State and Eastern Michigan
— Lars Hanson (@LarsHanson) September 12, 2026
End of 1: UW 0, Utah State 0
The Huskies responded on the following possession by capping off an eight-play, 65-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown from first-year running back Ansu Sanoe. After that, UW's special teams unit felt like it spent more time on the field with better success than Fisch's offense.
UW punted four times in the following six drives of the game before fourth-year kicker Tyler Robles converted his second field goal attempt of the game, a 26-yarder, to extend the lead to 13-7 with under 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
As the defense did much of the afternoon, second-year coordinator Ryan Walters held up his end of the bargain by holding Utah State to just a pair of touchdowns and under 300 yards of offense, which proved to be just enough to leave Husky Stadium with victory and improve to 2-0 on the season.
After allowing a late touchdown to pull within two, third-year defensive back Rahshawn Clark ended the game with a 57-yard interception return, the biggest play of the game when the Huskies needed it most. Still, Fisch knows there are more than a few necessary changes that have to happen over the next seven days before UW returns to the field to close out its non-conference schedule against Eastern Washington next Saturday.
"We're not scoring," Fisch stated bluntly. "We're not scoring. We're not making those plays. On top of that, we're not getting into a rhythm. So we have to get into a rhythm. I think that's on all of us to find a way to get into a rhythm."
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Football Offense Struggles Early, Holds On to Beat Utah State
