Washington's homecoming weekend was spoiled on Saturday, as the Huskies fell to Penn State 28-25 despite a strong second-half effort. While credit goes to the UW staff and players for continuing to battle despite trailing by 22 points at halftime, the issues that have plagued Washington all season struck again on Saturday afternoon. Here is everything to take away from the Huskies' fourth-straight Big Ten loss at home.
1. Slow Starts Were an Issue; Now They're an Identity
All year, questions have circulated about why Jedd Fisch's offense hasn't been able to put points on the board in the first quarter. That trend looked like it was coming to a brief halt after the Huskies kicked a field goal on their opening drive, until they proceeded to go three-and-out on their next three possessions. Out of Washington's
six offensive drives in the first half, four of them were three-and-outs, and the other two were field goals that the Huskies had to settle for after getting inside the red zone.
Offenses typically script their first 10-15 offensive plays, meaning coaches game plan all week regarding what set of plays they will run to start the game, no matter what. While head coach and offensive play caller Jedd Fisch has plenty of experience in this department, it's no secret that slow starts have been one of Washington's major downfalls during his three-year tenure in Seattle. As has been the case in a majority of the Huskies' losses this year, the offense was forced to play catch-up for nearly the entire game, and once again, it came back to bite them.
2. Uncharacteristic Showing for the Defense
Last weekend at Nebraska, Washington's defense deserved nearly all the credit for the Huskies' comeback win in Lincoln. Just six days later, it looked like a completely different group on the field, especially in the first two quarters. Penn State, which averages 395 yards per game, had 303 total yards of offense in the first half en route to a 28-6 lead at halftime. Although they shut out the Nittany Lions in the second half, the damage had already been done.
Out of the four touchdowns Penn State scored in the first half, three of them were on plays of 20-plus yards, highlighted by a 45-yard touchdown pass and a 46-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. While the Nittany Lions were goose-egged in the second half, their biggest drive of the game was one they didn't even score on. After getting the ball up three with 7:40 left in the fourth quarter, PSU proceeded to put together a 14-play, 70-yard drive, chewing up the remainder of the clock and sealing their fifth win of the season.
3. Coaching Mishaps Arise Once Again
Washington had 12 men on the field after the timeout late in the game. Says that Penn State switched personnel groups after the stoppage, and that UW wasn't able to communicate the defensive personnel switch.
— Nick Lemkau (@nicklemkaucfb) November 8, 2026
From playcalling to personnel, Washington had multiple miscues that there is simply no excuse for. Starting with the offense, running back Jayden Limar was arguably UW's most impactful player, averaging over seven yards per carry. The issue? He only had nine carries. After running for 36 yards on the first possession of the game, Limar didn't touch the ball again until the Huskies' fifth drive of the game. What happened on the three drives that the Oregon transfer didn't get any touches? Punt, punt, punt, gaining a total of eight yards over three possessions.
On one of their first-half three-and-outs, the Huskies got the ball starting at their own 2-yard line. Rather than handing the ball off to the efficient Limar, or any running back for that matter, Fisch dialed up three consecutive pass plays, two of which resulted in throwaways and the third being a near-safety where Demond Williams Jr. was barely able to get rid of the ball.
To cap things off, a personnel miscommunication cost the Huskies a chance at getting a stop when they needed it most. Coming out of a timeout with 3:51 on the clock, Penn State's offense was stopped on 3rd-and-5 inside the UW 20-yard line. That was, until the Huskies were penalized for an illegal substitution, as they had 12 players on the field. Fisch mentioned the mishap in the postgame press conference, stating the sideline wasn't able to communicate Penn State's personnel adjustments back to the players on the field.
If these factors to another disappointing loss sound familiar, that's because they are. Washington will look to get back on track next week as they hit the road to take on Michigan State.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Three Takeaways From Washington Football's 28-25 Loss to Penn State
