Washington coach Jedd Fisch spent more than a dozen years in the NFL as an assistant, so he looks at the first few weeks of the Huskies’ season as kind of a preseason for their Big Ten opener Sept. 27 against No. 1 Ohio State.
After beating visiting Colorado State 38-21 in its opener last weekend, Washington will play host to UC Davis in Seattle on Saturday night. That’s followed by a bye, then the Apple Cup matchup against Washington State before conference play begins.
“This is an interesting setup here. We went from Mountain West opponent (Colorado State) coming off eight wins to an FCS opponent (UC Davis) that’s coming off 11 wins to a bye week leading up to the Apple Cup,” Fisch said. “These four weeks are all critical for us to continue to find improvement, never stop working to get better and better.”
The Huskies scored the game’s final 17 points against Colorado State to pull away from a 21-all tie in the third quarter.
Jonah Coleman rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns, earning Big Ten co-offensive player of the week honors, as Washington amassed 283 yards on the ground. Demond Williams Jr. completed 18 of 24 passes for 226 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown to Denzel Boston that gave the Huskies the lead for good.
Fisch said he gave a game ball to the Huskies’ entire offensive line.
“They did fantastic job of pass protection and had really had a physical mentality,” Fisch said. “The game went the way we hoped, had a good second half. A few self-inflicted wounds, but wrap that game up and prepare for UC Davis.”
The Aggies, ranked No. 8 in the preseason Football Championship Subdivision poll, opened their campaign with a 31-24 victory at Utah Tech, scoring the final 24 points.
Redshirt freshman Caden Pinnick completed 21 of 31 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns, two to Samuel Gbatu Jr. Jordan Fisher added 105 yards rushing and a TD and brothers Rex and Porter Connors combined for 25 tackles.
“Our team showed a lot of fight to be able to come back and win a football game, and that’s something you’re looking for as a coach,” Aggies head coach Tim Plough said. “And I was proud with how the team finished and responded … now we focus on getting better and playing four quarters as we turn our attention to the next game.”
