Washington’s Big Ten opener was an evening highlighted by its stout defense. The Huskies allowed a mere 112 total yards and showcased their stinginess in goal line defense on more than one occasion. Denzel Boston had a career day at wide receiver, hauling in two touchdowns against Northwestern. We also witnessed a two-quarterback package from the Jedd Fisch offense. Washington opens league play with a Big Ten-esque 24-5 winning score over Northwestern.
Defensive Stands and Standouts
“Strain” was a word Fisch used multiple times in his post-game press conference. He used it specifically when referencing Washington’s two goal line stands on the evening. Not once, but twice did Washington stop Northwestern in goal-to-go situations. A fumbled snap set the Wildcats up with their best field position to that point of the game. Northwestern gained possession at the Washington 33-yard line and moved down to the four-yard line in four plays. Then, true freshman linebacker Khmori House made back-to-back touchdown-saving tackles. The first was a hustle play to the far side of the field, forcing Lausch out of bounds. On the ensuing play, House made a goal line stop on a run up the middle, forcing a field goal attempt.
In the fourth quarter, Washington’s special teams coverage slipped up following the offense taking a 24-5 lead. Running back Joseph Himon returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to the Washington two-yard line. The only reason it wasn’t a touchdown was because of Elijah Jackson‘s effort play to save the score. Fisch called Jackson’s effort “strain.”
“It starts with the mentality that we’re going to defend every blade of grass,” Fisch said after the game. That’s exactly what Jackson did on that play, and it sparked another goal line stand. “Seeing him run like that just made me want to keep going harder,” Isaiah Ward said after the game. After committing a defensive holding on first down, Northwestern was just one yard from their first touchdown of the evening. But the Washington defense stood up again. The sequence went incompletion, rush for no gain, incompletion, and incompletion. The Huskies took away every passing lane, and Jack Lausch was forced to fit it into difficult windows.
1st Down Defense
Washington held the Wildcats to just two of 13 on third down on Saturday evening. Northwestern’s average yardage to go was 6.9 yards. “We talked about winning on first down, ” Fisch said after the game. The Wildcats ran 22 first down plays. They averaged just 3.2 yards per play, and allowed just four completions on 12 attempts on first down plays. “It felt to me like they were in third and eight-plus a lot,” Fisch said after the game. Northwestern was in third and five-plus on eight of their 13 attempts…