Happy Monday Dawg fans, and welcome to today’s Dots.
The Huskies had their chances on Senior Day Saturday, but against a team of Oregon’s caliber there could be no mistakes — no back-breaking plays allowed if the Dawgs were to pull the upset. Unfortunately, the Huskies trend of slow starts and not-enough-offense against quality opponents continued through this rivalry matchup, as the Ducks flew south with the spoils, 26-14.
Duck QB Dante Moore’s throwing accuracy stood in contrast to Demond Williams Jr., who was off the mark several times and finished with a 50% completion rate. The Ducks dialed up big gains through the air, with their top three receivers recording “LONG”s of 64, 41, and 31 yards — each averaging 20 yds or more per catch. Oregon threw for more than double UW’s passing yards: 286 to 129. Leading Husky receiver Dezmen Roebuck finished with 27 yards total and Demond Williams completed just one pass over 16 yds.
The Huskies first five drives of the first half were 4 punts (3 3-and-out’s) and an interception that you simply can’t throw in this kind of game. This season in Big Ten play, UW has gone scoreless in the first quarter in 6 of 9 contests. Against opponents that finished higher in the Big Ten standings (OSU, Michigan, Oregon), UW never scored more than 7 points before halftime.
And yet, after the defense repeatedly held Oregon to field goals, and with 8 minutes remaining in the game, the Huskies trailed by just 5 points and stood one 3rd-and-9 away from forcing an Oregon punt. But a big catch and run for 64 yards right through the middle of the Husky secondary tacked on a second Ducks TD and effectively put the game out of reach.
On a positive note, Ryan Walters’s defense has been steadily improving all year. And although the Husky D still has hardly any pass rush to speak of, they limited John Mackey finalist TE Kenyon Sadiq to 4 catches for 11 yards, and held Oregon’s sound running attack to 106 yards and 2.5 yds/carry. Husky RB Adam Mohammed had 105 yards on his own at 7.5 yds/carry, and the Husky offense finished with 154 yards on the ground.
National signing day is this Wednesday. The Huskies currently have the #16 recruiting class nationally according to 24/7 Sports, and are #5 in the Big Ten.
- “Washington doesn’t have enough in 26-14 loss to No. 6 Oregon” — Jared Tucker, UW Daily
- “Washington’s 26-14 loss to Oregon looked familiar” — Christian Caple, On Montlake: “That’s kind of the way it works — you lose big, then you lose small, then you win small, then you win big,” Fisch said. “That’s kind of the progression of how these turnarounds occur, or how these builds occur.”
- “With Jedd Fisch’s future becoming clear, UW Huskies look toward 2026” — Andy Yamashita, Seattle Times
- “Jedd Fisch remains very optimistic about Washington’s future” — Roman Tomashoff, Huskies Wire
- Men’s soccer: “Charlie Kosakoff Sends Huskies To Elite Eight With 88th-Minute Winner” — GoHuskies.com
- Women’s soccer: “Washington’s Magical Season Ends In The Elite Eight” — GoHuskies.com
Go Dawgs!!