Evaluating UW Offense, Matchups Against Minnesota
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The UW offense found its stride last week against Eastern Washington. It had three explosive run plays, ten explosive passing plays, and over 500 yards of offense. The run game, and how the offensive line contributes to it, continues to be the weak point for this offense, however. Jedd Fisch’s group is averaging 129 rush yards per game this season, 15th in the Big Ten. But if you remove the quarterback run game from that total, it drops to 80 yards per game and just 3.8 yards per rush on average. And that’s including Brian Bonner’s 55-yard rush against Eastern Washington.
Washington’s Offense Outlook
Run Game Targets
“There’s no rule that says you have to have a top ten run game,” Fisch said on Monday of this week. “So I’m not overly worried about it. We will figure out what we need to do to move the ball.” The Washington head coach and play caller put a number to it: “If we feel like we can get the run game to a point where it’s continued to be at about 125 to 175 yards a game, that’s perfect.”
He added that if the quarterback contributes to 60 or 75 of those yards, he’s okay with it. “We have a quarterback that’s a great runner. That’s a very different deal than if you’re having a quarterback that can’t run…And if that’s what we’d have to do, then that’s what we would do.”
In terms of the national landscape of college football so far this season, an average of 150 rush yards per game ranks about 90th. In the Big Ten, it would rank 12th. Washington currently ranks 108th and 15th, respectively.
But last year, Washington averaged 165 rushing yards per game (7th in the Big Ten). In 2024, the Huskies averaged just 128 rushing yards per game (12th in the Big Ten). If 150 rush yards per game is the target, it’s right on track with where this offense has been the last two seasons.
Well-Equipped Passing Offense
Though the numbers are similar, Washington might not be able to rely on its run game with the consistency it did in years past. As such, it places an increased dependence on the passing game. But that’s something that this roster is equipped to handle.
Said Fisch this week, “Unique to this year for us as a staff, because we’ve had the same offensive staff for six years, is that we are playing more wide receivers than we’ve ever played. We’ve traditionally been a team that had three wideouts play three wideouts and then have a backup.” But this season at Washington, six different wide receivers have caught at least one pass. Four of those six have double-digit targets.
“This year we feel like our depth has gotten to a point that there’s not much separation between our wide receiver group,” he continued. “So it enables us to play six and to be able to keep guys fresh.” Last year at this time, Denzel Boston was the only receiver with double-digit targets.
Not only is this kind of depth unique to the staff, as Fisch described, but it provides a lot of versatility in the passing offense. Rashid Williams and Jordan Clay have been valuable in the one-on-one matchups outside. Chris Lawson’s ability to line up at any of the three receiver positions has helped him become the second-most targeted receiver thus far. Dezmen Roebuck’s quickness and physicality in the slot have translated to explosive plays. Especially after the catch, where he has 198 of his 221 receiving yards. Trez Davis’ and Mason James’ involvement has provided a gadget role as well as a threat laterally in the fly sweep game. Davis scored his first career touchdown on a fly sweep last week.
Golden Gopher Defenders
These Husky receivers will, however, face their toughest coverage defender to this point in the season. Minnesota cornerback John Nestor is coming off a 2025 season in which he led the Big Ten in interceptions with six, broke up six passes, and had a coverage grade of 81.4 according to Pro Football Focus.
In three games this year, Nestor has continued to play at a high level. His coverage grade has improved to 83.4 this year through three games, which is the best among all cornerbacks in the Big Ten. The Golden Gopher cornerback has given up less than five yards per reception on 11 targets in the secondary this year.
EDGE Presence
Up front, Washington’s offensive line will be challenged. This is a group of offensive linemen who have been responsible for 20 pressures and six quarterback hits through three games. Ten of those pressures and four of those hits came in the Washington State game alone. In total, Demond Williams has been pressured 42 times on the year, the most in the Big Ten among quarterbacks. The EDGE presence of the Cougar defense got the Husky offensive line moving backwards and off balance. Kodi Greene was responsible for four pressures and three quarterback hits in that game alone. The group cleaned things up against Utah State and Eastern Washington, as expected. But the Golden Gophers have three highly experienced EDGE rushers, including Anthony Smith, who was a first-team All-Big Ten defender last year. It will be the best group the Huskies have seen this season.
Smith, Karter Menz, and TJ Bush Jr. have combined for 19 quarterback pressures and 6.5 tackles for loss through three games. As a defense, Minnesota ranks 11th nationally in tackles for loss per game, averaging eight per contest. Even in their loss to Mississippi State in week two, the Gopher defense created six pressures and forced seven tackles for loss.
Jedd Fisch’s Outlook
“We’re gonna have to find a way to balance the passing game and the running game in a way that we can stretch the field when necessary, run horizontally when needed, and figure out ways to get first downs and create points,” Fisch described this week.
“We’re going to have to not let any kick return or punt return get out of hand and be able to do a great job of winning the field position battle. They’re going to try very hard to win the field position battle,” he continued.
“These guys are going to be more aggressive. They’re faster in their coverages. So for that, we have to be prepared.”
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