Washington Huskies’ alarming win over Utah State felt more like a warning

It’s one thing to have a weakness.

It’s worse when you enter the season expecting it’s a strength.

That makes the sorry state of Washington’s offensive line even more egregious. Because on Aug. 4, one day before UW officially opened training camp, coach Jedd Fisch gushed about his offensive front: “We’re big. I love it. They’re athletic as can be.”

After two seasons of being bullied by the Big Ten’s best, it was finally time for the Huskies to enforce their will. It was time to prove they could feast on physically inferior defenses, solidifying their standing in a mercilessly mauling conference while papering over inexperience at their skill positions. With a returning freshman All-American (left guard John Mills) and three captains along the line (Mills, center Landen Hatchett and right tackle Drew Azzopardi), it was time to violently, undeniably evolve.

After two weeks, No. 19 Washington is 2-0.

But that assumed strength?

It’s a massively worrisome weakness.

And it’s concerning that Fisch and Co. may not have known that a month ago.

In Saturday’s 16-14 win over Utah State, UW running backs Trey Cooley, Brian Bonner and Ansu Sanoe recorded a combined 49 rushing yards and 2.3 yards per carry. Against an opponent that lost 29-17 at home to FCS Idaho State a week ago, Washington went 6 for 17 on third down. Their longest run of the night was a merciful 10-yard outlier in the second quarter. Fisch even turned to true freshman quarterback Derek Zammit out of desperation for a wildcat run on third-and-one, because “we were trying to create some short-yardage offense right now.”

A year ago, an eventually average UW ground game recorded 302.3 rushing yards with 5.53 yards per carry and 16 rushing touchdowns in three nonconference games. That included 283 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per carry and four rushing scores against Colorado State, a program on par with Utah State or WSU. That wasn’t particularly impressive or insightful, either. It’s what UW was expected to do.

Forget evolution. This looks like a dramatic, unavoidable devolution. This looks like an offense with few proven playmakers and little reason to believe magic solutions are about to arrive.

It isn’t all Fisch’s fault. If running back Trey Cooley didn’t drop a fourth-and-two pass that could have went for a 33-yard touchdown, this is a less critical conversation. If wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck didn’t pile up two more drops that could have cost them the game, this is a less critical conversation. If UW didn’t lose two of its top running backs (Quaid Carr and Jayden Limar) and wide receivers (Christian Moss and Rashid Williams) to injury, this looks like a less alarming predicament.

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On Saturday, UW linebacker Jacob Manu said, “Any win is a good win,” and he’s largely right. (Ask any Oregon football fan.) The return of some of those skill players, plus starting center Landen Hatchett, should also make a positive impact.

But it’s hard to imagine a win that felt more like a warning.

“I think there’s a lot to improve upon up front with the O-line,” Fisch said Saturday. “I think there’s a lot to improve upon as coaches, to make sure we’re putting the offense in the best possible position to run the football. I think there’s a lot to improve upon in terms of developing the running game that really works best for our backs.”

It there’s a positive, it’s that UW’s offense didn’t commit a turnover for a second consecutive game. Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. was reliable, if unremarkable, completing 63% of his passes while throwing for 249 yards with 56 rushing yards.

But on third down especially, “Demond running around” is not an offense.

At least, not one Washington can continue to win with.

“As the quarterback, it all falls on me as far as trying to figure out how to score points, how to lead the offense,” an admirably accountable Williams said.

I disagree.

It falls on Williams to execute the plan he’s given and lead his teammates.

It falls on Fisch to figure out how to fix this.

Fisch’s decision to pass on first down with 1:49 left, resulting in Roebuck’s second drop, could have proved fatal. UW went three-and-out and Utah State got the ball back with 47 seconds left, an obvious and egregious clock management misfire.

But I’m more concerned with the big picture. It’s not just that UW’s offense, outside of Williams, might lack anyone who could scare a Big Ten defensive coordinator. It’s not just that Jonah Coleman and Denzel Boston left gaping holes in the Huskies’ house, and a storm is coming.

It’s that this, to a lesser extent, all feels familiar.

A week before his 2021 season opener against Montana, then-UW coach Jimmy Lake was asked to identify an offensive strength.

“We are extremely veteran, talented and deep — very deep — on our offensive line,” Lake said of his 18^th-ranked Huskies. “I would say that is a definite strength of ours.”

We know now that UW lost to Montana, went 4-8 and finished 120^th in yards per carry (3.19). Considering the 2026 Huskies are 2-0, and “all wins are good wins,” the present predicament is not as dire as its predecessor. This team is probably too talented, and its defense is too competent under coordinator Ryan Walters, to fall that far. But there’s still a lesson to be learned.

It’s natural to have weaknesses. It’s worse to not know what they are.

If he didn’t know before, Fisch and Co. have since found out.