UW Notebook: Fisch says execution lacked on final Apple Cup play

Sep 16, 2024, 4:09 PM

UW Huskies Jedd Fisch Apple Cup WSU Cougars Jake Dickert...

UW Huskies coach Jedd Fisch and WSU Cougars coach Jake Dickert after the 2024 Apple Cup. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

UW Huskies Insider

UW Huskies coach Jedd Fisch met with reporters on Monday after Washington’s 24-19 loss to Washington State in Saturday’s Apple Cup.

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Here’s what to know from the coach’s remarks.

Bruener OK

Perhaps lost amid the thrilling finish of Saturday’s Apple Cup: Washington linebacker Carson Bruener left with what appeared to be an arm or shoulder injury, and did not return to the game.

It sounds, though, as if he should be available for this week’s game against Northwestern. Fisch said Monday that “I think he’ll be fine,” and that he believes the injury won’t keep him out of UW’s 4 p.m. Big Ten opener at Husky Stadium on Saturday.

Another linebacker, Anthony Ward, who mostly contributes on special teams, also left the game due to injury. His status is less certain.

“He’s got to go through all the medical protocols after that hit,” Fisch said. “So we’ll just wait and see.”

Don’t expect to see senior tight end Quentin Moore this week. Fisch said he was “hopeful but doubtful,” clarifying that “I’m hopeful, (but) medically doubtful, for a little bit longer, I think.”

Without Moore, senior Keleki Latu played all but one offensive snap, per Pro Football Focus, with freshman Decker DeGraaf playing 18 snaps and walk-on Owen Coutts playing three.

Revisiting fourth down

Fisch said after Saturday’s game that “I made a bad call” on the failed speed-option play on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line late in the fourth quarter, which WSU stuffed to ultimately clinch the victory. Asked about it on Monday, though, Fisch seemed to have a bigger problem with the execution and not necessarily his call.

WASHINGTON STATE GETS THE STOP ON 4TH DOWN!!! 🤩 @WSUCougarFB pic.twitter.com/u9X0TMsaKR

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 14, 2024

“We needed to leave a guy to run option off of, and we didn’t,” Fisch said. “We didn’t block it the way we would have liked to block it, and the way we would have expected to block it. That’s the game of football. If we’d called a pass and threw it incomplete, then we should have ran it. If you run it and you don’t get it, you should have thrown it. It’s unfortunate.”

Fisch said the player who made the tackle, WSU linebacker Kyle Thornton, should have been blocked, with the player lined up on the edge — linebacker Taariq “Buddah” Al-Uqdah — left unblocked and put in position to choose between pursuing quarterback Will Rogers or tailback Jonah Coleman.

“The (defensive) front was fine,” Fisch said. “We didn’t leave the back to run option. You’ve got to leave one. If you’re going to run option football, you’ve got to leave one guy.”

UW Huskies’ high praise for Mateer

WSU quarterback John Mateer ran for touchdowns of 25 and 23 yards and threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Josha Meredith. His 25-yard score came on third-and-20 near the end of the first half, a crucial swing that gave WSU a 17-13 lead heading into the locker room.

“Let me start with this — that kid’s a really good player. He’s really good, and really hard to get down,” Fisch said, asked about UW’s approach against Mateer. “I can’t tell you how many opportunities that we had to take him down, and he didn’t go down. We had guys around him at all times in the pocket. That pocket was collapsing and he was scrambling out of it. He was holding the ball and making plays on scrambles.

“Our plan was to try to contain the guy. I mean, that guy is good. Hat’s off to him. He wound up making the plays when he needed to make them. I think we had some chances that we didn’t get him down. There’s probably three or four missed sack opportunities, and then two sacks that got negated because of penalties down the field.”

This column from UW Huskies football insider Christian Caple is exclusive to Seattle Sports. Subscribe to OnMontlake.com for full access to Caple’s in-depth Husky coverage.