Instant Observations from UW Huskies’ loss at No. 6 Penn St.

Nov 9, 2024, 8:26 PM

Tyler Warren of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs for a touchdown against against the UW Huskies during a 2024 game. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

(Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

BY ZAC HERETH

Seattle Sports

Any hopes for an upset faded away rather quickly for the UW Huskies.

Box Score

The No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions raced out to a 28-0 lead in the first half and were firmly in control all night as they handed the visiting Huskies a 35-6 thumping at Beaver Stadium. The loss UW dropped to 5-5 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play. Penn State improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten.

Here’s five things that stood out from the Huskies’ defeat:

A clear mismatch: UW has beaten itself with mistakes plenty of times this season, but that certainly wasn’t the case on Saturday night. There’s no way to put it other than that the Huskies were beaten soundly in every facet of the game. Penn State looked like a far superior team and any stat from the game illustrates that. The Nittany Lions outgained the Huskies 486-193, averaged 6.9 yards per play compared to the Huskies’ 3.4, converted a combined 11 for 14 on third- and fourth-down attempts and went on three first-half touchdown drives of 68 yards or more. The lack of ability to keep this game somewhat competitive showed just how big the gap is between the Huskies and the top tier of the Big Ten.

Tyler Warren does it all for @PennStateFball 🙌#B1GFootball on Peacock 💻 pic.twitter.com/3qmO6WYSvW

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 10, 2024

Demond Williams gets extended look: With the Huskies trailing 28-0 at halftime, head coach Jedd Fisch looked to spark the offense by bringing true freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in for senior starter Will Rogers. Williams got off to an inauspicious start as he overthrew a wide-open Decker DeGraaf on what would have been a touchdown pass on his first play of the half, but went on to lead UW to field goals on his first two drives. Williams was able to connect on a couple of chunk passes after Rogers’ longest first-half completion went for just 10 yards, and the freshman’s dual-threat capabilities provided a wrinkle that helped the Huskies move the ball with more success. He showed of his wheels on UW’s longest play of the night when he scampered for 43 yards in the fourth quarter. Williams finished the night 6-of-10 passing for 60 yards and added 38 yards on 10 rushes, a pretty solid performance for a true freshman facing a national title contender in a hostile environment. It will be interesting to see if Williams gets more playing time with the Huskies chasing a win in their final two games to secure bowl eligibility.

UW Huskies playmakers silenced: The Huskies were going to need big plays from their best weapons to pull off the upset, but they didn’t much at all from standout running back Jonah Coleman or wide receiver Denzel Boston. Coleman, who entered the game averaging 6.3 yards per carry, never had much running room on his way to season lows of 24 rushing yards and 2.2 yards per carry. Boston, who was tied for fourth in the country with nine receiving touchdowns, was targetd just three times and finished with a season-low two receptions for 35 yards. Without Coleman or Boston making big plays, UW struggled to pick up chunks of yardage and didn’t get its first play of at least 20 yards until late in the third quarter.

Abdul Carter wreaks havoc: Standout Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter made his presence felt early and often as the Nittany Lions defense shut down the Huskies’ offense. The junior stopped Jonah Coleman for a six-yard loss on first down that forced the Huskies into a missed field goal attempt on their opening drive, came up with a big sack on second down that stalled UW’s next drive and continued to give Huskies right tackle Drew Azzopardi trouble all night. He finished with four tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced a fumble.

Road woes continue: The Huskies’ road schedule looked like a daunting one coming into the season and has proven to be one of their biggest challenges with final three road games coming against teams who have a combined 28-1 record and are currently in the top 10. And when it’s all said and done, all five road games could end up being against team that finish the season with winning records. After the loss, the Huskies are 0-4 on the road and o-5 overall in games away from Husky Stadium. They’ve lost their past three road games by an average of 22.3 points. It’s very likely they’ll end the season without a road victory as top-ranked Oregon is the only road game left on the schedule. The last time that happened was when UW did it in back-to-back years in 2008 and ’09.