Caple’s Notebook: Do UW Huskies know who’s QB vs No. 1 Oregon?

After the UW Huskies’ second and final bye week of the season, coach Jedd Fisch met with reporters on Monday to preview his team’s regular-season finale at unbeaten, No. 1 Oregon set for 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Here’s what to know.

No QB news

Fisch isn’t budging from his stated plan to leave the identity of UW’s starting quarterback a mystery until game time.

Last week: Has Demond Williams Jr grabbed the reins at QB?

Senior Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers started the Huskies’ first 11 games, but freshman backup Demond Williams Jr. relieved him after two interceptions and helped lead the Huskies to their 31-19 victory over UCLA on Nov. 15.

Williams has appeared in every game this season, often as a change-of-pace option in the middle of drives. He offers more athletic upside, which he showed on multiple scrambles against the Bruins, but Rogers offers far more experience.

Fisch said last week that he wanted to see how both responded to the UCLA game — Williams coming off the most significant action of his career, and Rogers coming off a benching amid his worst struggles as a Husky — in last week’s practices. Fisch said the Huskies practiced four times — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday — with the latter being the first true practice of game week.

“I think Will’s experience showed up at practice — a guy that has started 51 games, a guy that has understood all the different elements, and a guy that has kind of been able to handle some ups and downs,” Fisch said. “He’s had some adversity in his career when he was at Mississippi State. I think for Will, he certainly was able to take a deep breath and handle it really well this week.

“On the same token, Demond’s energy and Demond’s confidence showed up. His ability to jump right in and feel really good about leading the group whenever it was his turn — he did a really nice job there, as well. I think both guys responded well to the week of practice, and now, really, it’s important for us that the guy we believe will start the game gets a significant amount of reps in practice week. But as you know, we’re not afraid to play two quarterbacks.”

Does that mean Fisch knows who his starter will be?

“I have a good idea how we’re going to do that,” he said.

UW Huskies’ new Thanksgiving weekend rivalry

For the longest time, fans could count on Washington’s Apple Cup rivalry with Washington State being played one or two days after Thanksgiving.

With UW moving to the Big Ten, though, Oregon has replaced the Apple Cup as the Huskies’ season-finale rivalry game.

What does Fisch think about facing the Ducks instead of the Cougars this time of year?

“I think it’s really good that you have a conference game to end the season,” Fisch said. “The fact that the conference is the Big Ten, and Oregon’s in the Big Ten, we’re in the Big Ten — I think that’s a necessity to end the season with. … I just think that having a conference rivalry game has so much impact on the season that that’s what makes it special. The fact we can continue to do that with a team like Oregon is great.”

UW’s series with WSU will continue for at least the next four years, with next season’s game scheduled for Sept. 20 in Pullman. The Cougars defeated the Huskies this season, 24-19, in a neutral-site game at Lumen Field on Sept. 14.

Portal talk

On Monday, Dec. 9, college football’s transfer portal will open for players interested in changing schools.

For every program, the portal cuts both ways. It’s an opportunity to acquire experienced talent and fill roster holes, but also could mean losing a key player to a school willing to pay him more money or provide a more significant role on the field.

Does Fisch anticipate a battle to keep UW’s roster together?

“We expect to make some plays on some guys when they enter the portal, from other programs,” Fisch said, “and then we also expect that we’re going to have to fight hard to make sure that we keep our team in check, and we’re looking forward to doing that.”

The coach also was asked if he has any players who already have been contacted by other schools attempting to poach them.

“I’m sure I do. I don’t know exactly who they are. Or maybe I do,” Fisch said. “Of course, that’s going on. It’s the nature of the beast that we’re living in right now. … There’s opportunities for (donor) collectives to reach out to players on your team and others, and legally do it. They’re a third-party group that are not regulated. There’s opportunities for high-school coaches to reach out to staff and say, ‘is this somebody you’re interested in?’ People can say they don’t answer the question, but I think that would mean probably people not telling the truth.”

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.

More on the UW Huskies and college football

• AP Top 25: Oregon remains unanimous No. 1; WSU drops out
• Caple: Ranking the UW Huskies’ 20 consecutive home victories
• Is it Demond’s time? Brock weighs in on UW Huskies’ QB conundrum
• Demond Williams Jr. provides dazzling taste of UW Huskies’ future
• UW Huskies pull away, beat UCLA 31-19 to secure bowl eligibility

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