UW
No. 4 Huskies prepare for ‘toughest test so far’ vs No. 17 Utah
Oct 25, 2016, 9:23 AM | Updated: 9:27 am
To this point, there’s only been one game in which the No. 4 Washington Huskies have struggled to win in 2016, that being their 35-28 victory at Arizona in Week 4 that required overtime to be settled. There’s reason to think that game will no longer be considered UW’s biggest hurdle of the season after Saturday afternoon.
With ESPN’s “College GameDay” on hand in Salt Lake City, the Huskies will put their perfect 7-0 record on the line in a potential Pac-12 championship game preview against the No. 17 Utah Utes, who are 7-1 and have been boosted by the re-emergence of running back Joe Williams.
“This will by far be our toughest test so far,” UW coach Chris Petersen said Monday. “I think their record proves out. Going on the road, that’s a really great environment to play in, all those types of things across the board.”
Williams is certainly one of those factors, although the Huskies had no way of knowing two weeks ago that he’d be one at all. The senior had retired earlier in the season due to nagging injuries. But when the Utes’ backfield found itself depleted two weeks ago, Williams rejoined the picture and has only been one of the best players in college football since.
Last Saturday, in just his second game back, he torched UCLA for 332 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries – and that happened even with Utah limiting his workload due to concerns about his durability. Safe to say, the vaunted Huskies defense will be geared up for the biggest challenge from a running back they may see this year.
Petersen was light-hearted about the threat Williams poses, cracking a joke about his midseason break, but he by no means is taking the running back lightly.
“Well, you want to talk about reps and staying fresh for the season – it worked out pretty good,” Petersen said while flashing a smile. “Then he comes back and he’s getting more reps than he probably ever thought in his wildest dreams he’d get. But he’s doing a heck of a job. He’s a fast guy. He obviously knows their stuff inside and out. It’s kind of one of the weird things that can happen in a career or a season, the twists and turns that a season takes. Good for him to be able to finally get in there and really show how he can play. He’s a heck of a player.”
Joe Williams won’t be the only Williams the UW defense will be planning for this week. The Utah offense is led by junior quarterback Troy Williams, who started his career with UW after being recruited by Steve Sarkisian and actually attempted 36 passes for the Huskies in 2014, Petersen’s first year at the helm. After spending last year playing at a junior college, he’s having a strong debut campaign with the Utes, owning a 124.9 rating and 55.9 completion percentage.
Petersen said he never thought about if he’d find himself coaching against Troy Williams after he transferred, but he’s taking it in stride.
“Sometimes … (when) you didn’t recruit a guy, the guy just says, ‘Maybe I just need a fresh start.’ I thought Troy was a good player when he was here, and I knew he’d go somewhere and be a really good player. I think that’s proven true,” Petersen said. “I’ve seen him a little bit and he looks like Troy. He can throw the ball. He throws a nice, tight spiral. I think the one thing that’s different, he’s got a ton of reps. When he was here he wasn’t getting a ton of reps, and that’s hard. We always say that it’s hard to be a backup quarterback and really prove yourself. So he went and got a bunch of reps at a junior college and then he’s gotten a ton in their system and he’s doing a nice job.”
