Apple Cup Notebook: UW shows ‘resilience,’ but has plenty to improve

SEATTLE – UW Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch didn’t mince words, calling his team’s first-half offensive performance “embarrassing” during a halftime sideline interview on NBC.

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It didn’t get any better during a scoreless third quarter.

But when the pressure ratcheted up in the fourth, Washington’s offense finally jolted to life with back-to-back touchdown drives, propelling the No. 17 Huskies past the upset-minded WSU Cougars for a season-opening 24-10 Apple Cup win on Sunday afternoon.

The finishing flourish had Fisch in a better mood after the game, even though he knows the overall showing wasn’t up to standard.

“I thought Washington State had a really good plan, played really hard, and did a nice job,” Fisch said. “Very challenging, Week 1, to really make sure that we knew what we wanted to get done.

“We felt like we didn’t play at the level we would like to play at, but we also are very happy with the victory.”

Washington’s defense played stout, limiting the Cougars to just 242 total yards while generating three takeaways, three sacks and eight tackles for loss.

But it was a much different story for UW’s offense, which was out of sync while mustering just 10 points over the first three quarters.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a lot of the time, including myself, so I know we gotta clean those things up,” said UW dual-threat quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who completed 24 of 35 passes for 268 yards and a TD, while adding 61 yards on seven carries.

Most notably, UW had several botched red-zone opportunities.

In the first quarter, the Huskies drove to the WSU 11-yard line before a trio of penalties pushed them back and forced them to settle for a field goal.

Midway through the second quarter, kicker Tyler Robles missed a 29-yard field-goal attempt shortly after running back Trey Cooley lost 6 yards on a dropped a halfback toss from the 5-yard line.

And in the closing minutes of the first half, after UW marched 93 yards to the WSU 1-yard line, running back Jayden Limar was stuffed on a fourth-and-goal carry up the middle as time expired.

“We’ve gotta score some points,” Fisch said in his halftime interview with NBC. “It’s embarrassing right now.”

After two more scoreless possessions from UW in the third quarter, WSU mounted a TD drive to trim the margin to 10-7 with 10:15 remaining, sending the Cougs’ section into a frenzy.

Perhaps the noise – and the threat of a potential upset brewing – finally woke up the Huskies’ offense.

UW immediately responded with back-to-back chunk plays, as Williams hit wide receiver Chris Lawson for a 29-yard gain and wideout Rashid Williams for a 44-yard completion on a flea-flicker. Two plays later, Demond Williams Jr. and Rashid Williams connected again for a 1-yard TD pass.

Then, after WSU answered with a field goal to trim the margin to 17-10, Demond Williams Jr. rose to the occasion on a pivotal third-and-9 with less than 3 minutes to play. UW’s speedy QB unleashed one of his vintage game-breaking runs, scrambling outside before eluding two defenders with a sharp cutback on his way to a 21-yard gain.

“His feet are one of our biggest advantages, and his ability to make that first guy miss and break that tackle made a huge different to get us to where we want to go,” Fisch said.

UW stayed aggressive after that, with Demond Williams Jr. lofting a deep pass down the sideline that Lawson hauled in for a 35-yard gain. And on the next play, Limar scampered into the end zone for a game-sealing 11-yard TD to make it 24-10.

“I thought in the fourth quarter, the offense really turned on and did a fantastic job,” Fisch said. “… So that part made me really happy, the resilience we showed. But a lot to learn. Week 1, young players, young team, and need to find a way to play a little bit better next week.”

Too many flags

The Huskies committed 12 penalties for 130 yards. Among the flags were a pair of third-down, dead-ball penalties that extended a long WSU drive in the third quarter.

Fisch said he wants his team to play with an edge, but hopes Sunday’s penalty-filled affair serves as a lesson.

“My hope is that happened, we’re over it, we learned that you can take it so far and then you have to stop,” Fisch said. “And they’re gonna continue to play extremely hard, but on the same token, they need to know where to draw the line to have that discipline to make sure we don’t give anything away.”

Rashid Williams’ big day

Senior wideout Rashid Williams, who was limited to just five games last season due to a collarbone injury and a hand injury, hauled in three catches for a career-high 74 yards and a TD.

“It meant everything, you know, going through what I went through,” Williams said. “Just being out here, the atmosphere with the crowd and feeling all the energy from the crowd and the players and the coaches, it was awesome.”

Freshman watch

UW started four true freshmen: five-star left tackle Kodi Greene, four-star defensive tackle Derek Colman-Brusa, four-star edge rusher Ramzak Fruean and four-star cornerback Jeron Jones.

Jones intercepted a second-quarter pass, which Colman-Brusa got a fingertip on while pressuring WSU quarterback Caden Pinnick. Colman-Brusa also had a tackle for loss, while Fruean added a pass breakup.

Analyst: UW Huskies could be ‘ultimate chaos agent’ this fall

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