Latest on UW Huskies: Is Will Rogers still the QB? Plus blackout coming

UW Huskies coach Jedd Fisch met with reporters Monday to look back at the Huskies’ 35-6 defeat to No. 4 Penn State, and look ahead to Friday’s game against UCLA at Husky Stadium.

Instant Observations from UW Huskies’ loss at Penn State

Here’s what to know.

Will Rogers still UW Huskies’ starting QB

Fisch said after Saturday’s game in State College that he expected Rogers to remain the starting quarterback against UCLA (4-5, 3-4 in Big Ten), and he reiterated as much on Monday.

Rogers played only the first half against the Nittany Lions, completing 10-of-13 for 59 yards with an interception and two sacks. PSU led 28-0 at halftime, at which point Fisch subbed in backup Demond Williams Jr., who played the entire second half. The freshman completed 6-of-10 for 60 yards and netted 38 yards rushing on 10 attempts (though that total includes three sacks for a loss of 27 yards).

Williams drove the Huskies inside PSU’s 10-yard line on all three of his possessions, though they yielded only a pair of field goals. His highlight was a 43-yard gain on a scramble up the right sideline. Williams could have thrown a touchdown pass on his first attempt, a reverse flea-flicker pass intended for tight end Decker DeGraaf, but he overthrew him as pressure arrived.

Rogers, a senior transfer from Mississippi State, is completing 71.4 percent of his passes this season for 8.1 yards per attempt with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Fisch has mixed Williams into every game, typically for only a few plays at a time, and has maintained that Rogers gives the Huskies the best chance to win.

“He’s led us all season long, and he’s 5-0 at home,” Fisch said of Rogers. “He has done a fantastic job against both Michigan and USC in our home games here, and Northwestern. He has been a fantastic leader since arriving here. There wasn’t anything that occurred on Saturday night that I would hold him solely responsible for, that would have caused us to say, ‘hey, there’s just no way we’re going to win this game otherwise.’

“I have total faith that we’re going to win the game with Will at the starting quarterback position, and I think the team feels the same way.”

Bruener OK

For the second time this season, Washington linebacker Carson Bruener left a game due to the same left shoulder injury. This time, it was on Penn State’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter, after the star senior landed hard on the shoulder while attempting to tackle running back Kaytron Allen.

Fisch, though, said Bruener should be fine for Friday’s game. Bruener first hurt the shoulder in UW’s third game, against Washington State — Fisch has said Bruener sustained a sprain to his AC joint — but he has played through the pain and hasn’t missed any game action because of it.

“He’s tough as nails, all year long,” Fisch said. “There’s not going to be any negative deal for him to continue playing.”

Friday blackout

It’s a short week for the Huskies. They arrived back in Seattle around 5 a.m. Sunday, and now will face a UCLA team that played a Friday home game.

All indications are that the Huskies will wear their black “Strategy” uniforms — this year’s speciality alternates designed by Adidas — and Fisch mentioned that the game will be “blackout” themed.

👀⏳🌒 6 p.m. pic.twitter.com/uGZ6LnLIxz

— Washington Football (@UW_Football) November 11, 2024

The Huskies (5-5, 3-4) have won 19 consecutive home games, and hope they can add No. 20 to get bowl eligible. UW ends the regular season with a Nov. 30 trip to face No. 1 Oregon in Eugene.

UW plans to honor 26 seniors, Fisch said, before Friday’s game.

“We need an incredible, incredible crowd, for a lot of reasons,” Fisch said. “No. 1, I think we should honor the kids that stayed. Some of our players have been through four head coaches. … COVID season, 4-8 year in 2021, 14-1 year in 2023, and now they’re going through their final year here and trying to figure out what their life is going to look like. I think it’s really important to honor them.”

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.

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