5 UW Developments to Watch for Against Northwestern

Each fix or healing process is necessary for a Husky victory.

Brennan Carroll shows a little fire during the Apple Cup. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Treating penalties like parking tickets, the University of Washington football team hasn't been able to drive anywhere this season without getting one.

Entering Saturday's game against Northwestern (2-1), the Huskies have been guilty of 30 infractions over three games, 16 in the Apple Cup alone, seven of them coming in the fourth quarter against Washington State.

The UW (2-1) didn't lose its driving privileges because of this, just the Apple Cup trophy that had been on prominent display for two seasons in its team room.

"We're working real hard to emphasize that if we don't give gifts, what kind of team can we be, what kind of program can we be," Huskies coach Jedd Fisch said.

Cutting down on its undisciplined play is mandatory for the UW to win its first Big Ten Conference game ever and this problem area is considered one of five keys for Fisch's guys to come out of this landmark game with a victory. We break it down.

1. LOWERING THE FLAG. The solutions for this problem have been many. The Huskies, guilty of way too many offsides and false starts, cranked up the music during practice this week to work on everyone's concentration levels. The defensive backs put on boxing gloves to limit their holding and pass-interference calls. Fisch might as well have passed the rulebook around, too, and made it required reading for his charges. The UW has had two touchdowns called back by penalty and supplied their opponents with an additional eight first downs. This game is hard enough without all of these unforced errors and freebies.

2. RUSH HOUR. The visiting Wildcats haven't given up a rushing touchdown in three games this season. While UW running back Jonah Coleman is fully capable of crashing into the end zone and ending that streak, we envision freshman understudy Adam Mohammed, who's extra speedy and powerful with a football in his hands and has been impressive in all three Husky outings so far, will do the honors by breaking one and scoring from 30 yards out or so. Northwestern will be so focused on stopping Coleman, they won't notice Mohammed entering the game and electrifying everyone by going the distance over the right side.

3. FREE ZACH DURFEE. To beat WSU and elusive Cougars quarerback John Mateer, the Huskies felt it necessarily to limit Durfee, their junior edge rusher and most effective defensive playmaker, to 25 snaps, not start him and take their chances with an extra linebacker and a down lineman. Obviously, with WSU taking a 24-19 win, it didn't work out as well as expected. While the Huskies no doubt spent the week putting Durfee back in the middle of the defensive game plan, Mateer was busy filming a TV spot in which he was seated in the Martin Stadium stands in Pullman, looking wistfully at the Apple Cup trophy set up next to him and loudly eating an apple with a smile on his face.

Zach Durfee takes the field for the Apple Cup. / Skylar Lin Visuals

4. BIG-GAME HUNTER. For the second time in three outings, the Huskies didn't get wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter involved in the offense much. He went without a catch against Weber State's Wildcats in the season opener and had just two receptions for 23 yards against the Cougars. This a guy who caught 62 balls for California in 2023. Look for the UW to get 6-7 throws to Hunter against these Big Ten Wildcats.

5. BRUENER UNBRUISED. Fisch seemed to intimate there was a chance that linebacker Carson Bruener, who injured his shoulder or suffered a stinger against WSU, might not play against Northwestern. The coach said his senior team captain wasn't 100 percent and the best he could label him was probable. Knowing Bruener, he's so tough-minded, like an old-school Big Ten linebacker, there's no way he won't pull a full shift on Saturday at the Husky football factory.

Carson Bruener celebrates an Apple Cup moment. / Skylar Lin Visuals

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