UW Huskies vs. Colorado State: Keys to the game, how to watch and prediction

DerekJohnson · 8:23AM

By Andy YamashitaSeattle Times staff reporter

Colorado State at Washington

Kickoff: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Husky Stadium

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: SportsRadio 93.3-FM KJR

Latest line (via BetMGM): Washington -21.5, Total 53.5

All-time series: First meeting between Washington and Colorado State

You only get one chance to make a first impression 2025 Season Trailer. #WinningStartsWithin pic.twitter.com/mbGGCp5A05
— Washington Football (@UW _Football) August 29, 2025

UW key players

QB Demond Williams Jr. (2024): 13 games, 78.1% completions, 944 pass yards, 82 completions, 102 attempts, 8 pass TD, 1 INT, 83 carries, 282 rush yards, 2 rush TD

RB Jonah Coleman (2024): 13 games, 193 carries, 1,053 rush yards, 10 rush TD, 23 catches, 177 receiving yards

CB Ephesians Prysock (2024): 13 games, 45 tackles, 6 PBU, 1 forced fumble

S Makell Esteen (2024): 10 games, 44 tackles, 1.5 TFL

Colorado State key players

QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi (2024): 13 games, 60.5% completions, 2,796 pass yards, 230 completions, 380 attempts, 14 pass TD, 9 INT, 43 carries, 75 yards, 4 rush TD

RB Jalen Dupree (2024): 5 games, 25 carries, 153 yards, 1 rush TD

LB Owen Long (2024): 13 games, 45 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 2 PBU

LB Jacob Ellis (2024 at Iowa State): 13 games, 41 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

A veteran quarterback

New defensive coordinator Ryan Walters and his defense will begin the 2025 season with an immediate test in Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi.

“He trusts his guys a lot to go make plays,” Walters said Tuesday. “He’s smart. Obviously, he can make all the throws, but he’s also an experienced guy who’s seen and played a lot of football.”

Entering his third season as Colorado State’s starter, Fowler-Nicolosi has been a solid quarterback. And his improvements during the past two years have propelled the Rams back among the best in the Mountain West.

Fowler-Nicolosi, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback, was a 2023 All-Mountain West honorable mention as a redshirt freshman. He registered 3,460 yards passing and 22 touchdowns, helping Colorado State win five games for the first time in coach Jay Norvell’s tenure and the first time since 2017.

Colorado State quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, center, throws a pass as Colorado linebacker Marvin Ham II (25) and defensive lineman Leonard Payne Jr. (55) pursue in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado State quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, center, throws a pass as Colorado linebacker Marvin Ham II (25) and defensive lineman Leonard Payne Jr. (55) pursue in the first half of an NCAA college... (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)More

His yardage dropped, but his efficiency and ball security improved in 2024 as the Rams won eight games and finished tied for second in the conference. Colorado State was ranked fourth in the Mountain West’s 2025 preseason poll.

However, Fowler-Nicolosi also offers an opportunity. He was picked off 16 times in 2023 and gave up nine in 2024. He’s been intercepted multiple times in the same game six times.

“His knowledge of their offense and seeing defenses in front of him, he makes quick decisions and lives with them,” Walters said. “That’s how we’ll get tested, because he’s not afraid to push the ball down the field no matter what the matchup is.”

Double TE trouble

Colorado State didn’t have a single wide receiver cross the 500-yard threshold in 2024. Their projected starting wideouts in 2025 — sophomore Jordan Ross, sophomore Tommy Maher, a former walk-on, and Northern Arizona transfer Tay Lanier — combined for 734 yards receiving a year ago. Denzel Boston had 834 yards by himself.

But the Rams brought in some intriguing options at tight end. Colorado State added 6-8, 245-pound junior college transfer Jaxxon Warren and 6-5, 250-pound tight end Rocky Beers, who spent the past two seasons at FIU after beginning his collegiate career at Air Force. UW coach Jedd Fisch acknowledged Thursday that replicating personnel like Warren and Beers at practice can be more difficult than simply preparing for certain schemes.

Warren caught 17 passes for 308 yards receiving at Navarro Junior College in 2023 before redshirting his first season at Colorado State. Beers missed every game but one for FIU during the past season after tearing his hamstring in 2024, but caught 18 passes for 158 yards receiving and a touchdown during 2023, his most recent healthy season.

Warren and Beers will be a specific challenge for junior safety Alex McLaughlin and linebackers Deven Bryant and Taariq “Buddah” Al-Uqdah. Bryant and Al-Uqdah are listed at 5-11 and 6-0, respectively. Walters’ scheme generally has linebackers cover running backs, however, and McLaughlin — the 6-2 safety who played with Lanier at NAU in 2024 — seems likely to draw a majority of the coverage assignments against Warren and Beers.

“Our secondary,” Fisch said Thursday. “Feels very prepared for this game.”

The O-line’s first test

Washington’s new-look offensive line will get its first taste of live competition Saturday. Sixth-year left tackle Carver Willis, junior center Landen Hatchett, sixth-year right guard Geirean Hatchett and junior right tackle Drew Azzopardi will be joined on the first drive by true freshman left guard John Mills, Fisch clarified Thursday. Redshirt freshman left guard Paki Finau is also expected to play substantial snaps.

But Colorado State is a bigger challenge than either FCS Weber State or Eastern Michigan were a year ago. The Rams return some production on their defensive line. Fifth-year senior Mukendi Wa-Kalonji registered 5.5 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks in 2024. Sophomore defensive lineman Andrew Laurich added 2.5 tackles for a loss in very limited repetitions, while sophomore outside linebacker Kenyon Agurs had four tackles for a loss.

Sophomore Owen Long, Colorado State’s leading returning tackler from 2024; fifth-year senior Jacob Ellis, an Iowa State transfer, and sixth-year senior JaQues Evans, a former Western Kentucky standout who reunited with defensive coordinator Tyson Summers at Colorado State after one season at Baylor, make up an experienced linebacker corps, too.

If Washington’s offensive line is as improved as Fisch and his coaching staff have insisted since spring practices, then winning the battle up front won’t be difficult. If the Huskies struggle, 2025 suddenly starts to look a lot more like a repeat of 2024.

“Feel very good about that group,” offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty said Thursday. “From a talent perspective. From who we had on the roster. Who we brought in. Guys that have been here. Guys that developed under us.”

Andy Yamashita’s prediction

Colorado State is a good Mountain West team. It was projected to finish higher in the conference’s preseason poll than the Hawaii team that opened its season by beating Stanford 23-20.

But Washington is not Stanford. There’s a reason the Huskies are considered three-touchdown favorites. This won’t be Demond Williams Jr.’s first start at quarterback. Walters has a chance to assert his defense early against a quarterback who’s never been afraid to turn the ball over. The talent gap between Power Four teams and Group of Six teams only continues to grow. UW’s home winning streak extends to 21 games.

Prediction: Huskies 35, Rams 14

Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes .com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.