UW Huskies, Jonah Coleman make history in flawless blowout win over UC Davis
By Andy YamashitaSeattle Times staff reporter
Jonah Coleman made program history with 11:37 remaining in the third quarter.
With Washington facing first-and-goal from the UC Davis 5-yard line, Coleman, the senior running back, lined up in the backfield. He took the handoff from sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and charged straight up the middle.
Coleman was met by UC Davis linebacker Thomas McCormick before he even reached the line of scrimmage. But it didn’t matter. Coleman skipped out of McCormick’s tackle attempt, then dragged three Aggies into the end zone with him.
“We’re supposed to do that, you know?” Coleman said. “We’re a Big Ten team. We run the ball. That was the goal all offseason, to get bigger, faster and stronger. Be tougher. So when we play teams, they know how tough we are. They’re going to remember us.”
It was Coleman’s fifth touchdown rushing of the game, tying UW’s modern single-game record and making the Stockton, Calif., native the first Husky in 29 seasons to achieve the feat.
Coleman’s big day was the exclamation mark on a 42-point first half by Washington, which beat FCS-opponent UC Davis 70-10 in front of an announced crowd of 65,421 on a hazy Saturday night at Husky Stadium. The Huskies have now won 22 consecutive games at home.
Huskies did what they were supposed to do, and with style. Next comes the real test.
The Huskies scored touchdowns on each of their 10 drives, including eight rushing. Four different players reached the end zone on the ground, including Coleman, Williams, sophomore running back Adam Mohammed and fifth-year quarterback Kai Horton. UW’s 70 point-point performance also ties the program’s modern record for points in a game, set in 2016 when it beat Oregon, 70-21.
“We couldn’t have done many things better than we did,” coach Jedd Fisch said.
Coleman finished the game with 111 yards rushing on 15 carries for the Huskies (2-0). It’s his seventh game with at least 100 yards rushing since transferring to Washington. Coleman’s career-best five-touchdown performance tied the modern record for UW touchdowns in a game.
Corey Dillon scored five touchdowns rushing against UCLA in 1996. Hugh McElhenny reached the end zone rushing five times during the 1950 Apple Cup against Washington State. Ervin Daily holds the program’s record after scoring seven touchdowns against Whitman College in 1919.
Coleman, who once rushed for 30 touchdowns in a season as a sophomore at Lincoln High in Stockton, said he doesn’t recall ever rushing for five touchdowns in one game.
Through two games, Coleman — who was named Co-Big Ten offensive player of the week and the Doak Walker national running back of the week after his performance against Colorado State — has already accumulated seven touchdowns rushing this season. He totaled a career-high 10 touchdowns rushing in 13 games during the 2024 season. The Huskies have already scored 12 touchdowns rushing in 2025 after totaling 14 during the entire 2024 campaign.
Washington running back Jonah Coleman splits through UC Davis defensive linemen Jacob Psyk, left, and Derrell Porter on his way to a 7-yard touchdown run during the second quarter Saturday. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
Washington running back Jonah Coleman splits through UC Davis defensive linemen Jacob Psyk, left, and Derrell Porter on his way to a 7-yard touchdown run during the second quarter Saturday. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
“It just came down to our mentality at the end of the day,” Coleman said. “We took it as if we were playing one of the top teams in the nation. At the end of the day, we knew we were a better team. We knew they couldn’t hang with us. So we just went in there and did what we were supposed to do.”
The 5-foot-9, 220-pound running back set the tone early. Washington took only three plays to march 60 yards down the field on its first drive of the game. Coleman was responsible for more than half by himself. He gained 18 yards on his first carry — UW’s second offensive play of the game — then waltzed into the end zone virtually untouched for a 15-yard touchdown to give UW a quick 7-0 lead. He scored his second touchdown of the game, a 1-yard plunge, before UC Davis gained a first down.
The Aggies (1-1) ensured they weren’t going to be shut out when kicker Hunter Ridley nailed a 45-yard field goal after UW junior linebacker Xe’ree Alexander was called for roughing the passer on third down, extending the drive.
But Washington reacted calmly. Williams, who finished the game 16-for-25 passing for 254 yards and a touchdown, led a 12-play, 63-yard drive which he capped with an 8-yard touchdown rush of his own to give Washington a 21-3 lead. Williams added 64 yards rushing on eight carries against the Aggies.
Coleman scored his third touchdown, this time from nine yards out, of the game during Washington’s next drive, essentially sealing the win. The drive started when senior cornerback Tacario Davis snagged his first interception of the season. However, the Arizona transfer appeared to injure himself during the play and did not return, though he did some light sprints behind Washington’s bench. Fisch said he isn’t expecting Davis to suffer a prolonged injury layoff.
Davis, however, wasn’t the only Husky to depart early. Sophomore wide receiver Rashid Williams, who caught UW’s first pass of the game for a 27-yard gain, left immediately afterward and failed to return. Fisch said Rashid Williams will get an MRI and an X-ray before the team makes a decision on his treatment, but expects Williams to miss several weeks.
In Rashid Williams’ place, the Huskies turned to true freshman Dezmen Roebuck. He caught four passes for 77 yards including a 47-yard touch-pass touchdown. It was the 5-11, 180-pound wide receiver’s first career touchdown and the longest passing play of the season for Demond Williams Jr., who also completed a 45-yard pass to true freshman wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright earlier in the game.
“We have multiple guys that can make plays for us at the perimeter,” Fisch said. “Obviously, always tough to lose anybody, but I think we are in a good spot at the receiver position.”
Washington finally conceded a touchdown when UC Davis running back Matteo Perez punched the ball into the end zone for a 1-yard score, but Coleman scored his fourth touchdown in response.
Junior wide receiver Denzel Boston put the exclamation point on Washington’s big first half. Boston, who caught five of his nine targets for 50 yards receiving, returned a UC Davis punt 78 yards for a 42-10 UW lead entering halftime.
It was Washington’s first punt return touchdown since Rome Odunze’s 83-yard punt return score against California on Sept. 23, 2023, and the longest of Boston’s career. His previous career-best mark was 25 yards.
“I’ve been about special teams my whole career,” Boston said. “I started my career on special teams. So going into that rep, I kind of had it in my mind that, if the opportunity presents itself, let’s try to take it back before the half.”
Washington’s commanding performance continued during the second half with Coleman’s historic fifth touchdown, and Roebuck’s long completion.
Horton and Mohammed added a late touchdowns rushing, too, as the Huskies poured on points. It’s the fourth time UW has scored eight touchdowns rushing in a single game, tying another program record. Washington most recently did it during the 2011 Alamo Bowl against Baylor.
“What I’m most proud of,” Fisch said, “is that we did what we were supposed to do.”
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Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes .com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.
Comments
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Didn’t Polk have a 5 TD game?
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