3 takeaways from Washington Huskies’ comeback win over Maryland
Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch pumps his fist as he leaves the field after a 24-20 win over Maryland Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 in College Park, MD. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — These are the types of games Jedd Fisch anticipated when UW joined the Big Ten. No more shootouts where teams throw for 500 yards apiece. No back-and-forth scoring where defenses appear helpless to prevent an explosive play.
Instead, Fisch expected conference games where defenses reigned supreme. Where offenses had limited opportunities. Where executing the few chances provided can make or break a ballgame.
“We’re definitely not in the Pac-12 anymore,” Fisch said. “And in the Big Ten, these games are going to be two touchdowns, three touchdowns. That’s what it’s going to look like. I think that was a prime example of just another great football game.”
Fisch got what he was hoping for during UW’s improbable 24-20 comeback against Maryland Saturday at SECU Stadium in College Park, Md. It claimed its first conference win and returns rejuvenated after finally conquering a Big Ten opponent during an Eastern Time Zone game.
So here are three more takeaways from the big road win for Fisch and the Huskies (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten):
1. Young DBs rise
By counting stats, UW’s veteran defensive backs stood out against Maryland. Junior safety Alex McLaughlin, the Northern Arizona transfer who’s quickly emerged as one of the team’s most important players, led the team with nine tackles. Senior cornerback Ephesians Prysock made six tackles, while sixth-year safety Makell Esteen recorded UW’s only turnover, an interception against Maryland quarterback Malik Washington late in the first half.
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But the Huskies relied heavily on three young defensive backs against the Terrapins (4-1, 1-1) and their pass-centric offense: freshman cornerback Dylan Robinson, sophomore nickel Leroy Bryant and true freshman safety Rylon Dillard-Allen. All three turned in strong performances that helped stifle the Terps in the second half.
Robinson, making the second start of his career replacing senior cornerback Tacario Davis, registered two tackles while playing 52 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound cornerback allowed just one catch on two targets for 23 total yards and just 3 yards after the catch.
Dillard-Allen, frequently deployed as a third safety when UW goes into its dime package with six defensive backs, played 22 snaps and made two tackles after playing 43 snaps against No. 1 Ohio State. He allowed one catch for 8 yards on his only target, and finished the game as UW’s third-highest rated defensive player, according to PFF.
Bryant’s performance, however, might’ve been the most encouraging for the Huskies. After difficult appearances during the Apple Cup against Washington State and Ohio State, he made one tackle while playing 45 snaps against Maryland.
Among UW’s defensive backs, only Prysock was targeted more times than Bryant. Maryland threw at him six times Saturday. He allowed three catches for minus-1 yards. All three were thrown behind the line of scrimmage — two for tight end Dorian Fleming and one to wide receiver Jalil Farooq.
Before Saturday, Bryant had allowed 12 consecutive completions against WSU and OSU. But Fisch and defensive coordinator Ryan Walters have consistently reaffirmed their faith in him throughout the season, and their trust paid dividends against Maryland.
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“I’m sure he’ll bounce back,” Walters said Sept. 23. “I have no indication that he won’t. I have full confidence in him and his abilities.”
2. DeGraaf makes an impact
Sophomore tight end Decker DeGraaf was a fairly anonymous part of Fisch’s offense through the first four games of UW’s 2025 season. After enjoying a breakout true freshman campaign that included 233 yards receiving and three touchdowns, DeGraaf entered Saturday with just seven receptions for 50 yards.
He reemerged as an important piece of UW’s offense against Maryland. DeGraaf finished the game with six receptions for 62 yards.
His most important catch came with 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter and the Huskies trailing 20-3 at midfield. The 6-4, 245-pound tight end ran a simple sit route across the middle, finding the soft spot in the zone coverage between two Terp linebackers. Sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. threw a 10-yard strike right to DeGraaf, who turned and tacked on another 11 yards after absorbing a hit from Maryland safety Jalen Huskey.
DeGraaf’s 21-yard catch was UW’s longest passing play of the game up to that point, and set up junior wide receiver Denzel Boston’s 3-yard touchdown reception. Fisch said incorporating DeGraaf and taking the short passes Maryland’s defense was conceding while it attempted to scheme Boston out of the game was crucial for the UW offense to gain momentum in the third quarter and eventually led to its fourth-quarter barrage.
“They did a really nice job replicating parts of the plan that (Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia) had in place,” Fisch said, “either rotating a safety over the top of the receiver even though it looked like man coverage, they wound up getting a couple doubles. It’s why the other receivers started popping. A lot of the underneath stuff started showing up. We started hitting Decker underneath a few times.”
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3. Another offensive line evaluation
UW played its first complete game without sixth-year left tackle Carver Willis, the Kansas State transfer who had been critical to the team’s restructuring of the offensive line. True freshman left guard John Mills left the game injured with 5:55 remaining in the third quarter and UW behind 20-0. He was seen after the game on crutches and wearing a protective boot on his left foot.
Fifth-year offensive lineman Maximus McCree made his first start of the season for Willis, while redshirt freshman Paki Finau replaced Mills for the final 34 snaps of the game, according to PFF.
“You’ve got to plan for injuries,” Fisch said. “It’s a violent game. Those things happen. The more depth you can build as a program, the better team you can have. And we needed depth today, and the depth showed up.”
McCree, who started five games at left tackle during the 2024 season but missed several games with a dislocated thumb, played all 79 of UW’s offensive snaps against Maryland, the program where he spent the entire 2022 season before quitting football to take care of his family following his mother’s cancer diagnosis in December, 2022.
He did not allow a sack, but surrendered a team-high seven pressures including six hurries and a quarterback hit. McCree was also called for a holding penalty that effectively ended UW’s second drive of the game.
Fisch, who’d previously pitched several ideas to replace Willis including moving junior right tackle Drew Azzopardi to left tackle, said the team will continue to stick with McCree for the foreseeable future.
Finau did not allow a single pressure while he was in the game, and UW scored all 24 of its points after he entered. He also had a key block against Maryland linebacker Carlton Smith to spring a screen pass to senior running back Jonah Coleman for 13 yards during the drive that ended with Boston’s touchdown.
The 6-5, 310-pound guard has played significant snaps — 119 total — throughout the season despite losing the starting job to Mills during fall camp, often rotating in every third drive. The experience paid off against the Terrapins, and Finau will be a steady replacement for Mills if the true freshman left guard is ruled out for a significant amount of time.
“It’s always challenging when you lose guys up front,” Fisch said. “But what I’ve been saying this year — very different than a year ago — we have a lot more depth.”
Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes .com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.