Demond Williams Jr. piles up stats as UW Huskies top Rutgers
By Andy YamashitaSeattle Times staff reporter
For the first 15 minutes against Rutgers on Friday night, Washington looked very much like the team that lost to the Scarlet Knights one year ago in Piscataway, N.J.
The Husky offense looked stagnant. Penalty flags abounded. Special-teams errors plagued UW early.
But this Washington team is different. Because under center, it has sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. And on a night when the city’s attention was five miles away at T-Mobile Park — as evidenced by the UW’s game production staff broadcasting Game 5 of the American League Division Series on the video board during every timeout — the 5-foot-11, 190-pound gunslinger put on a quarterback performance for the record books.
“Demond Williams Jr. is a superstar,” UW coach Jedd Fisch said.
Washington overcame a slow start to beat Rutgers 38-19 in front of an announced crowd of 63,743 at Husky Stadium. Williams led the way, becoming the 16th quarterback in Football Bowl Subdivision history to accumulate at least 400 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in a game.
“He’s so special,” Fisch said. “He’s so coachable. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
Williams is the first player to achieve the feat since Houston quarterback Clayton Tune had 527 yards passing and 111 yards rushing against SMU on Nov. 5, 2022. Northwestern’s Zak Kustok, who had 111 yards rushing and 421 yards passing against Bowling Green on Nov. 17, 2001, is the only other Big Ten quarterback to match Williams’ statistical output.
The Chandler, Ariz., native finished 21-for-27 passing and two touchdowns. He added two touchdowns rushing. His 402 yards passing and 136 yards rushing were career-high marks. It’s the most yards rushing by a Washington quarterback since Jake Locker had 157 yards rushing against Arizona in 2007.
His 538 total yards of offense set the program’s single-game record. Michael Penix Jr. previously set the standard after totaling 529 yards of offense against Arizona in 2022.
“That’s probably his best game,” junior wide receiver Denzel Boston said. “And I’m sure he has even better games in the future.”
Washington failed to get out of its own way during the first quarter. Rutgers opened the game with a four-play, 75-yard drive, helped in part when sophomore running back Antwan Raymond broke off a 51-yard rush on its second play from scrimmage and punctuated by a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis to receiver KJ Duff along the right sideline.
UW’s response started well. Williams opened the drive with a 42-yard rush of his own, his longest of the season, and the Huskies (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) marched to the Scarlet Knight 21-yard line before stalling despite missing starting left guard John Mills and left tackle Carver Willis because of injuries. Fifth-year tackle Maximus McCree and redshirt freshman guard Paki Finau got the starts in their place.
However, senior kicker Grady Gross, who missed a career-high three field-goal attempts during UW’s loss against Rutgers in 2024, sent his kick wide right from 39 yards, keeping Washington scoreless.
“It was a bad feeling last year in that locker room after that game,” Williams said, “because we knew we should have won. It was good to get the win this year.”
Rutgers tacked on three more points after kicker Jai Patel converted a 35-yard attempt following a 12-play, 62-yard drive to take a 10-0 lead, but Washington continued to struggle. UW punted on its next two drives, losing 9 yards on the first and gaining 13 on the second. The Huskies finished the first quarter being outgained 146-80. They’d gained 30 yards passing and lost 28 yards on four penalties. Williams completed just two of his six passing attempts.
“We just tried to stop with the self-inflicted wounds,” Williams said. “Continuing to harp on taking it one play at a time.”
But the Huskies woke themselves from their offensive malaise during the second quarter. After UW’s defense forced a Rutgers punt in the shadow of its end zone, Williams took advantage of the short field and found Boston, who made a difficult catch through contact, for a 23-yard touchdown strike to get UW on the scoreboard.
Washington’s next drive reached the Rutgers 3-yard line, but Williams fumbled at the end of a 16-yard rush to keep UW behind. The Scarlet Knights (3-3, 0-3) settled for another Patel field goal, this time from 37 yards, after a 78-yard drive sputtered to a halt deep in Husky territory with 39 seconds remaining in the half.
It was plenty of time, however, for Williams and the Huskies. He completed a 13-yard pass to senior wideout Omari Evans — who briefly fumbled but somehow recovered the ball at the bottom of a scrum — then found freshman receiver Raiden Vines-Bright for a 30-yard completion. Finally, Williams connected with freshman Dezmen Roebuck for a 13-yard pass to set up a 36-yard field goal by Gross to pull UW within three as time expired, 13-10.
“He’s a playmaker,” Roebuck said. “Playmakers make plays. That’s what he’s supposed to do.”
Washington fought its way back into the game in large part because of its defensive line. Sixth-year edge rusher Deshawn Lynch batted a Kaliakmanis pass attempt on fourth-and-three from the UW 6-yard line to force a turnover on downs with 6:54 remaining in the second quarter. It was Lynch’s third pass breakup in his past two games.
Rutgers final drive of the half ground to a halt when Kaliakmanis, pursued by Lynch, slipped behind the line of scrimmage for a 5-yard loss. UW sophomore defensive tackle Elinneus Davis batted the Scarlet Knight quarterback’s next pass attempt on second down, and senior defensive lineman Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei sacked Kaliakmanis on third down to force the field goal. Rutgers totaled eight yards rushing on eight attempts during the second quarter.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth, definitely in practice,” Williams said about the defensive line. “Just going against them every day definitely makes me feel more comfortable on game day.”
Washington’s momentum continued after the break. Williams opened the half with eight consecutive completions, including a 59-yard pass to Roebuck to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back Jonah Coleman and a 38-yard touchdown to Boston down the right sideline. It was Roebuck’s first 100-yard receiving game of his young career.
Williams scored UW’s final touchdown of the quarter by himself, scrambling 11 yards to the end zone to give Washington a 31-19 lead entering the fourth quarter. He tacked on another touchdown rushing from seven yards to effectively seal the win for Washington. Senior cornerback Ephesians Prysock’s interception in the end zone actually ended it.
With the win against Rutgers, the Huskies have emerged from the three-game stretch against opponents coming off bye weeks with two wins and one loss. They’re only one victory behind their total from a season to go with at least six games remaining.
“There’s always stuff to work on,” Boston said. “There’s always things to get better at. We just got halfway through the season, and we have a whole second half to build on. I’m excited for that.”
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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Williams is the kind of QB you hate to face because when he is cooking the first downs flow like water by land or air. This isn't close to a good O line. With Stubby McGee back there last year it was a 7 loss team.
Williams is worth 9 wins by himself. The team needs to find two more
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Thanks Taft!
