Washington Huskies’ central issue pops up again vs. Wisconsin
Wisconsin linebacker Mason Posa gets a hand on the ball as Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. scrambles, and forces a fumble that the Badgers would recover on Saturday. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
By Jon Wilner Bay Area News Group
Instant reaction to Week 11 developments on the field …
1. Meltdown in Madison
Washington and Oregon flew across the country into brutal weather and experienced firsthand the weekly sinkholes that used to define the Big Ten West.
Both teams were favored, fresh from two weeks of preparation and hopeful that sizzling stretch runs would lead to berths in the College Football Playoff.
Only one survived with playoff plans intact.
Oregon escaped Iowa on a field goal with three seconds remaining. Final score: 18-16.
Washington wasn’t as fortunate and collapsed at Wisconsin. Final score 13-10.
The 1950s called — they’re jealous.
Let’s start with the Huskies (6-3), who were double-digit favorites in Madison but instead showed themselves as pretenders in the Big Ten race.
Yes, receiver Denzel Boston, tailback Jonah Coleman and quarterback Demond Williams Jr. all sustained injuries during the game that limited their impact.
Advertising Skip AdSkip AdSkip Ad
The ailments were real, and irrelevant. That was a terrible loss for the Huskies — inexcusable, in fact.
The Badgers were winless in the Big Ten and owners of the worst offense in the Power Four conferences. Somehow, they beat the Huskies with a whopping 48 passing yards. And it’s even worse than it seems, because 24 yards came on a fake punt. Remove the fake, and the Badgers generated just 181 yards of offense.
Which brings us to Washington’s central issue.
In their losses to Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, the Huskies have scored a total of 23 points.
Granted, Ohio State is phenomenal. But the Huskies scored just seven against a Michigan defense that’s allowing 19 points per game in conference play. And they scored just 10 against a Badgers defense that was allowing 29 per game in conference play.
“We never got really in much of a rhythm at all today offensively,” coach Jedd Fisch said.
What’s more, UW has consistently saved its worst for last.
Advertising Skip Ad
In the second halves of the three losses, the Huskies have scored … three points.
That’s three points in six quarters.
The Hotline broke down UW’s 14 second-half drives in the three losses.
Only twice did the Huskies generate drives of at least 50 yards. On six of the 14 possessions, they gained less than 10 yards.
All told, the Huskies mustered 245 yards and scored three points across those six quarters.
Something is amiss, and it cannot be excused away by injuries or bad weather.
What’s next for the Huskies? The narrow path into the CFP that existed prior to Saturday — as a two-loss Big Ten at-large participant — is completely blocked.
Advertising Skip AdSkip AdSkip Ad
They should handle Purdue next weekend in Seattle, but the date with UCLA (in Pasadena) could be considered a toss-up given UW’s road performances. And the finale against Oregon will be daunting.
Sure, Washington could win out and finish 9-3. But based on what we have witnessed over nine games, an 8-4 record seems more likely and 7-5 stands as a distinct possibility.
Either mark would be a major disappointment for a team that entered November with two losses and its sights on the CFP.
2. Surviving the slog
As the Huskies flailed, Oregon was sucked into a classic November quagmire in Iowa City.
Like UW, the Ducks (8-1) were not at full strength with their prime playmakers. Tight end Kenyon Sadiq and receiver Dakorien Moore didn’t play, and starting receiver Gary Bryant was injured during the game.
And like UW, the Ducks lost their lead in the second half as Iowa scored the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes remaining.
Sponsored
Skip Ad Skip Ad Skip Ad Skip Ad
But unlike UW, they dug deep and covered 54 yards for the game-winning field goal against a vastly superior opponent than the team the Huskies faced. (Iowa beat Wisconsin 37-0 a few weeks ago.)
As a result, the one-loss Ducks are in the thick of the CFP race with three games remaining.
They host Minnesota and USC, then finish in Seattle. Combined record of the three opponents: 19-8.
If they win out, the Ducks are a lock.
If they lose twice, they are toast.
But what if they drop one game and finish 10-2?
At that point, it’s all about how Oregon compares to the other two-loss teams — from the SEC, for sure, but also the Big 12 — that will be under consideration by the selection committee.
The more wins over ranked opponents the Ducks accumulate, the stronger their resume.
If the Hawkeyes drop out of the committee’s Top 25 on Tuesday — they shouldn’t, but you never know — then Oregon will be without a ranked win entering the final three weeks.
Advertising Skip Ad
3. Bear Down, bowl bound
In case you had forgotten, the Pac-12 legacy teams are tied to the conference’s longstanding bowl partners this season, just as they were last year.
One of the newly-minted bowl-eligible teams is Arizona, which collected its sixth victory on Saturday. Propelled by both good fortune and impressive grit, the Wildcats came from behind (twice) to beat Kansas 24-20 in yet another down-to-the-wire finish.
The Wildcats rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second quarter and from a three-point deficit in the fourth. And they got lucky at just the right time.
With 2:39 remaining, the Jayhawks led by three points and faced fourth-and-two from Arizona’s 11. They might have gone for the first down (to effectively ice the game) except quarterback Jalon Daniels had been injured on the previous play and would not have been allowed back on the field for fourth down. Rather than use a backup quarterback, KU attempted a 30-yard field goal — and missed.
Granted a second life by the football gods, Arizona ripped off an 80-yard touchdown drive.
“Our players kept responding,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “They kept responding and responding. … I know it wasn’t perfect, but we’ll fix that.”
Advertising Skip Ad
The victory constitutes a major leap forward for the Wildcats (6-3) and Brennan, whose first season in charge was deeply disappointing.
With Brennan’s culture ingrained and a bowl berth secured, Arizona won’t have to plunge into a crowded market for head coaches this winter.
4. Totally and utterly Cal
Arizona wasn’t the only Pac-12 legacy team to clinch a postseason bid on Saturday.
The Bears, fresh off back-to-back losses, produced one of the biggest upsets of the weekend: As 18-point underdogs, they flew across the country for the third time this season and stunned No. 14 Louisville in overtime to secure their third consecutive postseason bid.
And the Bears did it in the gutsiest manner possible: Going for the victory on fourth down in the first overtime session instead of kicking a short field goal to extend the game.
(The winning play: Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s 3-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jacob De Jesus.)
Advertising Skip AdSkip AdSkip Ad
Longtime Cal watchers won’t be surprised by the result. Under coach Justin Wilcox, the Bears typically conjure at least one significant upset and suffer at least one embarrassing loss every season.
“The last couple of weeks haven’t been a lot of fun,” Wilcox said. “It’s not a lot of fun when you aren’t winning. I’m appreciative of how everyone involved — especially the players — how they continue to work at it through some adverse situations when it didn’t go our way.”
This marks the first time Cal has been bowl-eligible for three consecutive years since the heyday of the Jeff Tedford era in the mid-2000s.
Will it be enough for Wilcox to return in 2026?
Cal general manager Ron Rivera said before the season that the standard for success was eight or nine wins. The Bears (6-4) can reach eight, but only if they sweep SMU and Stanford.
5. Bowl math
With three weeks remaining in the regular season, seven Pac-12 legacy teams have clinched bowl bids: Arizona, ASU, Cal, Oregon, USC, Utah and Washington.
Three are ineligible: Colorado, Oregon State and Stanford. (The Buffaloes and Cardinal were eliminated on Saturday.)
Advertising Skip Ad
Two are alive: UCLA and Washington State.
The Bruins must sweep their final three to reach the six-win requirement. Considering they play Ohio State and USC on the road and host Washington, a miracle is required. (And not a minor one.)
The Cougars must win two of their final three, which is well within reason given home dates with Louisiana Tech and Oregon State. (They also visit James Madison.)
At most, eight of the 12 will qualify.
At worst, seven will go bowling — the same total as last year.
And as a reminder: Each time a Pac-12 legacy team jumps into the playoff, the other bowl-eligible teams move up one rung in the postseason lineup.
Four teams are alive for the CFP, with Oregon in the best position, followed by USC, Utah and Arizona State. The Trojans and Utes have just two losses and, therefore, a path into the at-large field. The Sun Devils, who have three losses, can only reach the CFP by winning the Big 12.
Jon Wilner: jwilner@bayareanewsgroup .com. Jon Wilner has been covering college sports for decades and is an AP top-25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. He was named Beat Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12, won first place for feature writing in 2016 in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest and is a five-time APSE honoree.
Comments
-
central issue = road game
also, fuck Wilner
