Washington Huskies wallop UCLA in a statement road victory

1 of 25 | Washington’s Demond Williams Jr. gets inside the pylon to score on the 25-yards run in the second quarter, pupshed out of bounds by UCLA defesnive back Key Lawrence. The University of Washington Huskies played UCLA in Big-Ten football Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025 at the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, CA. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)

By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter

PASADENA, Calif. — In the end, the grass didn’t matter. 

Neither did UW’s dismal 1-9 record at the Rose Bowl against UCLA since 1997. Or the Bruins’ College Football Playoff tested quarterback. Or the Huskies’ road struggles under coach Jedd Fisch. Or the host of injured Husky starters — including junior right tackle Drew Azzopardi, junior center Landen Hatchett, senior cornerback Tacario Davis and freshman wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright — who did not play. 

Instead, the looming specter of a last Rose Bowl scare for the Huskies disappeared as quickly as the Bruin fans, who flooded for the exits early in the third quarter. Any thoughts of a Hollywood ending during UCLA’s potential final game at the Rose Bowl, its home for the past four decades, long since abandoned. 

“Excited by the way our guys played,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. “Guys competed from the very beginning.”

Led by a commanding performance from its defense, Washington pummeled UCLA 48-14 on a brisk Saturday night in front of an announced crowd of 38,201 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. It’s UW’s fifth Big Ten win of the season, surpassing its total from 2024, and ensures the Huskies will finish the 2025 campaign with a winning record on the road. 

“I always think that when we go, when we go on the road, that we’re really prepared,” said Fisch, who went 0-7 away from Husky Stadium during his first year with the Huskies in 2024. “That we’re going to play really well. Sometimes, it doesn’t always work out that way. But other times, you play really well and it falls in your favor. I’m glad that it did today.”

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Washington’s defense led the way. The Huskies (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) held the Bruins to a season-low 57 yards rushing and just 150 yards passing. Sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who helped Tennessee reach the College Football Playoff less than a year ago, completed just 16 of his 26 pass attempts for 69 yards before leaving the game with an apparent injury in the third quarter, long after the game’s result was already decided. 

UCLA didn’t reach Washington’s red zone until there were two minutes remaining in the third quarter. 

Most notably, the defense was finally able to put the ball on the ground. The Bruins (3-8, 3-5) fumbled three times. The Huskies converted all of them into points. 

Washington’s first forced fumble occurred during the first play of UCLA’s third drive. Redshirt freshman nickel Rahshawn Clark knocked the ball out of UCLA wide receiver Mikey Matthews hands. True freshman cornerback Dylan Robinson, starting in Davis’ place, recovered the ball on the Bruin 20-yard line with 1:59 remaining in the first quarter, setting up a 36-yard field goal by senior kicker Grady Gross to open the scoring. 

Sixth-year edge rusher Deshawn Lynch, who also registered his team-leading seventh pass breakup against the Bruins, forced and recovered the second when he brought down Iamaleava at the UCLA 45-yard line with 8:50 remaining in the first half. Washington once again settled for a field goal from Gross, this time from 22 yards. 

“(UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters) has just been harping on playing our best football in November,” said junior safety Alex McLaughlin, who had a team-best eight tackles and a pass breakup. “So we just felt like this month of November, we’re just trying to get better each week. We need to create turnovers to give the ball back to our offense.” 

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The Huskies had minimal impact forcing the Bruin’s final fumble. Facing fourth-and-14 from the UW 28-yard line, UCLA lined up for a field-goal attempt. It tried to set up a fake, but holder Cash Peterman’s blind flip to kicker Mateen Bhaghani floated out of his reach, and McLaughlin scooped the ball up and returned it 59 yards for the touchdown and a 20-0 lead entering halftime. 

It was his second defensive score of the season. McLaughlin and Fisch praised special teams coordinator Chris Petrilli for keeping UW’s special teams units aware of a potential fake on punts and field goals. 

“You don’t really know what fake might come or not come,” Fisch said. “But I thought he did a great job preparing our guys to be aware of one. And I think awareness is the trait you need when someone’s trying to pull a fast one on you.”

Washington’s strong defensive performance helped overcome a slow start for the offense. Sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. missed several deep shots early, in particular while targeting sophomore receiver Audric Harris, who burned his redshirt by appearing in his fifth game of the season. Missing Vines-Bright (concussion) and with junior wide receiver Denzel Boston (ankle), the team’s leading receiver, available for only a handful of snaps, Williams was 8-for-15 passing for 55 yards with no touchdowns and an interception during the first half. 

But Williams had lots of success with his legs. He rushed for 56 yards including two touchdowns — one from 25 yards and one from 11. Sophomore running back Adam Mohammed, who started his second consecutive game with senior tailback Jonah Coleman (knee) limited, also tallied 108 yards rushing on 21 carries for the first 100-yard rushing game of his career. 

Williams found his rhythm in the second half. He finished the game 17-for-26 passing for 213 yards and two touchdowns. He was particularly successful connecting with freshman wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck, who had a team-high seven catches for 96 yards and hauled in an 18-yard touchdown with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter. Williams said he was able to calm down at halftime, which helped him be more productive after the break.

“Looing at the scoreboard more, understanding what the situation was,” he said. “Taking it one snap at a time and don’t take it ahead.”

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