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University of Washington Huskies Football

Things to watch: Washington set for first Big Ten game against Northwestern

Washington running back Jonah Coleman piles up yardage against Washington State during last Saturday’s Apple Cup at Lumen Field in Seattle.  (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times

SEATTLE – Here are three things to watch as the Washington Huskies (2-1) prepare for their first Big Ten Conference game against the Northwestern Wildcats (2-1).

Kickoff: 4 p.m. Saturday

Where: Husky Stadium in Seattle

TV: FS1

Latest Line: Washington -10.5, Total 42.5 (via ESPN Bet)

1. Penalties, penalties, penalties: Washington’s national rankings in penalties are ugly to no one’s surprise following its 16-penalty game against Washington State.

The Huskies have the fourth-most penalties in the nation, having picked up 30 yellow flags through three games. UW only ranks ahead of Michigan State, Nevada and San Diego State. For context, the Wolf Pack have played one more game. UW’s 10 penalties per game and its 96 penalty yards per game rank No. 131 nationally.

That’s what happens when a team concedes one more rushing yard (136) than accumulated penalty yards (135) in a single game. The Huskies have also given up 12 first downs on penalties this season.

Coach Jedd Fisch said the team spent the week working on silent cadences and playing with more crowd noise and music in the stadium to work on preventing presnap penalties. Exactly half of UW’s Apple Cup penalties were either false starts, offsides or defensive delay of game infractions. Washington gets its first chance to prove the penalties were a fluke against Northwestern, which has only committed 17 penalties in its first three games.

2. Inexperience under center: Northwestern made a change at quarterback before its 31-7 win against Eastern Illinois last weekend. The Wildcats went with sophomore Jack Lausch instead of fifth-year senior Mike Wright – who backed up UW quarterback Will Rogers at Mississippi State in 2023.

Lausch, a third-year player with 11 total pass attempts entering this season, rebounded from a shaky first half to finish the game with two touchdowns, 227 passing yards and no interceptions. After starting the game completing just three of his first 12 passes, Lausch didn’t throw an incompletion during the second half.

Of course, Washington’s defense is no Eastern Illinois. The Huskies finally conceded their first touchdown of the season during the Apple Cup but held the Cougars to seven points in the second half despite the torrent of penalties. Defensive coordinator Steve Belichick has a chance to really tighten the screws on the inexperienced Lausch and give the Huskies a platform for success.

3. First Big Ten test: Through three games, junior running back Jonah Coleman has been one of Washington’s bright spots. He finished the Apple Cup with 14 carries for 75 yards, despite a slow start and being the unfortunate final ball carrier on UW’s doomed fourth-and-goal play.

Coleman, who has 311 yards and three touchdowns on 41 carries this season, will face his first major challenge against Northwestern. The Wildcats’ strength under coach David Braun has been its defensive front, led by 2023 third-team All-Big Ten linebacker Xander Mueller.

Northwestern has seven players who’ve recorded at least one sack this season. Its four starting defensive linemen – Jaylen Pate, Aidan Hubbard, Najee Story and Reginald Pearson – have combined for 21 tackles this season. Northwestern held Duke to just 93 total rushing yards during its 26-20 double-overtime loss Sept. 6.

Prediction: It’s only Washington’s fourth game of the season, but if the Huskies want to reach bowl eligibility this season they can’t afford another miscue during the first half of its schedule. Games against No. 10 Penn State, No. 11 USC and No. 9 Oregon loom late in the season, and while No. 18 Michigan and Iowa might look more beatable than they did at the start of the season, undefeated Rutgers and Indiana look more formidable than initially expected.

Washington’s offense will face its toughest opponent to date against Northwestern, but the defense gets an untested quarterback and an offense that’s averaging 16.5 points against FBS competition, although Lausch wasn’t responsible for those numbers. Assuming Washington can avoid another penalty nightmare – a big if considering what happened in the Apple Cup – the Huskies start their Big Ten tenure with a win on Montlake.

Huskies 31, Northwestern 17