Just shy of the halfway point of the season, the University of Washington football team is off to an 0-2 Big Ten start, 3-2 counting the early cupcakes, with reality setting in that these Huskies will be pushed to finish better than .500 and land in another bowl game that doesn't draw any fans and is going out of business.
Coach Jedd Fisch said his guys were positioned to be really good in 2026 and, in looking over the talent, some of us believed him.
He was wrong. He has an average team with some prominent players underperforming to this point.
Sometimes $4 million only gets you so far.
With teams such as Michigan, Penn State and even USC more mundane than usual, it's an opportunity missed for the Huskies to move up the ranks to the upper half of the conference standings.
The Trojans gave Fisch's team every chance to beat them this weekend, too, and these Montlake Mutts couldn't do it.
Following are three observations from a night in Los Angeles and a climate change hot spot, with temperatures at the 4:30 p.m. kickoff in October hovering around 100 degrees.
1. DEFENSE PLAYED OK
After getting shoved around by Minnesota the week before, Ryan Walters' Husky defense was physical and representative at the Coliseum. Sticky in pass coverage. Not as generous as past UW teams have been to these guys
The UW defenders gave up two touchdowns from short distances, which is what you want, and a pair of field goals, coming up with a couple of stops. They gave up a handful of explosive plays when USC was averaging 10 per game. It was the Husky offense that fumbled this one away.
The Trojans' King Miller led his team with 81 yards on 18 carries, which were eight yards fewer than freshman Brian Bonner Jr for the UW. Zacharyus Williams topped USC with 78 receiving yards, which were four behind Husky leader Chris Lawson.
Nickelback Rahshawn Clark led his UW team with 9 tackles, safety Rylon Dillard-Allen came up win an interception and the defense did its job.
2. UW PERSONNEL MATTERS
Midway though the fourth quarter on a third-and-14 play at the UW 21, the Huskies sent Ryken Moon, Warren's son and a walk-on running back, into the game to make his season debut.
Not to besmirch Moon's skill set, because he plays a physical brand of football and he has that family football lineage, but counting the injured guys on the sideline and those in uniform, he was the Huskies' seventh-string tailback.
In his one play, he got bull-rushed and a Trojan defender bounced off him and into quarterback Demond Williams Jr. , and all of this led to a 4-yard sack and forced a punt.
Seventh string, let that sink in. Moon deserves a shot as much as anyone, but this late-game situation for him seemed a little forced.
3. ROEBUCK'S QB IMPERSONATION
Dezmen Roebuck showed why he's as dependable as anyone on the UW roster -- against the Trojans, the second-year wide receiver threw the ball twice, one as an official pass, the other considered a pitch.
In the first quarter, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound second-year player from Marana, Arizona, took a flip from quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide-open tight end Baron Naone for the Huskies' first points.
In the second quarter, Roebuck took another pitch from Williams, then turned and deftly threw the ball back across the field to his quarterback, who zipped a 17-yard completion to Naone.
If the UW needs someone behind center in a pinch at any time, maybe Roebuck should raise his hand. He's cool under fire with a nice touch.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington as Day After: 3 Observations from USC Loss .
