Washington football barely escapes Utah State 16-14

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Washington football barely escapes Utah State 16-14

Roman Tomashoff, Huskies Wire · Huskies Wire

Sat, Sep 12, 2026 ·

12 min read

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Washington 's victory over Utah State was closer than it needed to be, as Jedd Fisch's team escaped a major upset with a 16-14 win on a last-second interception from defensive back Rahshawn Clark.

Washington eeks out nail-biter 16-14 victory over Utah State

"We've got to execute better," Jedd Fisch said several times following Washington's 16-14 win over the Utah State Aggies .

That's putting it mildly. It started in the first quarter when running back Trey Cooley dropped what would've been a 30-plus-yard touchdown whilst wide open in the flat on fourth down and gave the ball to the Aggies. That set the tone for several other missed executions from Washington's offense throughout the day.

Just before halftime, kicker Tyler Robles couldn't convert on a 48-yard field goal attempt that would've stretched the lead. Then in the third quarter, the Huskies had an opportunity to pull away in the red zone, but after wide receiver Chris Lawson couldn't get a foot down on a spectacular one-handed grab off a throw from quarterback Demond Williams Jr. that sailed a little high, wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck had an uncharacteristic drop from the 5-yard line where he turned his head upfield before securing the ball.

On Washington's final drive, Roebuck had an opportunity to help put the game away but let another Williams pass slip through his fingers on first-and-ten. That helped cause the nail-biter finish, as that left 40 seconds on the clock and forced the Huskies to punt the ball back to the Aggies, which set up Rahshawn Clark's interception on a Hail Mary, one of three UW picks on the day.

"There was 1:50 left," Fisch said of the play call. "There would have been about 28 seconds left if we ran it, they took a time out, we ran it, we ran it, and then we had, it would have been three runs, it would have (been) 28 seconds left. I felt pretty confident that we were gonna have what we wanted."

"I felt very confident that based upon what...teams have shown us when we're in four-minute offense, and we were gonna be able to hit Dez, and I felt confident that Demond would make a good decision that if, for some reason, Dez wasn't there, he could have just scrambled and got back to the line of scrimmage. So, my thought was it was going to be a play that we weren't going to end up stopping the clock, but it happened."

While the offensive struggles continued, one player who led another strong performance from Ryan Walters' defense was safety Alex McLaughlin. The Northern Arizona transfer tallied 9 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 pass breakups, and an interception in a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week-worthy performance.

"I think we made timely plays when we needed to and I'm proud of how we handled the situational football at the end," McLaughlin said after the game.

Next up for Washington is a battle with the FCS Eastern Washington Eagles on Saturday, September 19, at 4:15 p.m. PT.

Washington vs. Utah State final score

07:03 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Quarter	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	—	Score
Washington	0	10	0	6	—	16
Utah State	0	7	0	7	—	14

Rahshawn Clark clinches win for Washington

07:02 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Throughout the day, Washington made a habit of letting the Aggies hang around. In the waning minutes, Eli Wood hauled in a touchdown pass from Brosterhous to cut the lead to 16-14, and following another wide-open drop from Dezmen Roebuck on a ball that would've clinched the game, the Huskies needed to punt the ball back to Utah State.

An illegal substitution penalty forced the Aggies to try a Hail Mary from the 44-yard line, which landed in Clark's hands for Washington's third interception of the day to seal a nail-biting victory in what has been a messy start to the season, to say the least.

Alex McLaughlin plays hero

06:16 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

After the Huskies allowed a 17-yard Brosterhous run on third-and-11, the senior safety rose to the occasion. First, he wrapped up the Utah State quarterback for a sack, before on the very next play, he ripped the ball away from Brosterhous' intended receiver for an interception, Washington's second takeaway of the day.

Huskies can't find paydirt, 13-7 Washington

06:08 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

The Huskies got the ball inside the 10-yard line, but couldn't get into the end zone. On second down, Chris Lawson made an incredible, sprawling one-handed catch, but landed out of bounds. Then on third down, a wide-open Dezmen Roebuck took his eyes off the ball and put them on the end zone too soon, for Washington's second dropped touchdown of the day.

End of third quarter, Washington 10, Utah State 7

05:58 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Following another three-and-out, highlighted by the first sack of Derek Colman-Brusa's career, Demond Williams gave the Huskies a major spark. With nobody open, he scrambled down the sideline right in front of the UW bench for a 36-yard gain to move the Huskies down to the 23-yard line.

Another disappointing drive for UW offense

05:53 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Following a pair of first downs, Washington's offense couldn't recover from a Demond Williams sack on first down. Jedd Fisch had an opportunity to keep the offense on the field on a fourth-and-2 near midfield, but elected to punt, much to the dismay of the crowd as boos rained down on the UW offense. However, Hunter Green pinned the Aggies back at the 10-yard line.

Alex McLaughlin stifles Aggies

05:45 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

On third-and-short, Utah State elected to let Brosterhaus keep the ball yet again, but he went 9 yards in the wrong direction thanks to the senior safety, forcing another three-and-out for the Huskies. The defense has pulled its weight for the majority of the contest, as the pressure stays on the offense to create some breathing room from the Pac-12 opponent.

Washington continues to struggle offensively

05:41 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

After a solid start to the drive with a 15-yard reception from tight end Baron Naone, Washington's offense sputtered as the offensive line allowed a tackle for loss on running back Ansu Sanoe and a hit on Demond Williams before a poor 28-yard punt from Hunter Green gave the Aggies the ball back at the 39-yard line.

Huskies lose starting CB

05:34 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

According to the Big Ten Network, cornerback Emmanuel Karnley is out for the remainder of the game with an injury. After coming off the field earlier in the game, starting wide receiver Rashid Williams has also not returned.

Huskies, Aggies trade three-and-outs

05:31 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

There wasn't a lot of offense to start the second half. First, the Huskies couldn't generate much of anything on their first drive, attempting a screen to tight end Decker DeGraaf on third down that didn't go anywhere, but the defense responded, holding Utah State to four yards on its first drive of the second half

Dylan Robinson grabs first career INT

05:00 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Following a bad punt from Hunter Green, the sophomore cornerback gave the Huskies another opportunity to score before the half. He played suffocating press coverage on the outside before turning around to take advantage of a poorly thrown ball from Brosterhous to give Uw the ball back with 41 seconds to play in the half.

Washington's defense rebounds quickly

04:52 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

After allowing the long score, Ryan Walters' unit let up a quick first down, but not much after. On third-and-short, Brosterhaus kept the ball and ran directly into defensive tackle Kai McClendon for a loss. Following a holding call on the punt, the Huskies will have nearly four minutes and all three timeouts to drive 96 yards. Washington will also get the ball coming out of the locker room.

Ansu Sanoe scores first career TD, 10-7 Washington

04:43 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Aided by a late hit on Demond Williams, the Huskies put together one of their better drives of the young season, spanning 65 yards in eight plays. Jordan Clay went up and over a pair of Utah State defenders for a 19-yard score, before the 240-pound freshman running back took three carries for 8 yards, the final of which he punched in on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

Utah State answers immediately, 7-3 Aggies

04:30 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

On the first play from scrimmage following Washington's field goal, quarterback Grady Brosterhouse held the ball for as long as he could on a run-pass option before he delivered the ball to a wide-open Javon Robinson over the middle of the field, who took it the rest of the way for a 78-yard touchdown.

Huskies held to field goal, 3-0 Washington

04:25 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Washington has put some points on the board by way of a 30-yard Tyler Robles field goal, but the Huskies had an opportunity for a lot more. Brian Bonner fumbled a handoff attempt to stall the drive on second-and-7, before a blitz put some pressure on Demond Williams and forced an incompletion in the end zone in the direction of freshman receiver Jordan Clay, who hauled in his first two career catches on the drive.

Huskies have defensive score overturned

04:17 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

What looked like it should've been the second forced fumble of the year for edge rusher Isaiah Ward, which turned into a 42-yard touchdown for linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah, was quickly overturned when it was determined that Sesi Valahi's knee was down. However, Washington's defense held up strong on fourth down and forced a turnover on downs.

Cooley lets TD slip through his fingers

04:10 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Washington's offense finally found some momentum, with chunk plays through the air to wide receiver Rashid Williams and tight end Baron Naone. However, on fourth-and-3, Jedd Fisch elected to keep the offense on the field and drew up a play to get running back Trey Cooley wide open in the flat, who would've waltzed into the end zone, but the sixth-year Troy transfer couldn't hang onto the pass for a turnover on downs.

Washington's defense forces three-and-out

03:58 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Thanks to a tackle for loss from outside linebacker Jacob Lane to start the series, the Aggies were behind the sticks from the get-go before a pass breakup from safety Alex McLaughlin on third down ended the drive. The Huskies will start inside their own 20-yard line for the second straight drive, after Landon Rekhow's punt was downed at the 13-yard line.

Huskies go backwards on first drive

03:53 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Another slow start for the Huskies, after a holding penalty from Kolt Dieterich and an errant throw from Demond Williams Jr. caused them to go eight yards in the wrong direction. Hunter Green's first punt of the day went 59 yards, and it was returned to the Utah State 47-yard line, where the Aggies will take over.

Huskies force punt on opening drive

03:47 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

After the first third-down conversion of the year against Ryan Walters' defense that didn't come via penalty, freshman cornerback Jeron Jones was flagged for pass interference, but it didn't affect the Huskies. Quarterback Grady Brosterhous' third-down throw was behind running back Noah White, who corralled it for a loss of 1. The Huskies will take over from their own 17-yard line following the punt.

Freshman gets RB start

03:26 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

With the top two running backs on the depth chart, Quaid Carr and Jayden Limar, sidelined due to injuries, true freshman and former top-100 recruit Brian Bonner was announced as the starter for Jedd Fisch.

Washington vs Utah State injury updates, inactives

12:00 PM ET, September 12 2026, Roman Tomashoff

Washington — OUT: C Landen Hatchett (wrist), OL Lowen Colman-Brusa (leg), RB Quaid Carr (hand), RB Jayden Limar (wrist), DT Elinneus Davis (undisclosed), WR Christian Moss (soft tissue)

Jedd Fisch shared an optimistic update on the status of running back Jordan Washington, who suffered a neck injury during spring practice.

"He's gotten a lot stronger; he's stronger than he was before he got hurt, with all of his weight room metrics," Fisch said on Thursday. "His speed is the same; the thing that we have to look at is cleared for contact. That decision gets made by the surgeon who took care of him, and then we have to look at conditioning. But in terms of how things are trending, he's doing exceptionally well, but we don't know anything until he gets scanned, and the scans—we're not ready for that yet."