SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies football team was unable to stop a surprisingly balanced and potent offense of the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes in a 41-24 loss Friday at Husky Stadium.

The Huskies offense mustered just one first down until the second-to-last drive of the first half, which ended via a 30-yard field goal from Tyler Robles. The second half proved better for Washington. UW outscored Iowa 21-14 in the second half on the back of three passing touchdowns from backup third-year quarterback Elijah Brown, who stepped in in place of fellow third-year Demond Williams Jr., who exited the game the same drive as Robles' field goal due to a rib injury.

The second half was not enough to waste the bad taste out of Huskies fans' mouths. The team is 3-3 on the season after a loss, 0-3 in Big Ten play and yet to score more than 24 points against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent this season.

Here's three takeaways from UW's loss to the Hawkeyes:

Ryan Walters defense not infallible

Washington entered the game as 2.5-point favorites over Iowa, and there was an expectation that the game would be a grind-them-out defensive battle.

Instead, per admission of head coach Jedd Fisch, the Huskies were outclassed on both sides of the ball at the line of scrimmage. Hawkeyes running back Kamari Moulton ran for over 200 yards against the Washington front, which has been the undisputed strength of the team this season.

Beyond the struggles up front, the secondary also suffered from multiple cases of miscommunication, which resulted in two passing touchdowns for Iowa to wide-open targets in the end zone.

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— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 10, 2026

Walters' defense has looked strong for the majority of the season, even with short-term injuries and several young or first-year players, but it's shown cracks in two of the last three weeks.

Between Friday and UW's 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sept. 27, the defense has allowed 21 or more points in the first half.

To add insult to injury, fourth-year Washington linebacker Xe'ree Alexander was knocked out of Friday's game with a high ankle sprain, which would keep him out for several games based on typical recovery for the injury.

The Huskies' main issues this season have leaned towards the offensive side of the ball, but the defense also proved that it's not without its own share of struggles since the schedule has turned towards Big Ten play.

Quarterback controversy brewing in Montlake?

Brown, who transferred to the team this past offseason from the Stanford Cardinal, had very little problem moving the ball against Iowa. He finished the game 28-for-39 for 251 yards and three touchdowns. Including his time in garbage time against the Eastern Washington Eagles, Brown is 30-for-42 for 276 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers.

For comparison, Williams was 6-for-11 for 69 yards and ran 11 times for -8 yards and was sacked four times.

Fisch was adamant after the game that Williams is and will remain the team's starting quarterback, and the question over whether he'll start in the team's next game against the Purdue Boilermakers on Oct. 16 will be based on his health.

However, Williams' struggles have been noticeable against FBS opponents. If Williams is out against Purdue or longer and Brown continues to play well, staying with Brown fro the rest of the season has to be a legitimate consideration.

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— Washington Football (@UW_Football) October 10, 2026

Offensive line, running back room still black hole for UW

Less than a week after the offensive line and running back room had its best individual showing against the Southern California (USC) Trojans, both units struggled.

First-year running back Brian Bonner Jr. and sixth-year running back Trey Cooley were limited to just 19 yards on 12 carries. The team finished with -3 rushing yards on 25 carries.

The offensive line provided several clean pockets for Williams in the first quarter but was unable to hold that form throughout and allowed six sacks to the Iowa front.

UW rotated several players along the offensive line in practice this past week and Friday but was unable to find a combination that worked consistently.

Regardless of if Brown or Williams start and play well, it'll be hard for the offense to clear its 24-point glass ceiling until there's some level of consistency from the running back and offensive line room.