Nebraska vs Washington: UWDawgpound Answers Our Questions!

Mark Schafter joined us for Monday Night Therapy, and also for our opponent Q&A!

Mark Schafer has worked for UW Dawg Pound for over 3 years, handling Q&A’s and covering football, men’s basketball and softball. He has been called “the heart of optimistic Husky football fandom”.

Demond Williams missed the Purdue game with the rib injury, and Elijah Brown threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns in his place.
If Williams is healthy Saturday, is he still the guy? And what does the offense do differently with each of them under center?

Elijah Brown is a better fit for the kind of offense Jedd Fisch wants to run, that being a pro-style attack, akin to what McVay or Shanahan runs in the NFL. At 6’2”, 215 pounds, he’s more of a prototypical pro style quarterback than Demond Williams (who’s a good bit shorter than Brown). Brown also gets the ball out quicker than Williams (about a full second quicker actually) which is indicative of maturity. Williams also has a tendency to hesitate, look for the big play too much, and not protect himself about as well as he should at this stage in his career.
There’s also the dual threat dimension, which is good when Williams is in the game, but when Brown was in, you can see that go away, as he is much more of a statue in the pocket. These are the tradeoffs you have to make sometimes when starting the backup, but I will say, weird throws and 3 interceptions aside, Brown did everything you want a pro style quarterback to do.

He got the ball to receivers in space and they were able to make plays with their speed, which is something that Demond Williams hasn’t done with much success this year, whether through indecision or just being rushed.

As for if Williams or Brown is the guy, I think Williams would be if he’s healthy, but Fisch is also coaching for his job (or at the very least, more job security), so starting the guy who has looked good (at least compared to how Williams has looked through his starts) can’t hurt Fisch’s chances.

Washington ran for 186 yards at Purdue after spending most of the season near the bottom of the FBS in rushing.
Was that a real fix, with Trey Cooley’s role growing, or did it say more about Purdue’s defense? What has held the run game back this year?

What has held the run game back is threefold: no true number one guy like in previous years, the lack of push up front, and injuries. It is thanks to the last thing that Trey Cooley has seen an outsized role (as he started the year as RB3 I believe).

Those injuries also extend to the line, as Landen Hatchett recently was shut down for the rest of the year, leaving a huge hole at the center spot. I think what worked with the run game is relying more on gap scheme instead of the zone that Fisch likes to run.

He put that down to him and offensive line coach Michael Switzer talking to the players, seeing what they’re comfortable with, and running that. With Cooley, he was finally taking advantage of those openings, and that led to him getting his first 100 yard rushing performance since 2021. We’ll see if that works, but if it doesn’t, it could be a long day against the Cornhusker defense.

The defense allowed 13 points a game through September, then gave up 41 to Iowa before bouncing back at Purdue with 23 pressures and two interceptions.
What went wrong against Iowa, and which version should Nebraska fans expect in Lincoln?

The September performances were partly due to the level of competition (Washington State, Utah State and Eastern Washington, with the unit also surrendering 27 to Minnesota), but I think what went wrong against Iowa is similar to what went wrong when the Huskies played them in Iowa City 2 years ago. They got out-physicaled, plain and simple.

No push up front certainly didn’t help, but it’s never a good look when you give up 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards, and especially not to Iowa! The Purdue game certainly was a better showing, and more indicative of where we thought this defense could be this year, with the containment of Fame Ijeboi (who rushed for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns the previous week against Minnesota) being my standout aside from the 2 picks!

As for what version Nebraska fans should expect to see, that all comes down to how well they can contain Anthony Colandrea. If they can keep a lid on him, I expect that they’ll look similar to last week, but if not, Nebraska’s offense could be on the field for an extended period of time, and that will be bad news for a defense that has struggled with giving up the big play.

Washington is 1-3 in the Big Ten heading into a road night game, with Penn State, Michigan State, Indiana and Oregon still to come.
How are Husky fans feeling about Jedd Fisch and this season right now, and what does a win in Lincoln mean for where it ends up?

It is certainly looking like the Nebraska game will dictate the direction of the season. Win and you’re set up a lot better than if you lose, obviously. As for how fans feel about Fisch, they aren’t happy with him, to say the least. The whole Demond Williams portal fiasco has spawned a cloud of gloom over the season, just when fans were ready to put it behind them.

Now, as the season feels lost (relative to preseason expectations), some are calling for his job, but the athletic department can’t afford to fire him. If he wins this game with Elijah Brown, those calls will quiet temporarily, but if he loses with Demond Williams, fans will continue to call for his job, even if it may fall on deaf ears.

If he wins, the Huskies may make a bowl game but if he loses, I can see one more win, maybe 2, and that’s still a disappointment in year 3 of his tenure. That, combined with the number of penalties (still in year 3), are a major source of my frustration with him. If he wins here, that won’t go away, it’ll take a lot less penalties and a lot more winning!

Go ahead and give me a prediction for this Saturday night – HALLLOWEEN NIGHT – in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Going on the road outside of the PNW has been a challenge in the Fisch era, as he’s 2-6 outside of the Pacific Time Zone in conference play. I have no reason to believe that he’ll buck the trend, but I was wrong when we played Purdue.

But it all depends on if Elijah Brown or Demond Williams starts. If Williams starts, I think the same issues will affect him and the team by extension.
If Brown starts, those issues will be mitigated somewhat, however, a win seems unlikely. Nebraska is 5-2 and those 2 losses were by a combined 6 points, to Indiana and Oregon. I don’t have much hope for the Huskies, as Nebraska is probably the best team talent wise they’ve faced so far, and I think that, combined with the Huskies’ injury woes up front will be the difference.

Nebraska-34, Washington-21