It was yet another slow start that lead into a Washington victory by a comfortable margin. How did the Huskies grade out?
Passing Offense – 9/10
Quarterback – 9/10
Offensive line – 7/10
Receivers/tight ends – 8.5/10
It was a record setting night for Demond Williams, with his 538 total yards a school record for a single game, 402 of which came through the air. Washington pass catchers helped quite a bit, with 202 yards after the catch, a season high. Tight ends Quentin Moore and Decker DeGraaf had productive games with four catches between them. Dezmen Roebuck had another excellent game (4 catches, 108 yards), showing off some run after the catch ability to go with his typically reliable hands. RB Jonah Coleman is also getting involved in the pass game quite a bit. The offensive line allowed eight pressures and left tackle is still unsettled with Carver Willis out injured, but Demond was sacked just once.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 10: Dezmen Roebuck #81 of the Washington Huskies runs after making a catch during the third quarter against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Husky Stadium on October 10, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Blake Dahlin/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Rushing Offense – 7.5/10
Quarterback – 8/10
Running back – 6/10
Offensive line – 6/10
The only blemish on Demond Williams record setting night was his fumble deep in the red zone which came on a zone read keeper. The Huskies had a chance to go up 14-10, but instead Rutgers turned the Washington mistake into a field goal and a 13-7 lead. But, he was otherwise brilliant running the football. His 136 yards were a career high, not to mention his two rushing scores. He forced six missed tackles (per PFF) and had five rushes of more than 10 yards. Jonah Coleman and Adam Mohammed didn’t get a ton of opportunities, just 16 combined carries for 52 yards (though Coleman did punch it into the end zone on the goal line). The offensive line wasn’t getting push and the holes just weren’t there consistently for the running backs.
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Passing Defense – 5/10
Defensive backs – 5/10
Pass rush – 6.5/10
Despite the issues with the pass defense, the defensive line does seem adept at batting down passes, following up three bat downs against Maryland with another three on Friday night against Rutgers. The pass rush also showed some signs of life, converting 18 QB pressures into three sacks. Pass coverage however, was a mixed bag. Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis threw for a 386 yards – a career high – two touchdowns and one interception on 31/50 passing. For a defense that tries to limit explosive plays, six passes of greater than 20 yards won’t cut it. That being said, 7.7 yards per attempt for Kaliakmanis does not reflect horribley on the UW defense.
Oct 10, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights wide receiver Ian Strong (9) runs the ball against the Washington Huskies during the first half at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images
Rushing Defense – 7/10
Antwan Raymond ripped off a couple big runs – 51 and 17 yarders, to be specific – but other than that, the Huskies kept him mostly bottled up, as 11 of 15 of his rushes went for four yards or fewer. Xe’ree Alexander had three stops (play that constitutes a failure for the offense), per PFF, and lead the team with eight total tackles. Rutgers wasn’t exactly trying to run it down the Huskies throats in the second half, but Washington’s defense tightened up and allowed just 17 second half rush yards. Rutgers running backs finished with 16 carries for 96 yards on the night.
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Special Teams – 7/10
Grady Gross missed his first field goal of the year, and it felt like it could be a repeat of last year’s disaster against the Scarlet Knights. But, he rebounded by nailing his other attempt for three points. There were no major special teams miscues, but the Huskies did not win the field position battle in the early part of the game, which certainly aided Rutgers jumping out to a 10-0 lead.
Coaching – 6/10
The slow starts are becoming a bit of a trend. Even with the bye week, a team making a cross country road trip shouldn’t jump all over the home team like that. At least, they say road trips in the B1G are supposed to be tough. Now, the Huskies obviously pulled away for a comfortable victory, and I credit the coaching staff for keeping the team focused and not panicking. At the same time, the Huskies should consider themselves lucky Rutgers (and Maryland for that matter) isn’t a running team, because after getting a lead they would have been much more easily able to keep the ball, bleed clock, and not let the Huskies back into it. Lastly, this team still makes too many procedural mistakes and receives too many ill-timed penalties.
The Huskies are 5-1 with a chance to make a statement on Saturday morning against the Michigan Wolverines.
