TOPEKA — Washburn football returns home to the capital city for its next conference clash on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Ichabods (1-3, 0-2 in the MIAA) will face Nebraska Kearney (3-1, 1-1) in a game where Washburn fans will be hoping for a different outcome than their previous three outings.
After earning a win over Truman State to start the season, Washburn has dropped three in a row. Their latest loss came to Central Oklahoma when they were defeated 34-28 on the road on Sept. 20.
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“There are no moral victories; we are still 1-3 at the end of the day, but the good thing is, the kids have confidence that they can play a top team,” Washburn head coach Zach Watkins said.
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Washburn Ichabods yell leaders create noise during the game against Northwest Missouri State Bearcats at Yager Stadium on Sept. 6, 2025.
Washburn held a 28-24 lead halfway through the third quarter. Quarterback Keller Hurla threw an incredible 85-yard touchdown reception to Chase Allen-Jackman to highlight the game. This score gave the Ichabods a 4-point advantage, but two big scoring drives from UCO allowed them to score the final 10 points of the game.
With a first-year head coach and young players across the roster, this is not an excuse Watkins is throwing around when it comes to their record.
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“It’s just a performance thing as to why we are 1-3, not because of our coaching staff or players being young,” Watkins said. “It’s because we’ve been inconsistent on how we’ve been able to perform on Saturdays.”
Nebraska Kearney is fresh off its first conference win of the season. They defeated Emporia State 34-20 at home on Sept. 20. Running back Isaiah Harris exploded for a big game. He rushed for 270 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries.
Harris has rushed for over 100 yards three times this year. Washburn has given up at least 237 rushing yards in the previous three straight games. They allowed Colorado School of Mines to scamper for 365 yards on the ground. It’s an area where Washburn really has to improve if they want to slow down the Lopers offense this week.
“We’ve had really good spots where teams can’t move the ball. Then we will have a couple of missed tackles and it goes for 60, 70-yard play,” Watkins said. “You can’t win giving up big plays in college football, especially with big plays in the run game. We’ve put some new things in and got some different guys to perform in a different way and I’m looking forward to this weekend.”
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The quarterback room continues to change for the Ichabods. Starting quarterback Justin Lewis has been dealing with an ankle injury. He missed part of the game against Mines and was taken out versus UCO. Hurla threw for 104 yards on 4-for-8 passing, along with the score to Allen-Jackman. Watkins shared that Lewis is still the starting quarterback, but seeing Hurla perform well was nice to see.
“When you have a kid in Keller, who has a skillset that is very unique, extremely reliable, you have to use that,” Watkins said.
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Washburn football vs Nebraska Kearney game time
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Date: Saturday, Sept. 27
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Location: Yager Stadium, Topeka, Kansas
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Washburn football 2025 schedule
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Aug. 30: Washburn 20, Truman State 17
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Sept. 6: Northwest Missouri State 34, Washburn 7
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Sept. 13: Colorado School of Mines 41, Washburn 27
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Sept. 20: Central Oklahoma 34, Washburn 28
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Sept. 27: vs Nebraska Kearney
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Oct. 11: at Pittsburg State
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Oct. 18: vs Central Missouri
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Oct. 25: vs Fort Hays State
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Nov. 1: at Missouri Western
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Nov. 8: vs Emporia State
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Nov. 15: at Missouri Southern
Liam Keating covers high school sports and Washburn University for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Why Zach Watkins is still confident in his Washburn football team
