By Andrew Bailie Posted on

UW vs. OSU: What to watch for as No. 1 Buckeyes come to Seattle

Jedd Fisch gave his final presser on Thursday before UW takes on No. 1 Ohio State at Husky Stadium on Saturday. The Huskies will put their 22-game home winning streak to the test against the nation’s best team. The Buckeyes come to Montlake with a 19-game road win streak against unranked teams. With UW facing the country’s best team this week, they will need to play their best in all three phases. Here is what to watch for as the Huskies take on the Buckeyes this week.

UW’s defense looks for new leaders against Ohio State

The Huskies gave up just 28 yards rushing in the Apple Cup, even after LB Taariq “Buddah” Al-Uqdah left the game with an injury. LB Deven Bryant stepped up big for the Huskies in their 59-24 win. He led the defense with eight tackles and three solo tackles, as Bryant helped the Huskies shut down the Cougars’ ground game. Bryant will likely take over the leadership duties for UW’s defense against Ohio State with Al-Uqdah injured. This is what Jedd Fisch had to say about who will wear the green dot communication helmet for the defense with Al-Uqdah out:

“Well we’ve rotated with Deven Bryant having a green dot. We rotated with the safety having a green dot, I think last year, there was times that Kam Fab had the green dot. There was times that Cam Broussard had the green dot… So, a year ago we rotated it around a little bit. We’re very comfortable doing that, again. We certainly have enough linebackers in the middle of the defense, which is usually where you want the green dots to sit.”

Deven Bryant makes the most sense to wear the green dot helmet on Saturday. Given that Bryant has worn the green dot helmet before, and Fisch’s desire for linebackers to quarterback the defense. Fisch also said if the Huskies’ crowd is loud enough, they will switch to hand signals if necessary. UW will need all the help it can get from its crowd against a dynamic Ohio State offense. This season, the Buckeyes are averaging 40.3 points per game and 475.3 yards per game. Deven Bryant and the Huskies’ defense will need to communicate effectively to slow down the Buckeyes’ offense.

UW QB Demond Williams looks to stay hot, as Buckeyes try to contain him

QB Demond Williams earned Big Ten offensive player of the week honors for his Apple Cup performance. The Huskies’ sophomore QB put up 386 total yards and had five touchdowns against the Cougars. Now, Williams is looking to build off last week’s performance as he leads UW against Ohio State. The Buckeyes will attempt to do everything possible to slow Williams down and contain him. Here is what Jedd Fisch said about Ohio State potentially spying on Williams in Saturday’s game:

“Yeah, we would expect them to have some spy variation. Whether they use Caleb Downs, whether they use Reese, whether they mix and match different, different guys can keep an eye on Demond, and you know, that’s fine. They got to keep an eye on Demond, then Jonah, Adam, or Denzel, and other players as well. So we understand that challenge of you know, what they’re going to do to try to take away the quarterback run game, and we’ll have to adjust.”

Ohio State’s defense did a masterful job of shutting down Arch Manning and No.1 Texas in their opener. Demond Williams gives the Buckeyes a different look as a dual-threat QB who can run and throw. RB Jonah Coleman has been effective running the ball when teams key on Williams. Expect the Huskies to turn to their senior running back if the Buckeyes try to contain Williams. Coleman can help his quarterback, having rushed for 347 yards and nine rushing TDs through three games.

Huskies need effective special teams and good field position to win

Jedd Fisch knows that to win, his team needs to play well in all three phases, and that includes special teams. The Huskies have done a good job in the return game of setting the team up in good field position. RB Jonah Coleman is averaging 26 yards per kick return. RB Adam Mohammed is averaging 29 yards per kick return. WR Denzel Boston is averaging 29.7 yards per return on punts. This is what Fisch had to say about the importance of special teams and field position for Saturday’s game:

“We can’t put ourselves in the hole by giving the ball away. We can’t be on a short field for them and be a long field for us. We need to find a way, to make sure that special teams are neutralized, they have really good returners. I think we have really good returners, so we’re going to have to make sure both sides take care of business in that regard. Field position is a big part of the game. We’ve had really good field positions enabled us to score. So we want to try to have a good field position again. We know that they have a really good kicker. Traditionally, most of his kicks have been touchbacks, so we’ll see what that looks like.”

Through the first three games of the season, the Huskies have just one turnover. They have done a good job of taking care of the football and not giving their opponents good field position to score. UW also needs to take advantage of opportunities to return kicks and punts to flip the field position. Denzel Boston already has one punt return for a touchdown and can be a difference maker on Saturday. To win, the Huskies will need a strong performance from their special teams to flip field position in their favor.

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