By Andrew Bailie Posted on

Huskies vs. Purdue preview: Three things to watch for

The Washington Huskies return home determined to bounce back after a sloppy and disappointing loss on the road to Wisconsin. The Huskies will face Purdue for the first time since 2002, when the two teams met in the Sun Bowl. The Boilermakers have been competitive in Conference play this season, losing three games by one possession. Purdue has not won a Big Ten conference game since 2023. Despite playing a struggling team, the Dawgs will need to execute in all three phases to defeat the Boilermakers.

The Huskies need to hand the ball off more and protect the ball

RB Jonah Coleman injured his leg on a running play in the second quarter against Wisconsin and limped off to the sidelines. Washington struggled to secure the football in Coleman’s absence. His injury put the offense on QB Demond Williams’ shoulders, as the Huskies were now down to one running back. RB Jordan Washington did not make the trip to Wisconsin, missing the game due to illness. Playing without Coleman and Washington, Williams committed two costly turnovers. The Huskies must do a better job of helping their quarterback this week, as they hope Coleman returns from injury:

“He’s (Jonah Coleman) had a good a, good day yesterday, and he’s progressed, but he’s still all in rehab right now. So we’ll see if he can get some practice reps today. Get some running in tomorrow, and then make a decision on Saturday”, said Fisch.

If Jonah Coleman cannot play Saturday, RB Adam Mohammed will start at running back. Mohammed had 12 carries for 54 yards in last week’s game. RB Jordan Washington is healthy this week and expected to play as a backup. The Huskies need their running backs to lighten the load on QB Demond Williams. Washington has not had a running back rush for over 100 yards since week two against UC Davis. Purdue has given up 162 yards a game this season on the ground, providing a great opportunity for the Dawgs to run the ball.

The Huskies’ defense hunts for takeaways

Ball security has been an issue for Purdue all season. The Boilermakers are in the bottom ten in turnovers (with 18 on the season) and turnover margin (-10). Winning the turnover battle on Saturday will be crucial for Washington to win. The Huskies are (3-1) in games in which they have won the turnover battle and (0-2) in games they have lost the turnover battle. Washington’s defense needs to attack the ball on Saturday:

“It’s gonna be a fight, we’re gonna scrap, we’re gonna claw, and if we come out on top, it’ll be because of the fact we didn’t turn it over. When we don’t turn the ball over, we can play, we do really well, and we will take the ball away. I believe in our three losses, we only took the ball away twice. So, you know, those are the things that are going to matter for us to be able to make a seven-point game a 14-point game. Otherwise, we’re expecting the game to go down to a one-score game and see what happens”, Fisch said.

The Huskies’ defense has been fantastic at creating game-changing turnovers. They had two big interceptions in their last home game against Illinois, which led them to a victory. Purdue QB Ryan Browne has been prone to mistakes, with eight interceptions on the year. Washington’s secondary has the opportunity to feast on his poor throws in this game. The Huskies must take advantage of the Boilermakers’ tendency to be careless with the ball.

Washington’s punt team must be sharper

Creating turnovers is one way to flip field position, but the Dawgs also want to flip the field with their special teams. Wisconsin won the field position battle last week and pinned Washington inside the 15 five times. The Huskies struggled to punt the ball, as punter Luke Dunne kicked his four punts an average of just 36.8 yards. Washington has been working to improve in the punting game this week:

“We’re working to continue to speed up the operation to try and get the ball out quicker, but you know that is what it is right now. We are who we are when it comes to our punt team, and that’s, we gotta do better at it. And we’ve talked about it, they know it, but there’s really not much you could do in terms of improving, you know, our punt coverage right at this moment in time, because it hasn’t been based on covering. It’s been more based on the kicks itself and hang time in the directions”, said Fisch.

The Huskies have not had to punt often in the games they have played this season. Last Saturday, Washington struggled to move the ball, dealing with injuries and poor weather. Due to the adversity they faced, the Huskies needed to punt more effectively to flip the field position in their favor. Against Purdue, Washington’s punt team will play a critical role in determining who wins the field position battle.

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