Washington’s final stand against Penn State unraveled on a detail that Ryan Walters put squarely on the staff.
The Huskies had just pulled back within reach on Nov. 7, and Jedd Fisch was convinced his team had a path to the finish line after the last score. Washington’s third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. hit second-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. with seven minutes, 40 seconds left, then found second-year tight end Baron Naone on the two-point conversion in front of the Husky Stadium crowd.
But the comeback never got the closing chapter it needed. Penn State kept its three-point lead, survived the late push and handed Washington its fourth loss of the season. The Nittany Lions then burned the final 7:40 off the clock, helped by a series of Washington mistakes.
The biggest one came on third-and-5 from the Washington 17 after the Huskies had used a timeout. Penn State broke the huddle in 14-personnel - one running back and four tight ends - and Washington wasn’t ready for the look.
The Huskies were flagged for 12 men on the field, and that penalty gave Penn State the first down. Because Washington had just called timeout, it couldn’t stop the play again without taking a 5-yard penalty, which would have still handed the Nittany Lions the same result.
Washington did get one more shot to force a final possession, stopping Penn State on fourth-and-1 from the 3-yard line. But Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht kept it himself on a quarterback sneak, moved the chains and let Penn State drain the rest of the clock.
Walters addressed the mistake during his weekly news conference Tuesday at Husky Stadium and said the defensive alignment against 14 personnel usually would have meant second-year cornerback Dylan Robinson leaving the field while a safety took his spot. Instead, second-year linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who wears the helmet mic for Walters’ calls, couldn’t hear the instruction over the crowd noise, and Robinson stayed in.
Walters said the confusion was made worse because Robinson had matched up with Penn State senior tight end Benjamin Brahmer all game, and Brahmer was one of the four tight ends on the field.
“There (was) no indication, from (Robinson)’s standpoint, that he should not be on the field,” Walters said Tuesday. “That’s why, as a staff, we have to make sure that we have all the guys on our sideline, get all the personnel from the offense and then send out our 11 (players) together.
It can’t be assumptions. ... Whenever there is a stoppage of the clock or a change of possession, we can’t take the field early.
That is on me, being the organizer. That’s on our staff for (not) being more disciplined, more detailed.
It is not on Dylan. But that’s exactly what happened.”
At 5-4 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play, Washington has three chances left to reach bowl eligibility. The next one comes Saturday at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., where the Huskies face Michigan State at 1:15 p.m. PT.
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