Washington opens Big Ten play Saturday night with a familiar name on the other sideline, and Jedd Fisch isn’t hiding his respect for Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck.
The No. 3 storyline in Seattle this week is the Huskies’ first conference game, a 8 p.m. PT kickoff at Husky Stadium against the Golden Gophers. Washington will treat it like a blackout, with black jerseys planned to match the night setting.
Both teams enter with a chance to pick up a fourth Power Four win. Washington has already worked through a nonconference slate that included two Group of Six opponents, the Pac-12’s Washington State Cougars and Utah State Aggies, plus FCS foe Eastern Washington.
Minnesota’s nonconference run included wins over Eastern Illinois and Akron, along with a 38-13 loss to No. 24 Mississippi State on Sept.
Still, Fisch spent Monday’s weekly news conference praising the opponent and the coach across from him. Minnesota is a place he knows well; he served as the school’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2009.
"I think it was 1977 the last time we played University of Minnesota here," Fisch said in a weekly news conference Monday at Husky Stadium. "We're excited about the chance to have them here.
(Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck) does an amazing job.
I have all the respect in the world for him. Known him for a very long time.
His team's extremely well-coached. ... I've always been very impressed with him.
I know how hard it is to win at Minnesota. Coached there back in 2009 and he does an incredible job at getting that done."
The appreciation appears to run both ways, with Fleck recently showing respect for Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in an interview.
This will be the first meeting between the teams since Oct. 1, 1977, when Minnesota edged Washington 19-17 in Minneapolis. The year before, on Oct. 2, 1976, Washington took the matchup 38-7.
All told, Washington and Minnesota have met 17 times, with the Golden Gophers holding a 10-7 edge in the series.
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Washingtons 3-0 Start Comes With A Defensive Problem Fans Cant Ignore
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The latest game underscored the issue again, with eight penalties for 101 yards helping turn an otherwise comfortable result into a reminder that cleaner football is still needed. For a defense about to face a tougher league schedule, the margin for error will shrink quickly, and Washington cant afford to keep putting itself behind the sticks or giving opponents extra chances. [Read more 🡒]
USC Faces A Familiar Washington Problem With More At Stake Now
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The coaching subplot gives the matchup even more weight. Lincoln Riley and Jedd Fisch have crossed paths before, and Washington has been a particularly stubborn problem for USC in recent seasons, adding another layer to a series the Trojans still trail historically. With that backdrop, this one feels like more than a conference date on the calendar, especially with each side carrying plenty into early October. [Read more 🡒]
Washington Still Has One Big Problem After Its Get-Right Win
Washingtons 48-16 win over Eastern Washington offered the kind of clean offensive response the Huskies needed, with the attack looking sharper and younger playmakers helping drive the first-half surge. Washington scored on nearly every drive before halftime, and the growth was visible in the way the offense spread the ball around and kept the pressure on after an uneven start to the season.
The concern, though, was hard to miss even in a comfortable victory. Washingtons defense piled up too many mistakes, getting flagged for seven of the teams eight penalties and spending too much time under a cloud of pass interference calls, ejections and other discipline issues. For a team trying to build momentum, the improved offense was encouraging, but the ongoing penalty problems left a much bigger question hanging over the result. [Read more 🡒]