3 takeaways from Washington’s road loss at Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Jedd Fisch felt like 45 seconds was enough time.

Washington’s head coach chose not to onside kick with his team trailing 21-18 and 1:40 remaining on Friday night. With the Huskies only needing a field goal for overtime, Fisch said he’d rather try and get around 35 yards after a punt from deep in Rutgers territory than let the Scarlet Knights pin the Huskies deep after not recovering an onside kick. 

“If I felt like we weren’t going to stop them on defense, we would’ve certainly onside kicked,” he said.

Despite Fisch’s calculations, it still proved too big an ask for Washington’s offense. The Huskies gained 23 yards in 35 seconds before junior Grady Gross’ field-goal attempt from 55 yards went wide left, sending Washington to its second loss of the season.

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Here are three takeaways from Washington’s Friday night loss to Rutgers:

1. Coleman vs. Monangai

Two of the best running backs in the Big Ten dueled at SHI Stadium on Friday, as Washington’s Jonah Coleman certainly held his own against Kyle Monangai. 

Coleman finished as the game’s leading rusher. He took 16 carries for 148 yards, averaging 9.3 yards per attempt. Monangai, the Big Ten’s leading rusher in 2023, had 25 carries for 132 yards and a touchdown. He also gashed the Huskies for the longest rush of the game, a 40-yard carry with 10:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Fisch said he felt the UW defense actually held up fairly well against Monangai. The Washington coach noted outside of the 40-yard carry and a 28-yard dash the Rutgers back made in the second quarter, the Huskies generally prevented Monangai from effectively moving the ball. Of his 25 carries, 16 went for three yards or less. 

“I think they’re both exceptional backs,” Fisch said. “I think we expected that kind of battle with those types of backs.”

Coleman, who entered Friday ranked fourth in the FBS with 21 scrimmage plays of 10 yards or more, had his most productive yardage day as a Husky. It’s the third time in five games Coleman has reached 100 rushing yards. He had six carries go at least 10 yards.

Coleman hasn’t carried the ball more than 16 times in a game this season — which he’s now done twice — and his career-high mark is just 22, which was during Arizona’s 43-41, triple-overtime loss to USC in 2023. Monangai, in comparison, registered 20 carries in a game for the 10th time in his career. 

Fisch said he was happy with the amount of Coleman’s touches. He added the coaching staff is trying to keep the Arizona transfer fresh, which is when they believe he is most impactful. 

“He’s battling,” Fisch said. “He’s physical. I thought he had a fantastic game.”

2. Offensive line gels

Coleman may — rightfully — get a majority of the credit for his productive day on the ground, but Fisch made sure to highlight the offensive line’s performance. 

Washington rushed for 207 total yards between Coleman, sixth-year senior Cameron Davis, fifth-year quarterback Will Rogers and freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr. The Huskies didn’t surrender a single sack or a tackle for loss. 

Additionally, while right tackle Drew Azzopardi and center D’Angalo Titialii both drew drive-killing 15-yard personal fouls, the offensive line didn’t have a single false start or holding penalty. 

“The offensive line deserves a lot of credit for how we ran the ball,” Fisch said. 

Washington rotated its offensive line less against Rutgers than it had all season. Azzopardi and sixth-year senior guard Enokk Vimahi have held down the right side of the offensive line since UW’s first game, and Titialii spent the entire game at center. Sophomore Landen Hatchett briefly rotated in at left guard for junior Gaard Memmelaar, and the Huskies gave junior Maximus McCree the entire game at left tackle. 

McCree made his first start for UW against Northwestern, but his main competition, redshirt freshman Soane Faasolo, was listed as questionable before the game and played some snaps, especially after McCree departed with an injury in the fourth quarter. Against Rutgers, however, Faasolo didn’t appear on the availability report at all, yet McCree still got the start, officially making it his job. At least for now. 

3. Field-goal struggles

Since taking over for Washington’s all-time points leader Peyton Henry in 2023, Gross has been about as automatic as any college kicker. 

Gross went 18-for-22 during the 2023 season, including a career-long 47-yard attempt against Arizona State on Oct. 21, 2023. His 42-yard field goal as time expired against Washington State won the Apple Cup, kept the Huskies undefeated and earned him a scholarship. He was named a team captain before the 2024 campaign. 

He started this season in similar form, knocking through his first five field goals. Gross was 4-for-4 in the Apple Cup, including a season-best 44-yard field goal. 

In two Big Ten games, however, Gross is just 2-for-6, highlighted by his 1-for-4 performance against Rutgers. In some heavy mist, Gross failed to convert from 37 yards — the shortest unblocked miss of his career — 42 yards and 55 yards. Against Northwestern, he was wide left from 51 yards away. All of Gross’ misses this season have been to the left. 

Fisch said he’d gather with the coaching staff to review how to help Gross get back to his consistent ways. He compared Gross favorably to Arizona kicker Tyler Loop, a 2023 second-team All-Pac-12 selection, and said Gross has performed extremely well in practice. 

“Unfortunately, we just haven’t hit them,” Fisch said, “and that’s tough.”