Washington bracing for bowl season as first Big Ten team in action
Washington Coach Jedd Fisch glances at the crowd during a timeout against Iowa Saturday October 24, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
SEATTLE — The College Football bowl season kicks off Saturday, with the Huskies having the primetime slot and their coach is planning on taking advantage of the spotlight.
Washington will be the first Big Ten team to play in a bowl game this postseason, when it clashes with Boise State in the LA Bowl and Jedd Fisch is anticipating a dogfight. After all, both teams are familiar with each other, and that makes the battle more intriguing. The Huskies annihilated the Broncos at home in 2023, and smothered them in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl.
Washington outscored Boise State 94-26 in those contests, which is why Fisch isn’t taking the opposition lightly.
“Our job is to go and try to do everything we possibly can to beat a team that played in the CFP last year, and won the Mountain West this year,” Fisch said.
Fisch expects all of his players to participate in the bowl game, including former 1,000-yard rusher Jonah Coleman and quarterback Demond Williams Jr. Even stud defensive back Tacario Davis is going to give it a go after dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. Although the Broncos are eager to snap a two-game losing streak to the Huskies, Fisch wants to represent for the Big Ten by starting off the bowl season with a bang.
With the postseason full of players opting out of bowl games, declaring for the NFL Draft and negotiating NIL deals, Fisch appreciates that his squad is sticking together for one last game.
“In the end you win eight games in the Big Ten conference, you have an opportunity to play in a bowl game and you have to treat it as such,” he said. “You have to enjoy every moment of it, these kids are rewarded for it, you can get to nine wins, so these bowl games are special and I don’t understand the opt out of them.”
The Broncos have built a reputation as ‘Giant Killers’ throughout the years, and they usually play Power Four competition tough. This is pretty much Boise State’s Super Bowl, and what better way would it be than to beat one of the better teams out of the Big Ten. Fisch refuses to overlook the Broncos, especially their defense, which ranks 36th nationally in yards allowed.
“They’re very aggressive, they’re blitzing half of the time, and they play with the mentality of running to the ball really well,” the 49-year old said. “They like to bring their outside backers, and jump into different fronts.”
Fisch lost his first bowl game with Washington last year, so the last thing he wants is to end his 2025 campaign on a sour note. A win over Boise State will go a long way with recruiting, roster management and more. What Fisch appreciates is having some flexibility, and time to prepare, despite playing in a bowl game just two weeks after the regular season finale.
“I don’t like that we are eight practices less than we would be if we were playing in the Alamo Bowl, or the Holiday Bowl, where you would be playing on December 31 or beyond.”
