Huskies use fourth quarter heroics to secure road win over Huskers

LINCOLN, Neb. — After trailing the entire evening on the road in front of 86,000-plus fans, Washington does the unthinkable down the stretch, and climbs up the win column in Big Ten play.

The Huskers had the lead, and the Huskies on the ropes until Coach Jedd Fisch made the proper adjustments over the final five minutes. Once the smoke cleared, Washington stunned Nebraska with a 17-10 victory on Halloween, and there was a mass exodus of fans from Memorial Stadium as it all transpired.

However, the Huskies didn’t look fluid after their bye-week early in the game. Fisch started Elijah Brown over Demond Williams at quarterback, but he never looked comfortable in the pocket as the game progressed. The Huskers drew first blood, after a 10-play, 95-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter, that took over four minutes off the clock.

At that point Fisch knew his team was in for a dogfight, and the offense had work for every yard against the tenacious Blackshirts. Washington’s defense matched the intensity though, and intercepted Nebraska’s quarterback Anthony Colandrea twice through the first 30 minutes.

After going scoreless through most of the first half, Washington finally put points on the scoreboard after a 50-yard field goal by Tyler Robles. Although the Huskies trailed 7-3 at halftime, Fisch thought his squad shifted the momentum, and he had a simple message for the second half.

“I challenged the team all week, and said you gotta hold them under 13 points, and that’s how you win on the road in the Big Ten,” Fisch said. “That’s what the stats tell you, and that’s what it looks like, so there’s a race to 21, and if you get to 21 you win 93 percent of the time in this conference.”

The Huskies came out inspired, and their defense held the Huskers scoreless in the third quarter, but Fisch still kept Brown behind center, and Williams on the sidelines. Ryan Walter’s defense continued to play lights out though, and that kept Washington in the game. The fourth quarter is when everything came together for the Huskies.

The Huskers had a chance to build a two-score lead inside Washington’s 10-yard line, but a delay of game penalty, and three incompletions forced them to attempt a field goal. Kyle Cunanan missed the 36-yarder, and Fisch knew it was time to insert Williams in the game to give the offense a chance.

“I felt that we needed a spark with the way they were playing us, what they were doing coverage-wise, so we needed the ability that Demond has, and that’s the ability to make a play with his feet if they present it,” he said.

Fisch was grateful to still be within striking distance after underperforming on offense throughout the night. There were no offensive fireworks until the final three minutes of the game, but Williams delivered in the clutch with a drive for the ages. He converted on third down with a 22-yard completion to wideout Chris Lawson that put Washington on Nebraska’s side of the field.

Despite Williams absorbing a couple of sacks along the way, but never panic button. With the Huskies’ backs against the wall on a long fourth down, Williams connected with Lawson again for a 24-yard completion. Fisch smelled blood in the water, and believed the Blackshirts were exhausted, so he had to take advantage.

Two plays later Williams completed another ball to Lawson, who was able to spin off a Nebraska defender, and ran it in for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Huskies their first lead of the game. Fisch had trust in his players, and knew the play would work.

“The touchdown was something we practiced every single day since I walked in the door in 2024, which is what we’re going to do when they bring the corner,” the 50-year old said. “Demond and Chris were just on the same page, and it was like clockwork how they connected, and Chris made one guy miss and scored.”

All of the momentum shifted to Washington’s side, and put the pressure on Nebraska. On the second play of the Huskers’ next drive, the defense rose to the occasion, and took care of business. Alex McLaughlin intercepted Colandrea’s pass over the middle, and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown to give the Huskies a 17-7 lead with 75 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The Huskers nailed a 42-yard field goal on their final drive to trim the Huskies lead to a touchdown, but after Fisch’s boys recovered their onside kick, the game was over.

Once the dust settled, Nebraska (5-3) led Washington in total offense, passing yards, rushing yard, yard per play, first downs, third down conversions, plays and time of possession, but still lost the game due to several turnovers. Fisch thought it took his entire to team to pull off the upset on road, and enjoyed how they played complimentary football in the fourth quarter.

Williams completed seven of his 13 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. He also led Washington in rushing yards. Brown passed for 136 yards before being benched. Lawson was a target of 16 passes, and hauled in a game-high, 12 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Zaydrius Rainey-Sale tallied a game-high, 10 tackles, including one for loss and a sack. McLaughlin added nine stops, and a defensive touchdown after he picked off a pass. Rylon Dillard-Allen, and Emmanuel Karnley also generated interceptions.

Fisch thought it was a hard-fought win, showed the character of his team and how they responded to adversity. Now he plans on building off that as Washington shift gears towards a home battle with Penn State.

“Fantastic win for the Huskies, and I thought Nebraska played incredibly well, what a gameday environment they have here, it was loud and it was hard to move the ball.”