Washington Huskies host Utah State, looking for offensive rebound | What to watch

11 Sep 2026, 06:00 by Andy Yamashita · The Seattle Times

No. 19 Washington (1-0) vs. Utah State (0-1)

Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Husky Stadium

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: SportsRadio 93.3-FM KJR

Latest line (via DraftKings): Washington -24.5, Total 56.5

All-time series: Washington leads 3-0; Most recent meeting: 31-17 UW win on Sept. 19, 2015

UW key players

QB Demond Williams Jr.: 68.6% completions, 268 pass yards, 24 completions, 35 attempts, 1 pass TD, 7 carries, 61 rush yards, 1 rush TD

WR Rashid Williams: 3 catches, 74 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD

LB Jacob Manu: 11 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 6 PBU, 1 fumble recovery

S Alex McLaughlin: 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT

USU key players

QB McCae Hillstead: 50% completions, 178 pass yards, 15 completions, 30 attempts, 2 pass TD, 3 INT, 9 carries, 43 yards

WR Eli Wood: 6 catches, 90 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD

LB Harrison Taggart: 8 tackles

S Brevin Hamblin: 3 tackles, 1 PBU

Uncertainty under center

Unlike Washington State, which stuck with Caden Pinnick for the entire Apple Cup, Utah State’s quarterback situation is significantly less settled.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall and the Aggies named junior McCae Hillstead as the team’s starting quarterback back in April. It was a full-circle moment for the Lehi, Utah, native, who started his collegiate career at Utah State. He played in eight games and making four starts for the Aggies as a freshman in 2023. Hillstead transferred to BYU in 2024, and spent two seasons with the Cougars but lost a quarterback competition against true freshman Bear Bachmeier in 2025.

So Hillstead returned to Utah State, which needed to replace 2025 second-team All-Mountain West quarterback Bryson Barnes. Hillstead’s first game back in Logan, Utah, however, was a disaster. He completed just 50% of his passes against FCS Idaho State and was intercepted three times. On Monday, Mendenhall said Hillstead was also dealing with an arm injury.

Searching for answers on offense, Mendenhall benched Hillstead for fifth-year Virginia transfer Grady Brosterhous. But he didn’t fare much better. Brosterhous was 5-for-13 passing for 67 yards and also threw an interception, as Utah State was upset by Idaho State, 29-17.

Hillstead remained Utah State’s starting quarterback on the depth chart released Monday, but Mendenhall didn’t go into detail about Hillstead’s availability against UW during his weekly news conference. The Utah State coach did note Brotserhous will get opportunities in specific packages, regardless of Hillstead’s status.

“You’re just scheming against what the offense is going to do,” UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said Tuesday. “Obviously, there are situations where they might feature a certain concept more based on who’s the signal caller, but you don’t expect them to completely deviate from their offensive identity. You don’t anticipate that within a week’s notice, but we’ll be ready for whoever’s back there.”

The situation with Hillstead and Brosterhous may play out well for the Huskies. UW forced three turnovers against WSU — interceptions by senior safety Alex McLaughlin and freshman defensive back Jeron Jones and a fumble forced and recovered by fifth-year edge rusher Isaiah Ward — and currently rank No. 5 nationally in turnover margin.

An opportunity up front

Washington’s offensive line endured a game to forget during Sunday’s Apple Cup. Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. was pressured on 15 of his 40 dropbacks according to Pro Football Focus, and UW struggled to run the ball effectively against a WSU defense that didn’t return a single starter from 2025.

The Huskies have a chance to put some of the worries about their offensive line to rest against the Aggies. Utah State has a stout front seven, anchored by returning defensive tackles Carter Tujague and Tyree Morris, and held Idaho State to just 89 yards rushing. The Aggies totaled four tackles for a loss and two sacks against the Bengals.

However, Washington will expect to impose itself in the trenches against Utah State. The Huskies still won’t have starting center Landen Hatchett (wrist), but have significant experience in sophomore left guard John Mills and fifth-year right tackle Drew Azzopardi.

Fisch said he was also confident freshman left tackle Kodi Greene will bounce back after getting some first-game nerves out of the way against Washington State. The UW coach said there was certainly room for Greene to improve — the Renton native was called for a holding penalty, a false start and surrendered a team-high five pressures — but added Greene also had some impressive flashes for a freshman playing his first collegiate game.

Washington will have a decision to make at right guard, however, where Fisch rotated between sophomore starter Champ Taulealea, who was called for two holds, and seventh-year offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett.

The UW coach said the Huskies will continue to play both linemen, but Geirean Hatchett was a calming presence on an offensive line acclimating Greene and senior center Kolt Dieterich, who exclusively played tackle at Sam Houston State before transferring to UW and replacing the injured Landen Hatchett.

“Whoever’s in must play at a high level,” offensive line coach Michael Switzer said Tuesday. “There’s some things that took us off our game. We’ve got to do a good job of responding, rebounding and not allowing our performance on Sunday to define our group moving forward.”

Steadiness might also be more valuable against Utah State because of Washington’s running back situation. Fisch announced sophomore Quaid Carr (hand) and senior Jayden Limar (elbow) will both miss extended periods because of injuries sustained against Washington State, leaving UW significantly depleted at tailback. Only sixth-year Troy transfer Trey Cooley and walk-on Ryken Moon have taken collegiate carries among UW’s available running backs.

Penalty-prone matchup

Washington finished the 118th Apple Cup with 12 penalties, costing it 130 yards. Only Tulane, which committed 15 penalties in a 17-3 defeat against Duke, is averaging more penalties per game among the 137 FBS teams. And only Connecticut, which gave up 134 penalty yards during its 56-7 win against FCS Lafayette, is averaging more penalty yards per game.

The Aggies, however, were only slightly better. Utah State was flagged 11 times for 83 yards during its upset defeat against Idaho State. Coach Bronco Mendenhall’s team currently ranks No. 127 in penalties per game and No. 120 in penalty yards per game.

Both teams will hope to clean up their penalty issues significantly entering the second week of the season. Washington was the No. 73 team in penalties per game and penalty yards per game in 2025, while Utah State ranked No. 125 in penalties per game and No. 95 in penalty yards per game.

Andy Yamashita’s prediction

Even before Utah State slipped against an FCS opponent, Washington expected a comfortable win in its second game of the season. UW hasn’t lost a game against a Group of Six team since the 2024 Apple Cup, when WSU was just one season removed from being a Power conference opponent. Before that, UW’s most recent defeat against G6 opposition was the 2015 season opener away at Boise State.

Whether the Huskies can cover the spread is a different question. Particularly for the offense, coming off their disappointing performance against the Cougars.

Prediction: Huskies 31, Aggies 10