UW To Take On Northwestern In First Big Ten Game

Saturday, September 21

Husky Stadium

4:00 PM

University of Washington

Northwestern

Tickets

September 16, 2024 | Football

Full UW Notes (PDF)

THE GAME: The Washington football team (2-1) takes on Northwestern (2-1) this Saturday in the Huskies' first-ever Big Ten Conference game. Kickoff is at 4:00 p.m. PT and the game will air on FS1 television. The Wildcats will be making their third-ever visit to Husky Stadium, and the first since 1984, the last time the two purple-clad teams played one another. The game will mark the Huskies fourth in a row in the city of Seattle to start the 2024 season. Five the season's first six games will be played in the Dawgs' home city. Following the NU game, Washington will travel cross country to face Rutgers in a Friday night game, on Sept. 27. The Saturday after that, Washington welcomes Michigan to Montlake for a rematch of last season's CFP National Championship Game, Oct. 5.

QUICK HITTERS: Washington has won 16 consecutive home games, the second-longest, current home win streak in the nation, and fourth longest in school history ... the Huskies' eight-game road win streak is tied for the third-longest current road streak in the nation ... UW has also won 15 conference games in a row (though, of course, the Huskies have changed conferences) ... QB Will Rogers' TD pass vs. WSU was the 100th of his career ... among active FBS players, Rogers ranks No. 1 in career attempts (1,959), completions (1,365), and completion percentage (.697); and No. 2 in passing yards (13,140) and TDs (100) ... 34 players made their Husky debut in the Weber State game, including nine true freshmen ... four more players saw their first UW action vs. EMU ...  UW has just one turnover through three games ... only two FBS teams with three games played this season have zero ... not counting the four-game 2020 season, the Huskies have won 10 or more games in five of the last seven seasons ... Washington is 74-27 since the end of the 2015 season, and 27-4 since the end of 2021 ... the current UW roster includes players who list hometowns from 19 different states, as well as in Germany and Canada ... UW's 110-man roster entering the year includes 25 true freshmen, 20 redshirt freshmen, 16 sophomores, 27 juniors, and 22 seniors ... the Husky roster includes five players in their sixth season at UW: DL Jacob Bandes, RB Cameron Davis, S Kamren Fabiculanan, LB Drew Fowler, and LB Alphonzo Tuputala ... those five are playing for their fourth different head coach in 2024.

TELEVISION: The Washington-Northwestern game will air on FS1, with Alex Faust and Robert Smith calling the action. For more information on how to watch FS1, go to www.foxsports.com/live.

RADIO:  All Washington football games will air on the Washington Sports Network from Learfield, with Tony Castricone (play by play), former Husky tight end Cameron Cleeland (analyst) and former UW basketball player Elise Woodward (sidelines) on the call. Radio coverage begins four hours before kickoff on the network's flagship station – Seattle's SportsRadio KJR 93.3 FM – with "Husky Gameday" live from The Zone for Husky home games. Statewide coverage on the 16-station Washington Sports Network begins two hours before kickoff. The entire broadcast is available worldwide on the Huskies Gameday mobile app and the Varsity app. The UW broadcast of this game will also air on Sirius/XM channel 160 or 195. Additionally, the Husky Football Coach's Show airs each Monday during the season at 6:00 p.m. PT.

B1G TIME: As has been well documented over the last year-plus, Washington has officially joined the Big Ten Conference ahead of the 2024-25 school year, effective on Aug. 2, 2024. The Huskies are joined be fellow former Pac-12 programs Oregon, UCLA and USC in making the move to the B1G, which now includes 18 schools. Washington was one of four founding members of the Pacific Coast Conference (along with Cal, Oregon and Oregon State), and, along with Cal, was one of just two teams that were a part of that league (which changed names to the AAWU, Pac-8, Pac-10 and Pac-12) for the entirety of its full-fledged existence from 1915 to 2024.

FUTURE SCHEDULES: Last October, the Big Ten revealed 18 football teams' home and away, conference opponents for the next for the next five seasons (2024-28). Here are the UW's home and road, Big Ten games, for the coming four years:
2025: home – Illinois, Ohio State, Oregon, Purdue, Rutgers; road – Maryland, Michigan, UCLA, Wisconsin
2026: home – Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State; road – Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Purdue, USC
2027: home – Maryland, Michgan State, Nebraska, Oregon, USC; road – Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers
2028: home – Michigan, Northwestern, UCLA, Wisconsin; road – Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State, Oregon

HUSKIES vs. WILDCATS HISTORY:  The UW has played Northwestern just three times, all in the span of five years in the early 1980s. The Huskies won all three of those games. Here is a brief look at those games:

Washington 45, Northwestern 7
Sept. 20, 1980, Husky Stadium
In the second game of the 1980 season, No. 16-ranked Washington played host to Northwestern in the first-ever meeting between the two. Washington scored 24 points in the first quarter and 21 more in the second to go into the locker room with a 45-0 halftime lead (still tied for the most points ever scored by a UW team in a half). UW scored on all seven possessions in the first half, with Toissant Tyler rushing for three TDs. QB Tom Flick was 7-for-10 for 189 yards and a touchdown, and left the game midway through the second quarter as the UW emptied the bench for the remainder of the game.

Washington 34, Northwestern 0
Sept. 10, 1983, Dyche Stadium
Three years after their first matchup, the preseason No. 19-ranked Huskies traveled to Evanston to take on the Wildcats in the 1983 season-opener. Steve Pelluer completed 21-of-32 for 211 yards and ran for a score as the Huskies rolled up 527 yards of total offense. Sterling Hinds scored a pair of rushing TDs while Walt Hunt added another. Freshman walkon kicker and future All-American Jeff Jaeger made his debut, connecting on both of his field goal attempts. The UW defense, led by 15 tackles from Tim Meamber and two sacks from Ron Holmes, limited NU to just seven rushing yards, though QB Sandy Schwab, who had burst onto the scene as a record-setting freshman in '82, passed for 215 yards.

Washington 26, Northwestern 0
Sept. 8, 1984, Husky Stadium
Washington's historic 1984 season, which would end with an Orange Bowl victory, got underway as the 19th-ranked Huskies played host to Northwestern in the season-opener in Seattle. The Huskies controlled the action once again, as four Jeff Jaeger field goals, and rushing touchdowns from quarterback Hugh Millen and halfback Ron "Cookie" Jackson accounted for the 26-0 total. Washington's defense forced seven turnovers and limited the Wildcats to 226 yards of total offense. Fred Small, Jimmy Rodgers and Tim Meamber each shared the tackles lead with six apiece. A week later, UW beat No. 3 Michigan in Ann Arbor, launching the UW into the top-10 (including four weeks at No. 1) in the AP Top 20.

ROSTER TURNOVER: One main storyline for the 2024 UW football team has been about the amount of change that has occured since the end of the 2023 season. In fact, UW has just two returning, regular starters back from '23 (LB Alphonzo Tuputala and CB Elijah Jackson), and the Huskies lost 41 letterwinners off of last year's team, while adding 59 new players to the roster since the end of last season. On the depth chart for the season-opener in 2023, 44 players were listed on offense and defense. Just 11 of those 44 are still on the Husky roster (and just two of those 11 are on offense). In the season-opener vs. Weber State, a total of 34 players saw their first action in a Washington uniform. Nine of those 34 were true freshman.

GRADUATES: A total of 21 Huskies head into the 2024 season already having earned their undergraduate degree. Here's the list: RB Sam Adams II, S Cameron Broussard, DL Jacob Bandes, LB Carson Bruener, TE Owen Coutts, RB Cameron Davis, S Makell Esteen, S Kamren Fabiculanan, LB Drew Fowler, S Justin Harrington, WR Jeremiah Hunter, WR Giles Jackson, DL Deshawn Lynch, OL Gaard Memmelaar, TE Quentin Moore, QB Will Rogers, DL Logan Sagapolu, WR Camden Sirmon, OL D'Angalo Titialii, LB Alphonzo Tuputala, OL Enokk Vimahi.

MORE LONG PLAYS: Over the last several years, Washington has been one of the top teams in the nation in terms of long scrimmage plays. And, while the players and coaches have largely changed, that's no different in 2024. Through three games, UW has 58 plays of 10 yards or longer (t-8th in FBS); 21 of 20 or longer (t-10th); and nine of 30 or longer (t-16th). UW running back Jonah Coleman is tied for third in FBS with 17 scrimmage plays of 10 or more yards, and tied for sixth in the country with 13 rushes of 10-plus yards.

NFL CONNECTIONS: Much has been made of the UW coaching staff's NFL connections, including that coordinators Steve Belichick (Bill) and Brennan Carroll (Pete), as well as analyst Luke Del Rio (Jack) and GA Jake Lynch (John), are all sons of prominent NFL coaches and GMs. Three other staff members – Scottie Graham, Vinnie Sunseri and quality control analyst Caleb Wilson – played in the NFL. Also, graduate assistant Dom Caldwell's uncle, David, is a longtime NFL executive, having served as the Jaguars general manager, among many other roles. And, UW's player roster also includes a number of sons of former NFL players: Sam Adams II (Sam), Carson Bruener (Mark), Roice Cleeland (Cam), Quentin Moore (Mark), Russell Davis II (Russell), Dyson McCutcheon (Daylon; plus grandfather, Lawrence), and Justice Williams (Roland). Lastly, Daniyel Ngata (Joseph), Ryan Otton (Cade), and Keleki Latu (Laiatu) each have older brothers who are active NFL players.

ALASKA AIRLINES FIELD AT HUSKY STADIUM: The Oregon game on Nov. 5, 2011, marked the final game in Husky Stadium prior to major renovations that were completed in summer, 2013. The Huskies re-opened their home field with a 38-6 win over then-No. 19 Boise State on Aug. 31, 2013. The 2023 season marks the 103rd season of play in Husky Stadium. Original construction on the facility was completed in 1920 when Washington played one game in the new campus facility. UW's all-time record in Husky Stadium stands at 415-185-21 (.685). Washington is 59-16 in home games since the stadium re-opened in 2013.