Live: Washington Huskies vs. UCLA: Updates, scores, how to watch Big Ten game

Only a few surprises on Washington’s pregame availability report Saturday, released two hours before its kickoff against UCLA. 

The most notable addition was senior cornerback Tacario Davis, who was listed as questionable. Davis, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound defensive back, missed three games early in the season because of a rib injury but had played every game since returning against Rutgers Oct. 10.

Senior running back Jonah Coleman and junior wide receiver Denzel Boston were also listed questionable against UCLA. Fisch had been confident Coleman was going to be available throughout the week but admitted the running back was in a similar place physically to where he was before the Purdue game a week ago, when he was a late scratch. Coleman injured his knee against Wisconsin on Nov. 8.

Boston, who Fisch said Thursday was going to be “a stretch” to play against UCLA, suffered an ankle injury against Wisconsin and also missed the Purdue game. 

Freshman wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright (concussion) and junior right tackle Drew Azzopardi (lower leg) were both listed out, as expected, along with freshman running back Quaid Carr (undisclosed), fifth-year offensive tackle Maximus McCree (foot), junior edge rusher Isaiah Ward (lower body), and junior defensive tackle Jayvon Parker (Achilles tendon). 

Junior center Landen Hatchett was not listed on the availability report against UCLA. However, Fisch has previously said Hatchett is physically able to play but has been held out because of a large cast on his snapping hand. He was similarly not listed on the availability report against Purdue a week ago, but did not play.

Rose Bowl mishaps

Saturday may be UCLA’s final regular-season game at the historic Rose Bowl. The Bruins are reportedly seeking to play their home games at SoFi Stadium — home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers — in Inglewood, Calif., marking the potential end of a 43-year tenure in Pasadena, Calif. 

That might be good for Washington. 

The Huskies have an atrocious recent record at the Rose Bowl against the Bruins. UW is 1-9 during its past 10 trips to Pasadena. Washington’s lone win during that stretch came in 2018, when a 116-yard, two-touchdown performance by Myles Gaskin propelled coach Chris Petersen’s team to a 31-24 victory. 

Before that, UW’s most recent regular-season win at the Rose Bowl was a 38-14 win in 1995. Damon Huard threw for 259 yards passing and Rashaan Shehee rushed for three touchdowns to lead coach Jim Lambright’s team — wearing the briefly introduced purple helmets — to a win. 

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To clarify, Geirean Hatchett had fun during past seasons playing college football. 

He obviously enjoyed being part of the 2023 team that went to the College Football Playoff championship game and the 2022 squad that won the Alamo Bowl.

But this year — Hatchett’s sixth playing college football and his fifth at Washington — he’s having more fun than any of his previous seasons. It all stems from a simple shift in attitude. 

“There’s not a lot of people who get this opportunity,” he said. “So no matter what you’re doing, always make it a fun time. I’ve had that mindset this whole year, and this is the most fun I’ve had playing football in six years.” 

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Jedd Fisch has no qualms about playing freshmen. 

Almost every Washington position group has at least one true freshman in its two-deep depth chart. Wide receivers Raiden Vines-Bright, Chris Lawson and Dezmen Roebuck, safety Rylon Dillard-Allen, edge rusher Devin Hyde, cornerback Dylan Robinson and linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale have all burned their redshirts this season

Only one group hasn’t been part of Fisch’s burgeoning youth movement: The defensive line. Which is exactly what the UW coach prefers. 

“You have guys who’ve played four, five or six years of college football,” Fisch said Monday. “So when you have that group going, they’re allowing us to be the tougher team up front and be able to stop the run because of their size. Their weight. Their age. That’s allowing us to get some stops.”

Washington’s veteran defensive line has been a strength throughout the season. UW (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) is allowing 108.1 yards rushing per game — a significant improvement on the 161.8 yards rushing per game it surrendered in 2024. Against Purdue, the Huskies put together one of their best pass-rushing games of the season, tallying 26 pressures according to Pro Football Focus. 

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Ryan Walters came to Washington with a reputation and a recipe for defensive success. Five-down defensive fronts. Heavy doses of man-to-man coverage. Lots of Cover 2 when playing zone defense. 

Those are the principles that made him one of the nation’s best defensive coordinators at Illinois. That helped him become one of the country’s youngest head coaches when Purdue hired him before the 2023 season. 

But Walters, as he’s continually emphasized since being hired as Washington’s defensive coordinator in January, isn’t the same coach he was at his previous stops. And this season, Walters has demonstrated an attribute he’s not particularly known for as a coordinator and play caller: Flexibility. 

“I think a lot of times, coaches get wrapped up and get stubborn in trying to get guys to fit their philosophy,” he said Tuesday. “And to me, those roles should be reversed. It should be our job to adapt to them to put them in advantageous situations that heighten the things they’re good at.”

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