Washington Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr. has proven plenty of times that he's a Heisman-level player. Still, winning the big game has eluded him -- Williams was efficient, but not impactful in Washington's loss to No. 1 Ohio State, and had his worst collegiate game last week against Michigan in another losing effort.
Thus, all eyes were once again on the sophomore from Arizona to see how he would respond against another ranked opponent, No. 23 Illinois.
Williams rose to the occasion. He threw a season-high four touchdown passes to lead a 42-25 Huskies win, which also tied a career-high mark he set last season against Louisville in the Sun Bowl. He was once again efficient, as well, completing 26 of his 33 pass attempts (78.8%) for 280 yards and no interceptions.
After Williams and the Huskies struggled to get the ball out quick against heavy pressure in their loss to Michigan, they adapted against Illinois. Having left tackle Carver Willis and left guard John Mills back from injury certainly helped, but coach Jedd Fisch's play calling and Williams' execution made a crucial difference between scoring seven points in Week 8 and 42 in Week 9.
The Huskies opted for more of a "dink-and-dunk" approach, as Williams' longest pass of the day only went for 28 yards, his second-lowest mark in a game this season. All four of his touchdown passes were on plays of 13 yards or less, with two of them coming while Washington was in goal-line situations.
Williams certainly has the propensity to hit the deep ball, but this slight change in game plan may have set a helpful blueprint for Williams to follow against better opponents with more talented defenders. He was able to effectively spread the ball east to west, keeping Illinois guessing and not allowing the pass rush to get pressure -- Williams wasn't sacked once all game.
Most importantly, that approach allowed Williams to get his star wide receiver, Denzel Boston, heavily involved and in position to make plays. Boston finished with a career-high 10 receptions for 153 yards, caught a six-yard touchdown from Williams, and even threw a touchdown of his own on a trick play that began with a backwards pass from Williams. By the end of the afternoon, the duo had combined to account for 35 of Washington’s 42 points.
Williams, the dual-threat, also made his mark on the ground, carrying the ball 10 times for 66 yards. Once again, he showed tremendous awareness of when to escape the pocket and turn broken plays into positive gains.
That ability was on full display during a pivotal third-and-18 from Illinois’ 44-yard line. With no receivers open and the Huskies out of field-goal range, Williams bolted into the open field, lowered his right shoulder into an Illinois defender at the line to gain, and powered ahead for a 25-yard pickup and a first down.
Scale of 1-10: How great was this Demond Williams Jr. 3rd & 18 pickup? 😲 pic.twitter.com/3UrNUeVpfO
— Washington on BTN (@WashingtonOnBTN) October 26, 2025
It was the perfect play to encapsulate Williams’ relentless effort all game, fighting for every yard to deliver Washington a crucial victory and stay in the playoff hunt.
"It's a whatever-it-takes week, and we knew that what it was going to take, so whatever it took to get the first down," Williams said postgame.
After a rough outing against elite competition, Williams looked every bit like himself again, adjusting his game and elevating those around him. At 6-2, Washington enters its bye week with momentum and renewed confidence before hitting the road to face Wisconsin, a matchup that appears easy on paper, but will once again test Williams’ growth to not let a trap game faze him.