All the talk is over, tonight will be the first chance to see what Washington has to prove on the field as they take on Colorado State at home in its 2025 season opener. The Huskies will be one of the few marquee matchups in the late night, as they won't kick off until 8 PM, meaning all eyes will be Demond Williams, Jonah Coleman, and a new-look Husky defense that hopes to be a sleeper in the Big Ten.
Although they enter as -21.5 favorites, a Huskies victory won't come easy against a respectable Colorado State team that went 8-5 a season ago. And with this being the first game of the season, both teams will be mostly healthy and at full strength in this crucial week one battle.
Here is a look at the final injury report heading into tonight's game, plus three keys for Washington to emerge victorious in what hopes to be the start of an exciting campaign.
Washington injury report
Jayvon Parker – Out (undisclosed): Parker enters his fourth season with the Huskies, and is expected to be an important rotational piece on the defensive line. However, he missed most of last season with a torn achilles, which he is likely still recovering from as he misses this game.
Colorado State injury report
Kojo Antwi – Questionable (achilles): Antwi also faces an achilles injury heading into week one, however he hasn't been completely ruled out yet. The Ohio State transfer is a key wide receiver for the Rams, part of a position group that lacks top-tier talent and experience.
3 Keys for Washington to win tonight
In an interview with Huskies broadcaster Tony Castricone, coach Jedd Fisch was asked what he believes some of his keys to the game are. However, he did kind of go "politician mode", giving general answers like, "playing within ourselves", and "being fundamentally sound." It's understandable he wouldn't want to give away anything too specific in case the opponent was watching, but here are a few more detailed keys to the game.
Week 1 Keys to the Game with @CoachJeddFisch 🔑 🙌 pic.twitter.com/tZbHUpFEts
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) August 30, 2025
1. Shut down Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi
With a suspect wide receiver room and plenty of newcomers on the offensive line, much pressure falls on the shoulders of the Rams third-year quarterback to create plays on his own. He certainly can. He has the arm talent, experience, and capability to use his legs to make up for the pitfalls of the rest of the offense.
Washington will need to show what a Big Ten defense is physically capable of, and not let Fowler-Nicolosi make plays out of the pocket. The Huskies should have the advantage in the defensive back versus wide reciever matchup, as well as in the trenches, so they should be able to shut down the Rams offense completely if they shut down Fowler-Nicolosi.
2. Protect the football
This should be a key in every football game, but especially this week against a Colorado State defense that thrives off turnovers. The Rams led the Mountain West last season by forcing 14 fumbles, and they just hired new defensive coordinator Tyson Summers who also loves creating giveaways.
Again, the Huskies have the talent advantage over the Rams when it comes to UW's offense versus their defense, but they can't let mistakes keep Colorado State in the game.
3. Feed Denzel Boston early and often
Boston will be a key cog to the Huskies all season long and projects to have a massive year, so might as well try to get him off to a hot start. Boston should also have a huge advantage no matter who is covering him.
The Rams best cornerback, Jahari Rogers, is only 5 foot 11, giving the 6-4 Boston a great size advantage. If Colorado State wants to match him up with the taller, 6 foot 3 Dylan Phelps, Boston will be able to take advantage of his inexperience, as Phelps has only played in 10 games in his career thus far.