Jedd Fisch's Washington rebuild just suffered a brutal reality check vs Iowa

The Washington Huskies entered their Friday night matchup against No. 20 Iowa reeling from a two-loss start to Big Ten play. Just a few hours later, the Huskies found themselves limping away from Husky Stadium with one of the worst all-around performances in team memory.

Washington’s 41-24 loss to Iowa wasn’t just bad. It was ugly. Gruesome. Horrific. Downright difficult to watch. It was the kind of drubbing that changes a program, the kind of loss from which head coach Jedd Fisch and quarterback Demond Williams Jr. may never recover.

Jedd Fisch, Demond Williams Jr. struggle in ugly home loss to Iowa

The offense, which Fisch and Williams operate together as playcaller and playmaker, looked completely inept through the game’s first two quarters. Williams, who went just 6/11 for 69 yards through the air, led four three-and-outs and gave up four sacks before leaving the game due to a shoulder injury suffered just before halftime. 

Unfortunately for Williams, backup quarterback Elijah Brown looked far superior as a replacement. The third-year Stanford transfer completed 28 of 39 pass attempts for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and did so while displaying considerably more pocket poise than Williams had at any point this season. It's safe to say that there's a quarterback controversy in Seattle.

Unfortunately, for Fisch, Brown’s exceptional showing wasn’t nearly enough to defeat Iowa. The Hawkeyes held Washington to a pitiful -3 rushing yards while tallying 263 rushing yards of their own. Most of those yards came from fourth-year Iowa running back Kamari Moulton, whose final tally of 26 carries for 208 yards and two touchdowns included an incredible 58-yard score which felt all too familiar to the Seattle sports fans in attendance:

Washington’s defense, which had been the Huskies’ more reliable unit through five weeks, also allowed Iowa backup quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski to complete 14 of 19 pass attempts for 202 yards and three embarrassing touchdowns. All three went to receivers left wide open by defensive miscues, and the third went to a Hawkeye who was so uncovered that even a fellow uncovered Hawkeye receiver took notice:

Fans have every right to question Fisch and Williams

Brown’s success off the bench revitalized Washington’s offense in the second half, but that success doesn’t take much pressure away from Fisch. Instead, Brown’s instant success in the same system in which Williams has struggled so mightily is likely to raise several questions among fans. 

Has Fisch done enough to ensure his system works with Williams? It doesn’t seem like it. Williams’ 5-foot-11 frame seems to limit his pocket-passing ability. On the other hand, the 6-foot-2 Brown seemed perfectly comfortable dealing from the pocket. Was there no way to detect these issues over the offseason? Were there no warning signs in Demond’s previous 15 starts?

Brown’s strong showing also raises questions about Fisch’s decision-making along the depth chart. Despite Friday’s developments, the third-year head coach declined to commit to any change at quarterback.

That move certainly appears stubborn given the disparity that fans observed between the two passers. If your quarterback isn’t winning, if he isn’t healthy, and if the next guy up is on a heater, why not roll with the momentum? Why not at least entertain the idea? 

Remember, we’re talking about the same head coach who faced criticism at Arizona for refusing to pull the trigger on struggling quarterback Jayden De Laura in 2023, even after two strong weeks from redshirt freshman quarterback Noah Fifita.

At the time, Fisch stood by the incumbent De Laura, but Fifita would go on to be named the 2023 Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. Now, with another backup quarterback playing the team’s best football, Fisch is again refusing to commit to change.

And while Washington’s quarterback issue will get the most fan attention this week, it’s not the only depth chart crisis Fisch is dealing with. This past Monday, he committed to reshuffling the team’s struggling offensive line, but the team’s worse-than-nonexistent rushing attack and six allowed sacks weren’t indicative of improvement. Worse still, Fisch had nothing in the way of an explanation postgame.

Fisch has been working with this specific offensive line unit since the spring. He’s had five months of offseason, plus six weeks of actual football, to assemble a capable starting five from a group of seven potential contributors. Struggling is one thing, but no one who’s spent six months planning and adjusting his offensive line should be admitting midseason that he doesn’t know what to do.

There’s still plenty of season remaining, but Fisch and Williams may be running out of time on Montlake. If Williams can’t win games and if Fisch can’t maximize his roster, neither has a future with Washington. The Huskies’ offense needs a solution, and something’s got to give between Fisch and Williams.

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