Positives and negatives from Washington's 26-14 loss to No. 6 Oregon

Washington’s 26-14 loss to No. 6 Oregon was a demoralizing end to the 2025 regular season. Husky fans saw plenty to complain about on Saturday, but this year’s edition of the ‘Cascade Clash’ also included some moments to be proud of. Let’s take a look at the main takeaways from the Huskies’ Week 14 loss to the Ducks.

Positive: Washington’s run defense was excellent

Oregon entered Saturday’s game with an injury-flooded receiving corps, which led many to expect that the Ducks offense would get most of its yardage by running the ball. However, Washington shut down Oregon’s usually-explosive ground attack, holding the Ducks to just 106 yards on 42 carries. 

Ducks quarterback Dante Moore found the end zone via a one-yard read option in the second quarter, but that was essentially Oregon’s only rushing highlight. Leading rusher Noah Whittington took one carry for 17 yards but was held to just 30 yards across his other 16 carries.

“I thought we were very physical up front, and our defensive line and linebackers did a really nice job,” head coach Jedd Fisch said postgame. He also praised his team for gang-tackling and for shedding blocks effectively.

Negative: UW’s passing attack was largely a non-factor

Fans knew heading into Saturday’s matchup that quarterback Demond Williams Jr. would need to play at his best for the Huskies to outdo Oregon’s highly-effective defense. Unfortunately, Williams played one of his worst games of the season against the No. 6 Ducks.

The sophomore finished with 15 completions on 30 attempts for 129 yards, as well as two touchdowns and two interceptions. His completion percentage of 50% ranks as his worst ever for a single game, while his average of 4.3 yards per pass attempt is his second-lowest rate this season (4.1 against Wisconsin).

Williams didn’t have his best day, but he also didn’t get much help from his receivers. The Huskies offense featured eight different pass-catchers, but only wideout Denzel Boston (four catches, 25 yards, two touchdowns) tallied more than two receptions. The only Husky with a reception of 20+ yards was tight end Decker DeGraaf, who finished with just two catches for 26 yards.

Freshman wideout Dezmen Roebuck led the team with just 27 receiving yards on two catches, the second of which saw him blasted to the turf by Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman.

Washington’s passing game may have struggled outside the red zone, but the team’s rushing attack fared rather well against Oregon. Which brings us to…