Washington stifled by Ohio State defense, lose 24-6 to nation's No. 1 team

For three quarters, Washington hung around with the nation’s top-ranked team. But red-zone struggles, untimely penalties, and a dominant Ohio State defense ultimately doomed the Huskies in a 24-6 loss Saturday at Husky Stadium, snapping their 22-game home winning streak.

Washington had early opportunities to set the tone but came up empty. On the opening possession, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. missed a wide-open Jonah Coleman on third down, forcing a punt that ultimately set the Huskies back in the possession game from the jump.

The Huskies stiffened with a fourth-down stop in the red zone on the Buckeyes' subsequent possession, but any momentum was quickly undone by sideline penalties that stalled Washington’s next series. Moments later, though, the breaks went their way again when the Buckeyes coughed up a punt return, giving the Huskies prime field position.

The Huskies drove inside the 10 but had to settle for a Grady Gross field goal early in the second quarter. After getting the ball back following a Buckeyes punt, a failed fake field goal also proved to be costly. The Buckeyes answered with a 10-play, 73-yard drive capped by sophomore phenom Jeremiah Smith’s 18-yard touchdown reception to take a 7-3 lead into halftime.

Ohio State seized control in the third quarter. The Buckeyes took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a touchdown, aided by a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty on Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei that turned a potential third-and-20 into a fresh set of downs. It was the second costly flag against Washington in a critical spot, and this one pushed the Huskies into an 11-point hole.

Washington responded with another strong drive, but once again stalled in the red zone, settling for a field goal to make it 14-6. The Huskies went just 1-for-11 on third down and 1-for-3 on fourth, unable to convert when it mattered most.

Ohio State tacked on a field goal early in the fourth, then all but iced the game with a short-field touchdown drive after Washington failed to convert on downs near midfield. Julian Sayin finished 22-for-28 with 208 yards and two touchdowns, while Smith dominated with eight catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.

Washington’s “Big Three” of Williams, Coleman, and Denzel Boston were kept in check by Ohio State's defense throughout. Boston managed just three catches for 26 yards. Coleman finished with a solid 70 rushing yards on 13 attempts, but was held without a touchdown for the first time this season. Williams completed an efficient 18-of-22 passes, but mainly completed short throws, totaling just 173 passing yards.

Williams was also sacked six times behind an offensive line that lost starting tackle Carver Willis to injury mid-game. This caused Williams to finish with -28 rushing yards, as the Buckeyes effectively instituted a game plan to restrict the sophomore quarterback from using his legs as a weapon.

In total, Washington managed 234 yards of offense -- respectable against the nation’s top-ranked team, but far from their season average of 536. The obvious shortcoming being the lack of points, as the Buckeyes bent, but didn't break -- not allowing the Dawgs to score a single touchdown.

The Huskies defense did OK considering its past performances and being decimated by injuries. Ohio State's 24 points was the same total that Washington State scored on them a week ago, and allowed them despite being put in circumstances out of the defense's control. Bad punting, two turnovers on down, and the lousy penalty call on Uiagalelei pinned the defense's back against the wall, not entirely to its fault.

However, it still failed to get pressure, as the Huskies only totaled one tackle-for-loss, which was a Jacob Lane sack when the game was already out of reach. The front seven was gashed for 4.4 yards per Buckeyes' rushing attempt, and the secondary was soft, allowing Sayin to complete 79% of his passes.

The Huskies’ first loss of the season drops them to 3-1 heading into next week’s road matchup at Maryland. This one may sting, but everyone knew it would be an uphill battle to secure a win. Now there's a measuring stick for where Washington currently stacks up against top-tier teams, and hopefully Jedd Fisch and the roster can take away positive lessons to apply moving forward.