Washington

Penn State Vs. Washington: Keys to the Game

Published

1 year ago

November 8, 2024

Penn State Vs. Washington: Keys to the Game

As Penn State cornerback A.J. Harris put it this week, the Ohio State loss is “no longer the moment” for the Nittany Lions. Penn State (7-1) still controls its destiny regarding the College Football Playoff, whose pursuit begins against Washington on Saturday in the annual White Out game.

Penn State tasks itself with handling a 5-4 Huskies squad that’s certainly beatable (losses to Washington State, Rutgers, Iowa, Indiana), but also certainly has enough strengths to pull off an upset. With that, here are the keys for James Franklin’s group to emerge from the White Out with an 8-1 record.

Penn State vs. Washington: Story lines, preview, predictions

Getting downfield completions from the receivers

Last week’s loss to the Buckeyes was by far the worst production that Penn State’s generated at wide receiver through eight games. That’s not a complete surprise, as the Buckeyes boast the third-ranked pass defense (161.5 passing yards allowed per game) in the Big Ten. But Washington brings the conference’s top-ranked secondary (142.0 passing yards allowed per game) to Beaver Stadium.

Getting the wide receivers more involved isn’t just an emphasis for the sake of distributing the ball. Penn State’s ability to make explosive plays has waned after an excellent start to the season. Earlier, quarterback Drew Allar occasionally was able to air out the ball and open the field for offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

“I have a ton of confidence in that [wide receiver] room,” Allar said Wednesday. “Obviously, a way to be explosive is throwing the ball down the field. But again, we won’t have those opportunities to throw the ball down the field if we’re not staying ahead of the sticks and we’re not in rhythm.”

Against one of the best pass defenses in the country, Penn State could use more production, especially in stretching the field, from its top four receivers: Tre Wallace, Liam Clifford, Julian Fleming and Omari Evans. Unlike in the Ohio State matchup, the Nittany Lions can probably win this game without highlight receiver play. But given how the receiving unit has performed recently, Kotelnicki’s offense could use the boost at the position. Further, a rekindled chemistry between Allar and his receivers could be key moving forward.

A bounceback game from Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen

Elsewhere in Penn State’s offense, running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen haven’t been their dominant selves recently. The Nittany Lions built their identity primarily around their strong ground game, yet neither running back has topped 100 rushing yards since Allen vs. Illinois on September 28. Last week, tight end Tyler Warren led Penn State in rushing with 47 yards.

Franklin could use a bounceback performance from his junior running backs against Washington. They should have a strong opportunity for one as well, with the Huskies currently allowing the fifth-most rushing yards per game (150.8) in the Big Ten.

Not unlike the issues with its receiving core, Penn State’s offense hasn’t fully been able to play to its strengths since its 33-30 overtime win at USC. Against Wisconsin, Allar missed the entire second half, and while backup quarterback Beau Pribula managed the unit well in a 28-13 win, the offense’s dominant ground game, creativity and explosiveness wasn’t as evident. Against the Buckeyes, the offense then managed just 3.8 yards per carry on top of the struggling receiving core.

The White Out is, in many ways, an opportunity for Penn State to return to the strengths that helped it reach the No. 3 ranking in the AP Top 25. Getting Singleton and Allen back in rhythm is a significant component of that strength.

Why is the White Out on Peacock?

Containing Will Rogers’ connection with his top receivers

Washington quarterback Will Rogers poses the biggest threat to the Nittany Lions when he’s in rhythm with his top two wide receivers, Denzel Boston and Giles Jackson. Through Washington’s first nine games, both have at least 50 receptions (55 for Jackson, 53 for Boston) while combining for 1,279 receiving yards. Boston’s nine receiving touchdowns also lead the Big Ten.

Penn State’s secondary will have some work to do in slowing Rogers, Boston and Jackson. Rogers, a senior who spent four seasons at Mississippi State, has had just one game with fewer than 200 passing yards this season. He doesn’t make mistakes often, with just four interceptions against his 13 touchdown passes, and has been efficient, completing 71.1 percent of his 277 throws.

If Penn State’s going to slow down the Huskies’ offense, forcing incompletions on key passing plays, being prepared for quick passes from Rogers and keeping Boston and Jackson’s impact to a minimum will be essential.

“[Rogers] gets the ball out fast. He knows [where] he’s going with the ball. He’s a pro-style quarterback who knows what he’s doing,” Harris said. “We just look forward to sticking to our technique, just trying to compete versus those guys. It’s a great group of wide receivers, but we just look at giving our all and trying to take care of that business.”

Washington isn’t the same team that went 14-1 and played for the national championship in 2023. However, the Huskies also aren’t a team to take lightly this season. They may have four losses, but if Penn State starts slow or thinks it can coast to a bounceback victory, the team easily could leave the White Out with its second consecutive loss.

“We’ve got to make sure that one loss doesn’t turn into two,” Franklin said. “We’ve got to make sure we moved on [from the Ohio State loss]. We’ve got to find a way to get a win against a really good Washington team coming into our place.”

Penn State will host Washington at 8 p.m. ET Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The game will be streamed on Peacock.

More Penn State Football

Penn State injury updates heading into the Washington game

Nittany Lions say they’re “dialed in” on Washington

Drew Allar reflects on passing game and Ohio State

Daniel Mader, a May 2024 graduate of Penn State, is an Editorial Intern with The Sporting News. As a student journalist with The Daily Collegian, he served as a sports editor and covered Nittany Lions women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and more. He has also covered Penn State football for NBC Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with additional work in the Centre Daily Times, Lancaster Online and more. Follow him on X @DanielMader_ or Instagram @dmadersports.

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Washington

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

Published

1 day ago

March 25, 2026

Press Room

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.

The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.

According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.

Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.

A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.

Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.

The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.

Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.

Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.

Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.

The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.

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Washington

Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

Published

2 days ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.

Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.

Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.

“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”

RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions

House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.

Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.

The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.

“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”

Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.

The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.

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Washington

Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid

Published

3 days ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid

Washington Wizards (16-55, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-51, 14th in the Western Conference)

Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Washington heads into the matchup with Utah after losing 16 in a row.

The Jazz have gone 13-24 in home games. Utah ranks second in the Western Conference with 16.6 fast break points per game led by Lauri Markkanen averaging 3.3.

The Wizards are 5-29 in road games. Washington is 9-10 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 15.3 turnovers per game.

The Jazz score 117.4 points per game, 6.7 fewer points than the 124.1 the Wizards give up. The Wizards’ 46.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than the Jazz have allowed to their opponents (49.0%).

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Jazz won the last meeting 122-112 on March 6, with Ace Bailey scoring 32 points in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Jazz. Brice Sensabaugh is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.

Alex Sarr is averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and two blocks for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 14.4 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 3-7, averaging 116.4 points, 43.3 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.7 points per game.

Wizards: 0-10, averaging 114.3 points, 37.4 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 130.6 points.

INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Cody Williams: out (shoulder), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).

Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Tristan Vukcevic: day to day (back), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Tre Johnson: day to day (foot), Kyshawn George: out (elbow), D’Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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