Washington

The Prediction: Washington Huskies @ Penn State Nittany Lions

Published

6 months ago

November 8, 2024

The Prediction: Washington Huskies @ Penn State Nittany Lions

Max Vrooman

Last week I provided the stunning analysis that narrative dictated all of UW’s games which meant they would win at home and I would’ve nailed the final score if USC had kicked one more field goal during their 4 failed trips inside UW territory.

This week the narrative clearly dictates that the Huskies are doomed but I’d like to layer on some serious analysis this time. My city league ultimate team is 6-1 and the #2 seed entering the playoffs which start of Saturday. The only game we lost was during the UW bye week. Otherwise, somehow the schedule has somehow put 6 of the 7 games (including this week) while UW is away from Husky Stadium. That means I can actually go to them but also means that the Huskies are 0-4 playing on a weekend when I have an ultimate game I can go to. Sorry Dawgs.

Oh and I guess I’ll also add that this seems a horrendous matchup for the Huskies even if you ignore the travel and the raucous stadium environment. Penn State has edge rusher Abdul Carter who is a likely top-ten pick and is 2nd in the B1G in pass rush grade per PFF and t-3rd in total QB pressures. I don’t have a lot of confidence in UW’s OL to be able to block him. On the other side, Penn State is a team that basically doesn’t throw to their WRs which negates one of UW’s biggest strengths on defense. I’ll be fascinated to see if Coach Belichick does something dramatic like put Ephesians Prysock on their star TE Tyler Warren who is really the only threat in the passing game.

Penn St 27 – UW 12

Collin O’Meara

In Steve Sarkisian’s first year as Husky HC (2009), the Dawgs took a 3-7 record into the final two weeks of the season, and generated home blowouts vs WSU (30-0) and Cal (42-10). I remember the feeling that something had clicked with that year’s team, that the team had shed its ineptitude of the Willingham years and had been transformed into something entirely different. Fast forward to 2024 and the situation now isn’t even comparable to that era, but again we have a new head coach leading a team that has little in common with the previous year, and that is still reaching for the identity it desires. In the final weeks of this season, I would love nothing more than to see Jedd Fisch’s Huskies signal that it’s all gotten dialed in, with the Dawgs winning some upsets. To be sure, there have been upward trends lately, but there are still crucial things that need fixing: inopportune penalties.. bad kick coverage.. scoring more points.. The Huskies are facing a top-10 Penn State team, in their house, who just suffered a frustrating loss, on fan-gimmick night (don’t get me wrong, I love fan gimmicks). I think the Dawgs will compete, but I also felt good about the Iowa and Indiana games, and those became road blowouts for UW.

Penn St 27 – UW 20

Mark Schafer

It is now week 11, and the Huskies will be walking into a tough one. Not only is this a road game, across time zones, but it’s also a White Out, meaning that a crowd that was going to be tough now may be even more energized. We knew going in that this would be it, and we’ve been dreading it for months, but let me tell you what the Dawgs can do to pull it off!

The first and last thing for the Huskies to do in order to win this game is to minimize mistakes, which might be easier said than done especially since they’re literally walking into a lion’s den on Saturday, with a juiced up crowd in a White Out game. I would establish Jonah Coleman early and often and get him between 20-25 touches to start. Will Rogers can play off of him in the short passing game and set up opportunities deep. Defensively, they need to key in on the option game that Penn State likes to use and be disciplined against misdirection, using Belichick’s proclivity to play man-to-man defense to shut down Penn State’s receivers. Other than that, this is a tough task, and I think, coming off a win last week, they can do just enough to eke out a win, but they have to be perfect.

UW 24 – Penn St 21

Andrew Berg

Earlier in the season, we spent a lot of time thinking about what UW could do if they could get over certain humps. The team could compete with anybody if they could just… cut down on the penalties, perform better in the red zone, get the ball to Jonah Coleman more often, win up front more often on both sides of the ball, kick and punt better.

Nine games into the season, we might see some minor changes, but for the most part, we know who the Huskies are at this point. They’re going to struggle to block long enough to effectively push the ball downfield. They will put up some yards, but are unlikely to crack 30 points consistently against good defenses. The defense has probably played above its talent level all year, but remains susceptible to power running attacks.

This combination is not a great recipe against Penn St. The Nittany Lions feature a devastating running combination of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. While I’m not the biggest believer in Drew Allar, his numbers this year have been surprisingly good, especially when throwing to outstanding TE Tyler Warren. Penn St probably won’t explode for 40 points against the Dawg defense, but I expect them to bully their way to some long drives.

I’m more concerned with how the Huskies will find enough space offensively against a very good defense to keep up through four quarters. The offensive line is suboptimal at its best and banged up beyond that. Quick hitting passes will be the key to moving the ball, especially if Will Rogers can get the ball to the likes of Giles Jackson and Denzel Boston in motion to add some yards after the catch. I think the Huskies have a reasonable chance to keep the game within the spread, but with Penn St’s pace and defense, that doesn’t necessarily mean the game will be “close.”

Penn St 24 – UW 14

SU: UW 1, Penn St 3

ATS: UW 3, Penn St 1

Average Score: Penn St 25 – UW 18

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Washington

Washington Spirit Defender Rebeca Bernal Called Up to Mexico Women’s National Team

Published

2 hours ago

May 17, 2025

Press Room

Washington Spirit Defender Rebeca Bernal Called Up to Mexico Women’s National Team

Bernal will represent Mexico in upcoming friendlies against Uruguay

Washington, D.C. (05/17/2025) – Washington Spirit defender Rebeca Bernal has been called up to the Mexico Women’s National Team for the federation’s May/June friendlies, the Mexican Football Federation announced this week. The side will take on Uruguay in Puebla and Tlaxcala beginning later this month.

Bernal has appeared in over 60 matches, scoring eight goals for Mexico since making her senior team debut in 2017. The defender helped Mexico capture the gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile and was named to the tournament Best XI for her performance at the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. At the club level, Bernal helped C.F. Monterrey become the second-most decorated club in Liga MX Femenil with four trophies before winning the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup in her first match with the Washington Spirit.

Mexico’s May/June Friendly Schedule:

vs Uruguay | Friday, May 30 at 8 p.m. EDT (Estadio Olímpico BUAP, Puebla, Mexico)

vs Uruguay| Tuesday, June 3 at 8 p.m. EDT (Estadio Tlahuicole, Tlaxcala City, Mexico)

The Spirit will take the pitch at home again this Saturday, May 17 when the side faces off with Utah Royals FC in the club’s annual Salute to Service match. Single match tickets are available here. Fans can secure their spot to see the Spirit in all the team’s matches at Audi Field by becoming 2025 Season Ticket Members here.

About The Washington Spirit

The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women’s soccer team based in Washington, D.C. and plays at Audi Field in Buzzard Point. The Spirit was founded on November 21, 2012 and is an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) the fastest growing sports league in the US. The club is home to some of the best players in the world who have won championships for both club and country. For more information about the Spirit, visit WashingtonSpirit.com and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Washington

2 killed by falling trees in Northern Virginia

Published

19 hours ago

May 16, 2025

Press Room

2 killed by falling trees in Northern Virginia

Two deaths from trees falling on cars were reported in Northern Virginia Friday evening as severe thunderstorms quickly passed through the D.C. area.

A woman was killed when a tree fell on her car in the area of Mount Vernon and Woodlawn.

Another person died after a tree fell on a car in the area of GW Parkway and Morningside Lane.

Fast-moving severe thunderstorms whipped the DMV with lightning, hail and strong winds Friday evening.

Some storms were designated “destructive” with winds of 80 mph capable of toppling trees and downing power lines.

Several severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in for D.C. and surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia.

A severe thunderstorm watch for D.C. and counties including Arlington, Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George’s was canceled by about 6:30 p.m. after the storms cleared the DMV.

Another round of potentially severe storms is expected between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. but won’t be as strong as the evening storms.

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Washington

DC Council chairman optimistic about stadium deal — but hurdles remain

Published

1 day ago

May 16, 2025

Press Room

DC Council chairman optimistic about stadium deal — but hurdles remain

The chairman of the D.C. Council said he believes the Council will approve the deal to bring the Washington Commanders back to D.C. — but it’s going to take longer than the team and the mayor have agreed to.

After months of delays, Mayor Muriel Bowser sent her 2026 budget to the Council. It includes funding for the stadium development and her 2025 supplemental budget, which includes $400 million in cuts imposed by Congress.

Since the announcement that Bowser and Commanders owner Josh Harris reached a deal to bring the team back to D.C., the big question has been: Will the D.C. Council approve the deal to spend more than $1 billion of D.C. taxpayer money?

On Thursday, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson — who has opposed public funding for the stadium — said a stadium deal will likely be approved.

“Let me be clear. I think that we, I think that ultimately, the Council will agree with the stadium. But I think that we can make the deal better,” he said. “It’s what the Council has done with every stadium proposal in the past. But this all takes time. We don’t even have the documents concerning the stadium.”

Mendelson warned there are still some obstacles, with the first being timing: The deal signed by the mayor and the team calls for Council approval by July 15 or the Commanders can pull out.

Mendelson said he doesn’t see a way the Council can approve the Commanders deal — and the budgets — until late July or early August.

“I think the July 15 deadline, which was negotiated without any collaboration or discussion with the Council, is going to be very difficult,” he said. “The members met yesterday to discuss what the budget schedule would look like, and that’s going to be difficult.”

Mendelson also expressed concerns about the financial impact of the deal for taxpayers, but he is optimistic those can be worked out.

“I have found the Commanders to be very cooperative, and they want to get this deal done, and we want to get this deal done,” Mendelson said.

The Commanders deal is far from the biggest issue facing D.C. residents in the budgets just submitted by the mayor. Both budgets will include hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts, including about $400 million in cuts imposed by Congress that have to be made before October.

Mendelson has a sober warning to D.C. residents about what those cuts will mean: “I think they should be bracing for bad news, but I don’t know exactly what that looks like. And when I say bad news, that there will be service reductions. There’ll be contracts frozen and probably some furloughs.”

The Council plans to hold public hearings on both the stadium deal and the budget cuts in coming weeks.

If the District misses that July 15 deadline to get the Commanders deal approved, the team and the District could agree to extend that deadline, or the team could opt to restart negotiations with Maryland or Virginia.

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