Washington
Unprecedented national title rematch features two retooled teams in Washington and Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines (4-1) will take the field Saturday night in Seattle against the Washington Huskies (3-2) in a rematch of last season’s national championship game. While these two teams played a mere nine months ago, won by Michigan, 34-13 in Houston, Texas, this matchup will be far from familiar.
Each team enters this game looking completely different than last season – both have new head coaches, very different rosters, and regular-season troubles. On top of this, these two teams will meet as Big Ten opponents for the first time ever. After having to watch Michigan bask in the glory of a perfect season, the Huskies are sure to be out for revenge. On top of that, they will be looking for a statement conference win after a surprising loss to Rutgers last weekend. Michigan, on the other hand, will be looking to silence the doubters after near disasters in the second half against USC and Minnesota. Despite last season’s success, both teams are entering this game with a lot to prove.
This will be the first regular-season rematch of a national title game since 2012, and the first one ever to feature new head coaches for both teams.
Washington began retooling its offense by landing QB Will Rogers, who transferred from Mississippi State, where he played four years. He currently leads all active players in career passing yards and has had good numbers thus far. His 1,354 passing yards this season put him in the top 15 in the country, and he has yet to throw an interception in the first five games.
It should be noted, however, that Washington’s three wins this season have come against Weber State, Eastern Michigan and Northwestern, while they have lost to Rutgers and Washington State.
Still, wins are wins and they been led to a trio of them in part to wide receiver Denzel Boston. Rogers has found Boston in the endzone seven times this season, placing him second in the country in receiving touchdowns. Boston is also second in the Big Ten in receiving yards this season, placing him right above teammate Giles Jackson.
Jackson is currently third in the conference for receiving yards but will be looking to make a big impact against his former team this weekend. Jackson served as a wide receiver and kick returner for the Wolverines in the 2019 and 2020 seasons before transferring to Washington. His second game with the Huskies brought him back to the Big House, where he went viral for yelling expletives at Michigan fans following a 31-10 loss. After last season, he now has two losses against his former team. This weekend, he will have a chance to prevent a third.
Why Washington could be ‘a handful’ for Michigan
Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge preview the rematch of last year’s national championship between Michigan and Washington and why the Huskies could be “a handful” for the Wolverines if they put it together.
Washington’s best weapon, however, might be in its run game with junior Jonah Coleman. Coleman transferred from Arizona this past offseason, following head coach Jedd Fisch to Seattle. Coleman is an explosive runner who is lethal in space, averaging 7.2 yards per carry. He is also an asset in the passing game, particularly on checkdown throws. Coleman averages 2.5 catches per game and has over 100 receiving yards on the year.
The weak link in a generally strong Washington offense is the offensive line. This is a far cry from last year, when the Huskies won the Joe Moore Award for the most outstanding offensive line unit. Of the six players who started at least three games for last year’s line, two of them were drafted into the NFL while the other four transferred to other programs. This year’s unit is largely comprised of transfers, and still seems to be struggling to find its footing. Rogers’ ability to throw under pressure, along with Coleman’s fantastic vision and explosive burst, have helped mask some of the line’s issues, but its relative weakness is still evident.
As for Washington’s defense, linebacker Carson Bruener is one of the best players. He has one of the Huskies’ three interceptions on the season and leads the team in tackles. Another one of those interceptions went to cornerback Thaddeus Dixon, who plays opposite Ephesians Prysock. Prysock followed Jedd Fisch from Arizona and is viewed by experts as a potential top-100 NFL draft prospect. On the defensive line, edge rusher Zach Durfee is tied for the team lead with 2.5 sacks on the year. He’s been sidelined at times with a toe injury but Coach Fisch says he is optimistic Durfee will be able to play this weekend.
Moving on to this weekend’s road underdogs, Michigan’s offense features many new faces this year. After the departure of top-10 draft pick JJ McCarthy, Michigan has been left with a void at QB. Instead of seeking an upgrade in the transfer portal, Michigan chose to bank on the development of the players they already had. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, this decision seems to have proven costly.
After throwing six interceptions (and only two touchdowns) in his three games as the starter, former walk-on Davis Warren was benched in favor of the incredibly athletic Alex Orji. Last year, Orji played on rare occasions as a gadget player, running the ball 15 times without throwing a pass. In Orji’s first start against USC this year, last year’s trend continued as he ran the ball more times (and for more yards) than he passed it. Michigan’s struggles in the pass game this year have been incredibly evident as they rank outside the top 120 nationally in several statistical categories, including passing yards per game and interceptions thrown.
If there is one positive through the air, it’s tight end Colston Loveland. The All-American leads the team in both receptions and receiving yards on the season, despite missing a game.
Top impact players: Michigan vs. Washington
Pro Football Focus previews the national championship rematch between No. 10 Michigan and Washington on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, highlighting Alex Oriji, Kalel Mullings, Jonah Coleman, and Will Rogers.
Michigan has always been a run-centric team, but this year that concept has been taken to new heights. The breakout star of the Wolverine’s season has been linebacker turned running back Kalel Mullings. Mullings has been named Michigan’s top RB after a disappointing start to the season from team captain Donovan Edwards, and Mullings has not let the team down. When games have gotten close, Michigan’s strategy has been almost exclusively using Mullings to control the clock and protect the ball. Mullings delivered the game-winning touchdown two weeks ago against ranked Big Ten foe USC in a nailbiter, 24-21, and was given the ball eight times on the drive that resulted in the game-clinching field goal against Minnesota, a 27-24 win. He averages over 100 yards and a touchdown per game, and if Michigan wants to beat Washington, Mullings will need to have a similar output.
Similar to Washington, Michigan’s offensive line is completely different from last year. All six of last year’s starters graduated or went pro, leaving a very new and relatively inexperienced line. Transfer Josh Priebe received All-Big Ten honors at Northwestern last year and serves as the anchor of this year’s O-line. Even with that addition, the unit has still gone through some growing pains as they have adjusted to the new-look Wolverine offense.
The defensive side of the ball is where the Wolverines truly shine. Michigan returned many key pieces of the championship team, mainly cornerback Will Johnson and defensive tackle Mason Graham. Both of these players are projected top picks in next year’s NFL draft and have shown it this year. Johnson set the Michigan career record for pick-6s when he housed his second of the season against USC and is known for delivering the biggest plays in the biggest moments. Graham has also proven to be disruptive, tallying three sacks and 19 tackles on the year. Michigan’s breakout star on the defensive line this year has been defensive end Josiah Stewart. In his second year at Michigan, he leads the team with four sacks, only 1.5 shy of his season total a year ago.
Michigan Wolverines vs. Washington Huskies Game Preview
Here are a few things both sides need to do if they want to win Saturday night.
Washington’s Keys to the Game
1. The offensive line needs to step up. Michigan’s defensive features Graham and Kenneth Walker, two of the strongest defensive tackles in the country. Graham, in particular, is viewed as a potential top pick in next year’s NFL draft. While it may be nearly impossible for Washington’s struggling offensive line to completely stop the two, they need to contain them enough to give Rogers time to throw and get Coleman into space.
2. Slow down Michigan’s rushing attack. Against a team like Michigan, nearly every down can be a running down. With hard hitting linebackers such as Bruener, Washington will benefit greatly from stacking the box on defense, and trusting their corners to cover one-on-one.
3. Limit self-inflicted wounds. Washington’s discipline has shown to be an issue, with the team averaging over eight penalties a game. Penalties – and missed field goals – ended up being a major factor in the loss to Rutgers. Washington’s ability to clean up its game will be crucial in getting the defense off the field, especially against a Michigan team that loves to control the clock and run again and again.
Michigan’s Keys to the Game
1. Get pressure without blitzing. This season, Michigan has blitzed on a high percentage of defensive plays. Going up against a weak Washington line, Michigan should be able to get pressure without rushing more than four players. While the blitz will, of course, need to be a part of the playbook, Michigan getting consistent pressure on four-man rushes would give their defense a game-changing advantage.
2. Have a strong second half. In each of Michigan’s last two games, they entered halftime with a lead only to see their opponent make a strong attempt at a comeback. In last year’s perfect season, Michigan was known for their second-half defense, holding their first 10 opponents to 30 total second-half points. In the second half of their last two games, Michigan was outscored, 42-19. Against a team with explosive potential like Washington, the Michigan defense cannot let up after halftime.
3. Kalel Mullings. It’s hard to argue any one player can make or break a team, but Mullings has been that important. Against USC, he ran for 84 yards and a touchdown on the game-winning final drive. Against Minnesota, he was the one given the ball again and again to run out the clock. At this point, every opponent knows Michigan can only run the ball. No matter what they know, when Mullings is on fire, he cannot be stopped.
How to watch Michigan Wolverines vs. Fresno State Bulldogs
- When: Saturday, Oct. 5
- Where: Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (Pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET)
- Watch: Peacock and NBC
About the Author:
Ryan Thomas is a senior at the University of Michigan currently studying Film and Psychology. He writes and works on Wolv Sports Center, a series covering a variety of Michigan sports.
The Newsfeed
This week, the team brings you stories about how communities including Filipino immigrants, Sephardic Jews and Somalis arrived in the Pacific Northwest
Each week on The Newsfeed, host Paris Jackson and a team of veteran journalists dive deep into one topic and provide impactful reporting, interviews and community insights from sources you can trust. Each day this week, this post will be updated with a new story from the team.
Group hopes to boost recognition for Seattle’s Filipinotown
By Venice Buhain
The group Filipinotown Seattle hopes to make sure that the legacy of Filipino Americans in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District isn’t forgotten.
One of the group’s current projects is pushing for a Filipinotown placemarking sign in the CID.
“Filipino Americans have had a presence here for over 100 years in Seattle,” said Filipinotown Seattle Executive Director Devin Israel Cabanilla.
He said that the signage is important to remind people that “the International District is not just Chinatown. Japantown. Filipinotown is here as well.”
The group held a poll on what signage might look like and where it might be located. It would be similar to the Chinatown sign on South Jackson Street and Fifth Avenue South, or the Wing Luke Museum
In the early 20th century, the area now known as the CID was a hub full of businesses, entertainment, social groups and housing that served Seattle’s growing immigrant population from Asia and elsewhere. The communities all intermingled throughout the CID.
“This area was a central place for Asian Pacific immigrants simply because of segregation,” Cabanilla said.
Because the Philippines was a U.S. territory from 1898 to 1946, Filipino immigrants were unaffected by laws in the 1920s that restricted immigration from Japan or China. Many Filipinos came to study at the University of Washington or to work in burgeoning industries, like lumber, farming, canneries and factories.
While the physical Filipino presence in terms of buildings and storefronts in the CID dwindled in the later 20th century with redevelopment, Seattle Filipinos and Filipino Americans continued to make impacts locally, regionally and nationally.
“It may not have been in terms of storefronts, but our presence has always existed in terms of politics, culture as well,” Cabanilla said.
The Seattle Department of Transportation said it is aware that the group is working on its signage request, but the Department of Neighborhoods has not yet received a formal request. They are also working to develop a clearer process for this and other similar neighborhood signage proposals.
Filipinotown Seattle said it hopes that the sign helps remind Seattle of the CID’s unique designation as a neighborhood shaped by many immigrants and migrants to Seattle.
“Is it Chinatown? Is it Japantown? Is it Little Saigon? It’s all those things. And I think re cultivating that this is a multicultural district, Filipinotown is helping establish: Yes, it’s more than one thing,” Cabanilla said.
Venice Buhain is a multimedia journalist at Cascade PBS. She previously was the Cascade PBS’s associate news editor and education reporter. Venice has also worked for KING 5, The Seattle Globalist and TVW News.
Venice Buhain is a multimedia journalist at Cascade PBS. She previously was the Cascade PBS’s associate news editor and education reporter. Venice has also worked for KING 5, The Seattle Globalist and TVW News.
The state of Washington is getting a seventh temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Marysville Washington Temple was announced Sunday night during a devotional in the Marysville Washington Stake by Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy in the church’s United States West Area Presidency.
“We are pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Marysville, Washington,” the First Presidency said in a statement. “The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later. This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and express gratitude for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord.”
The other temples in Washington are the Columbia River, Moses Lake, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver temples.
The church has 214 temples in operation. Plans for another 170 temples have been announced; many of those temples are in various stages of planning and construction.
Sunday’s temple announcement follows the new practice of the church’s First Presidency, which determines where temples will be built — and when and how they will be announced.
The First Presidency directed a General Authority Seventy to announce the first temple in Maine at a fireside there in December.
In January, church President Dallin H. Oaks said the Maine announcement set the pattern for future temple announcements.
“The best place to announce a temple is in that temple district,” he told the Deseret News.
The First Presidency will continue to decide where future temples will be built. It then will “assign someone else to make the announcement in the place where the temple will be built,” he said.
This pattern came to him as a strong impression after he assumed leadership of the church in October, following the death of his friend, President Russell M. Nelson.
This came as a strong impression to him shortly after he assumed the leadership of the church, President Oaks said.
The church remains in the midst of an aggressive temple-building era. President Nelson announced 200 new temples from 2018 to 2025. All but one were announced at general conference.
Five dozen temples are now under construction.
President Oaks now has overseen the announcement of two temples, neither at a general conference.
At the October conference he said that “with the large number of temples now in the very earliest phases of planning and construction, it is appropriate that we slow down the announcement of new temples.”
Ten new temples are scheduled to be dedicated in the next six months.
- May 3: Davao Philippines Temple.
- May 3: Lindon Utah Temple.
- May 31: Bacolod Philippines Temple.
- June 7: Yorba Linda California Temple.
- June 7: Willamette Valley Oregon Temple.
- Aug. 16: Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple.
- Aug. 16: Cleveland Ohio Temple.
- Aug. 30: Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple.
- Oct. 11: Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple.
- Oct. 18: Managua Nicaragua Temple.
Two-thirds of the 170 temples still to be built are outside the United States.
Temples are distinct from the meetinghouses where Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ each Sunday. Temples are closed on Sundays, but they open during the week as sanctuaries where church members go to find peace, make covenants with God and perform proxy ordinances for deceased relatives.
On a perfect day in Seattle for football, Washington took the field inside Husky Stadium for its first scrimmage of spring practice, and ahead of his third season at the helm, Jedd Fisch seemed pleased with the results.
“Guys played and competed their ass off,” he said after the Huskies ran 120 plays. “That’s the type of day we want to have…We have a lot to work on, but we’re excited that today gave us this opportunity.”
The 120 plays had a little bit of everything, but the biggest thing the Huskies showed during the day was that, despite the inexperience that Fisch’s coaching staff is looking to lean on at several positions, there’s plenty of talent littering the roster. The best example of that is sophomore safety Paul Mencke Jr., who had his best practice in a Husky uniform after Fisch announced on Saturday that senior CJ Christian is out for the year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during Tuesday’s practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
“Paul’s done a great job of competing and being physical and playing fast, and you could see over these three years, he’s really grown into understanding now the system, and what’s asked of him as a safety,” Fisch said. “I think there’s a lot of in him that he wants to be like (safeties coach Taylor) Mays. He sees himself as a tall, linear, big hitter. So when you have your coach that is known for that type of play, I think Paul has done a great job.”
Mencke was all over the field. Not only did he lay some big hits, just like his safeties coach did during his time at USC, but the former four-star recruit also tallied a pair of pass breakups, an interception in a 7-on-7 period, and multiple strong tackles to hold ball carriers to limited yards.
While the defense did a good job getting pressure throughout the day and making the quarterbacks hold the ball with different looks on the back end, with safety Alex McLaughlin, linebacker Donovan Robinson, and edge rusher Logan George all among the players credited for a sack, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. got an opportunity to show off how he’s improved ahead of his junior year.
Early on, he showed off his well-known speed and athleticism, making the correct decision on a read option, pulling the ball and scampering for a 25-yard gain before displaying his touch. Throughout the day, his favorite target was junior receiver Rashid Williams, whom he found on several layered throws of 15-plus yards in the various scrimmage periods of practice.
On a day when every able-bodied member of the team was able to get several reps of live action, here are some of the other noteworthy plays from the day.
Spring practice notebook
- Freshman cornerback Jeron Jones was unable to participate in the scrimmage and was spotted working off to the side with the rest of the players rehabbing their injuries.
- The running backs delivered a pair of big blows on the day. First, cornerback Emmanuel Karnley was on the receiving end of a big hit from redshirt freshman Quaid Carr before the former three-star recruit ripped off a 13-yard touchdown run on the next play. Later on, every player on offense had a lot of fun cheering on freshman Ansu Sanoe after he leveled Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, letting the sophomore linebacker hear all about it when the play was whistled dead.
- Sophomore wide receiver Justice Williams put together a strong day with several contested catches, showing off his strong hands and 6-foot-4 frame, including a 25-yard catch and run off a drag route from backup quarterback Elijah Brown.
- Of all the tackles for a loss the Huskies were able to rack up throughout the day, two stood out. First, junior defensive tackle Elinneus Davis burst through the middle of the line to wrap up freshman running back Brian Bonner. Later on, freshman outside linebacker Ramzak Fruean wasn’t even touched as he shot through a gap in the offensive line to track down a play from behind, letting the entire offensive sideline know about the play on his way back to his own bench.
- The Huskies experimented with several defensive line combinations on Saturday, and for the first time this spring, it felt like freshman Derek Colman-Brusa took the majority of his reps alongside someone other than Davis, who he said has taken on an older brother role to help mentor the top-ranked in-state prospect in the 2026 class.
“Elinneus is a phenomenal guy. Great work ethic. He’s kind of taken on that older brother mentor for me. He’s been a great help just to learn plays and learn the scheme. Can’t say enough good things about the guy.”
- Ball State transfer Darin Conley took a handful of reps with the first team, while rotating with Colman-Brusa, who got a lot of work in alongside Sacramento State transfer DeSean Watts.
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