Washington’s bowl season will be a quick one. After an 8-4 season, the Huskies will play Mountain West Champion Boise State in the LA Bowl on December 13th. Boise State defeated UNLV in their conference title game on Friday night. This bowl game takes place next Saturday, meaning Championship Weekend essentially served as a bye week for the Huskies. The LA Bowl is the first FBS bowl game of the postseason, and will take place on the same day as the Heisman Trophy ceremony and Army-Navy Game.
Washington – Boise State in LA Bowl
Boise State and Washington have played each other six times. Two of those matchups were in the Las Vegas Bowl (2012 and 2019). Most recently, Washington defeated the Broncos in its regular season opener to the 2023 season. It was the first of 14 wins that year for the Huskies that ended with a National Championship Game appearance. Washington is 4-2 all time against Boise State, and this will be the third meeting since 2019.
Year Two Improvements
In year two of the Jedd Fisch tenure, Washington finished 8-4 with improvements on both sides of the football. Its offense ranked 41st this year, averaging 414 yards per game compared to last season’s 390 per contest. That improvement was seen most in its running game. The Husky backfield averaged 4.7 yards per carry this year compared to a year ago when they averaged less than four per touch. While there was no 1,000 yard rusher this season, the production was distributed and versatile.
Three different players had at least 100 carries this season, Jonah Coleman, Adam Mohammed, and Demond Williams. Each one of them averaged over 4.5 yards per attempt and accounted for 25 rushing scores. The offense as a whole totaled 29 rushing scores, compared to last season when it had just 14. The Huskies’ offensive line improved significantly this season. That showed up in Washington’s rushing performance.
Boise State Preview
Boise State’s win over UNLV in the Mountain West title game is its third-straight conference title, and all three games were played against the Rebels. The nine-win Broncos finished 6-2 in their conference that included a common opponent win over Colorado State. Boise State defeated the Rams 49-21 in November. But that came after the Rams fired their head coach Jay Norvell.
The Broncos have a top 12 pass defense nationally. They allow just 171 yards per game and they’ve pulled down 14 interceptions which ranks second-most in the Mountain West. Three of those picks were returned for touchdowns. But against the run, the Broncos have struggled. Boise State gives up an average of 164 rush yards per contest and nearly five yards per attempt. Saturday should be another opportunity for the Husky offense to produce a 100-yard rusher for the fourth-straight game.
Main Image: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
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