No. 23 Washington will look to move into the upper echelon of the Big Ten standings on Saturday afternoon when it visits reeling Wisconsin in Madison, Wis.
Both the Huskies (6-2, 3-2) and Badgers (2-6, 0-5) were idle last week. Before the bye, Washington recorded a 42-25 victory over then-No. 23 Illinois while Wisconsin dropped its sixth straight decision with a 21-7 setback to then-No. 6 Oregon.
The Huskies, who have won three of their last four games, are among four teams with two conference losses. There also are four teams with one conference loss, trailing undefeated Ohio State and Indiana, ranked first and second in the country, respectively.
“We certainly understand the task at hand,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said Monday about the Badgers. “We know that it has always been one of the best defenses in college football in the Big 10. We know we’ve got to be on our P’s and Q’s and be locked in and ready roll, so we’re ready for them.”
Huskies running back Jonah Coleman leads the nation in total scores (15) and is tied for second in rushing touchdowns (13). Demond Williams Jr. is No. 2 nationally in completion percentage at 73.1. Williams has thrown for 2,117 yards and 14 touchdowns, with four interceptions.
Denzel Boston is the top target with 44 receptions for 668 yards and seven touchdowns, and Dezmen Roebuck has 24 catches for 394 yards and four scores.
The Huskies average 35.5 points and 438.6 yards per game. Washington’s two losses were 24-6 to Ohio State on Sept. 27 and 24-7 at Michigan on Oct. 18.
Wisconsin has struggled offensively since opening the season with victories over Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee.
Until their fourth-quarter score against Oregon, the Badgers had gone 14 quarters without a touchdown.
Starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., a senior transfer from Maryland, was injured in the opener. Backup Danny O’Neil was ineffective before giving way to Hunter Simmons, who has completed 50% of his passes with two touchdowns and five interceptions.
Carter Smith is in the quarterback mix for Saturday’s game, Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said Monday.
“After a bye week, we got him out there, got some more opportunities for him,” Fickell said. “And then that’s one of those things we’ll just have to see. So there’s a lot of chances for a lot of guys, but Carter is definitely one of them.”
Fickell announced Monday that leading rusher Dilin Jones will have season-ending surgery for turf toe. Starting center Jake Renfro also will miss the rest of the season, along with safety Matthew Traynor.
Gideon Ituka rushed for 85 yards against Oregon, the single-game high this season for the Badgers.
Wisconsin averages just 12.5 points per game, allowing 23.9. The Badgers average 261.9 yards per game, giving up 341, including 230.3 through the air.
Washington, making its first trip to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison since 1968, has won all four games played against Wisconsin. The Huskies’ last win in the series was 27-10 at home in 1992.
–Field Level Media
