At the time UW’s 2024 schedule was released, two things were clear: the Michigan game was the start of an absolute rut in the middle of the schedule, and the road game against Iowa would go a long way in determining whether UW wins the could exceed expectations. Jedd Fisch’s first season. That crucial road game has finally arrived, and with UW a 2.5-point underdog, the challenge looks no less daunting than it did months ago. Can the Huskies improve to 5-2 with a statement win away from Seattle?

Max Vrooman

Welcome to Michigan, Part II. Except the team on the other side is slightly worse across the board this time, but it’s a 9a local time road game instead of primetime at home. The Iowa passing attack doesn’t look much improved despite Nepobaby Ferentz finally transferring. QB Cade McNamara hasn’t thrown a TD pass against a power conference opponent since playing Iowa in the B1G title game in December 2021. That was the same year McNamara threw for just 44 yards against UW and still blew out Washington during the disastrous Jimmy Lake season. Against FBS opponents this year, McNamara is averaging 4.8 YPA with 0 TDs and 3 INTs.

That means the only thing Iowa wants/can do on offense is run the ball. Kaleb Johnson has been a beast this year, averaging 7.6 YPC with 8 TDs in 4 games against FBS opponents. Ohio State probably has the best defense in the country this year and still managed to beat almost six YPCs against them. Sign him to get 150 against the Husky defense, but as long as they keep him under 175, UW can probably consider it a win (provided McNamara throws for less than 100 as expected).

The defense is usually excellent again. Linebacker Jay Higgins (39 tkl, 2 INT, 1 sk) has a case for the best LB in the country. CB Jermari Harris (2 INT, 5 PBUs) is also among the best in the country. The good news for Washington is that they haven’t been an elite unit thus far and the D-line is certainly a step back from what they just saw against Michigan.

20 points should actually be enough to win this game. Given what we’ve seen from UW’s defense, it’s hard to imagine Iowa reaching that total on offense. The problem will be whether Iowa can score a defensive or special teams TD. Special teams hasn’t exactly been Washington’s strong suit this year and I could easily see a punt return being the difference. I really thought seeing a clean game against Michigan would give me the confidence to root for the Huskies here. But apparently I still need them to prove it to me outside of Husky Stadium.

Iowa 17 – Washington 16

Mark Schafer

It’s now game 6 for the Huskies and it’s going to be a tough environment. With a road game, at Kinnick Stadium, an early kickoff and against a team that will be aggressive defensively, the Huskies will have their work cut out for them. But I still think they can pull this off, and I’m going to tell you why.

This Iowa team is similar to Michigan in terms of their offensive identity. They’re going to try to drag you down to their level and force teams to play the Iowa game. Iowa’s “game,” so to speak, is to control the ball and shut down offenses with great defensive play, something DC Phil Parker has had great success with over the past 13 years at the helm. Their offense, as mentioned, revolves around the run game, and Kaleb Johnson has been a bright spot for the Hawkeyes at running back. The rest of the attack, coordinated by new OC Tim Lester, is below average, but could surprise some people and therefore should not be overlooked.

The plan, like last week, should be to stop the run and limit Iowa’s possession, while the offense’s plan should be to attack Iowa’s weaker-than-usual secondary to create opportunities for the run. If we can play our game and the defense can force Iowa’s offense into short possessions, this should be a hard-fought win for the Huskies!

Washington 21 – Iowa 9

Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

Andreas Berg

Can UW beat an excellent running team whose offense leans heavily in that direction and plays a balanced, physical defense? Sure, they did it a week ago. They are also capable of losing to those types of teams. They did it two weeks ago. The biggest difference between these two games is that UW was more efficient against Michigan: they avoided big penalties, converted long drives into TDs, and won the turnover battle. These elements are outputs, and there are also crucial differences in the inputs between the two games. Rutgers was all over the country on Friday evening. Michigan was at home, in front of a raucous home crowd, with the carried emotion of losing the National Championship Game.

So which of those games is this one most similar to? I’m afraid several inputs are more closely aligned with the Iowa game. Even though Iowa City is much closer than Piscataway, the Dawgs will still cross two time zones and are scheduled to kick off at 9 a.m. PT. After the psychological peak of the Michigan game, there is also the risk of mental disappointment. None of these variables need to dictate the outcome of the game. The coaching staff can do everything they can to get the team mentally and emotionally ready to play in any environment. However, that hasn’t always been a standout skill for the UW staff this season. My ideal version of this game would be our three RBs combining for 100+ yards, Will Rogers moving the chains with intermediate passes to Denzel Boston and Giles Jackson, and the defense filling the box to force Cade McNamara to show why he’s there as many interceptions as TD has this year. I’m not very confident that we’ll achieve that ideal again, on the road, at an odd start time, against a great defense with a legendary coach.

Iowa 21 – Washington 17

Straight up: Washington 1, Iowa 2

ATS: Washington 2, Iowa 1

Average score: Washington 18 – Iowa 16