Hawkeyes Give Huskies Pair of Black Eyes

Dressed in a no-frills gray suit that everyone wears before a game, center Landen Hatchett began his day in Husky Stadium by gathering all of his University of Washington football teammates around him at midfield.

Two hours before kickoff against Iowa, the two-time captain did all of the talking. Tried to send a message. Maybe introduce himself to the freshmen.

Hatchett was back and everyone should have felt greatly inspired by this.

Instead on Friday night, the Huskies at times looked about as lifeless and disinterested on their home field as they have perhaps since the 2021 Apple Cup.

In this case, Iowa came in and seriously took it to Jedd Fisch's third UW team, beating it 41-24.

The hometown Huskies were outplayed, outhustled and outhit.

And even hurt some, with starting quarterback Demond Williams leaving the field before halftime with an unspecified injury and not returning.

"They were certainly exceptionally physical and they were able to win at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball," Fisch said. "Both running the football and there was no stopping them."

UW edge rusherJacob Lane tries to calm safety Rylon Dillard-Allen as the Iowa game turns into a mismatch. | Dave Sizer photo

Fisch, without detailing the Williams injury, said he had no update on his quarterback's condition and wouldn't address the situation until Monday.

Early on, the highly motivated Hawkeyes (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) scored five of the first six times they had the ball and defensively made the UW offense look as inept as ever.

Tailback Kamari Moulton did whatever he wanted on this night, rushing 26 times for 208 yards and 2 scores.

And Iowa did all of this with a back-up quarterback in Jeremy Hecklinski, no less, who threw for 202 yards and 3 TDs.

With a reconfigured offensive line that counted three position changes, the Huskies (3-3, 0-3) actually regressed -- they picked up just a solitary first down over their first four possessions.

Hatchett wasn't the immediate answer.

UW center Landen Hatchett pass protects while making his season debut after recovering from a broken wrist from 2025. | Dave Sizer photo

This team has much deeper issues.

For the game's first 25 minutes, Fisch's offense had virtually nothing to show for it.

Williams was sacked four times in the first quarter and a half.

The UW finished the game with -3 yards rushing.

Freshman Brian Bonner Jr. gets wrapped up by an aggressive Iowa defense. | Dave Sizer photo

Boos cascaded through the greatest but what now had become one of the more embarrassed settings in college football after the continual lack of success.

Williams was replaced near the end of the first half by back-up Elijah Brown and walked to the locker room accompanied by two team staffers. The Husky radio team reported he was headed for an X-ray without providing more detail.

"When Demond went down, I went in there to do what I could do," the replacement signal-caller said.

Brown looked capable, putting the Huskies on the scoreboard multiple times by completing 28 of 39 passes for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Williams left after completing 6 of 11 throws for 69 yards.

Meantime, Iowa had its way with the Husky defense, which gave up its most points since losing to Oregon 49-21 in Eugene in 2024.

The Hawkeyes started slowly, settling for Caden Buhr's 51- and 27-yard field goals.

Where this one turned into an instant mismatch came on Iowa's fourth possession when Moulton broke four tackles on his way to a 56-yard touchdown run that left everyone in the stadium stunned.

Iowa's Kamari Moulton breaks four tackles, including this one by UW cornerback Dylan Robinson. on his 56-yard TD run. | Dave Sizer photo

The 5-foot-9, 211-pound back from Fort Lauderdale broke tackles by, in this order, Elinneus Davis, Dylan Robinson, Rylon Dillard-Allen and Isaiah Ward, and Iowa all of a sudden led 13-0 with 10 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Hawkeyes next picked up a pair of touchdown catches from tight end DJ Vonnahme covering 20 and 21 yards, the second with 5:07 remaining in the first half, and a cold night in Husky Stadium felt real uncomfortable.

The UW, with Williams still taking snaps, moved down the field for Tyler Robles' 27-yard field goal with 1:56 left in the half and it was 27-3 at the break.

Williams didn't come out after intermission, leaving Brown to warm up with third-unit QB Dash Beierly and take the reins again when play resumed.

The teams swapped touchdowns to begin the next half.

Chris Lawson caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Brown on the opening series, capping a eight-play, 75-yard drive.

However, the Hawkeyes responded with their own eight-play possession covering 83 yards and capped by wide receiver Reece Vander Zee left totally uncovered in the end zone for an 8-yard scoring toss and a 34-10 lead.

Back came the Huskies with an 11-play, 75-yard drive as Brown got real comfortable in the pocket and provided some offensive life.

Following a pair of pass-interference calls in the end zone, he threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dezmen Roebuck and then found Lawson with a 2-point conversion pass to make it a two-score game at 34-18.

Moulton's 3-yard run closed out the Hawkeyes scoring with 12:06 left to play and the Huskies got into the end zone once more on the game's final play on Brown's 3-yard TD throw to freshman Mason James.

The Huskies will try to regroup for another Friday night showing at Purdue that's next up. It's going to take them a little while to get over being beat so badly.

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