Demond Williams Jr. Puts On Historic Show in Huskies’ Comeback Win vs. Rutgers
SEATTLE, Wash. — It was quite a night in Seattle.
In case you were watching the Mariners win Game 5 in dramatic fashion and missed the Washington Huskies game on Friday night, it was something to behold as well.
Washington sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. put together one of the best games in FBS college football history, becoming just the 16th player ever to pass for over 400 yards and rush for 100 or more in a game.
The Huskies (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) needed virtually all of his 402 yards through the air and 136 on the ground to overcome another double-digit deficit for a 38-19 win over Rutgers in front of a partially absent or distracted crowd that was announced as 63,742, but certainly wasn’t.
Those at Husky Stadium saw bits and pieces of the Mariners game on the big screen. A few of them stuck around and watched the Mariners clinch a trip to the ALCS after watching the Huskies comeback.
A smattering of #Huskies fans and the Husky Band stuck around to watch the Mariners dramatic win. pic.twitter.com/hcnScLyOwz— Aaron Coe (@Coe_Aaron) October 11, 2025
Before that, though, Williams provided fans with a memorable performance of his own.
Under duress early with left tackle Carver Willis and left guard John Mills sidelined by injuries and trailing 10-0 in the middle of the first quarter, Williams did it all for the Huskies, completing 21 of 27 passes, including a pair of touchdown passes to Denzel Boston. He averaged 10.5 yards on his 13 carries, scoring two rushing touchdowns.
“He is special,” said head coach Jedd Fisch, whose team overcame a 20-0 deficit at Maryland last week to win 24-0. “And we’ve known that for a lot of years now. So it’s great to have Demond continue to be who we think we are.”
Williams’ 538 yards of total offense set a new school mark — surpassing Michael Penix Jr.’s 529 against Arizona in 2022 — and he’s the first player at Washington to have 400/100 in a single game.
“He’s young, and he has so much time to grow off of this,” said Boston, who caught five passes for 98 yards, using his length to win battles in the end zone for two TDs. “I just think there’s so much more explosiveness and plays for him to make in the future.”
True freshman receiver Dezmen Roebuck added four catches for a team-high 108 yards, including a 59-yard catch-and-run that featured a spin move. Fellow true freshman receiver Raiden Vines-Bright added three catches for 50 yards.
The game, which began at 6 p.m., had a Pac-12 After Dark feel to it, despite it being a Big Ten game. The two teams combined for 1,072 yards. Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis put up some strong numbers of his own, throwing for 386 yards and two touchdowns on 31-for-50 passing.
The Scarlett Knights (3-3, 0-3) had some success running the ball in the first quarter. Antwan Raymond picked up 80 yards on just seven carries, but was limited to just nine yards on eight carries the rest of the way.
After an ugly first quarter that led to the 10-point hole, the tide began to turn in the second quarter.
The Huskies got a stop on third down on the first play of the second quarter to force a punt. Williams began the ensuing drive with a 23-yard run. After a short run by Adam Mohammed, Williams saw what he’s been craving for the last few weeks — single coverage on Boston, his 6-foot-4 receiver.
“We’ve been trying to get one-on-one for a couple weeks now,” Williams said. “Having the opportunity tonight and having us click a few times was definitely important.”
Washington trailed 13-10 at halftime, and that’s when the entire offense started clicking. UW scored on three straight drives to open the half to take a 31-19 lead while the defense held the Scarlet Knights at bay.
Another Rough Start
The Huskies were a mess during the first quarter as Rutgers built a 10-0 lead. Washington struggled with reading the RPO game, and were often out of gaps. Missed tackles were also a problem. A week after falling behind 20-0 at Maryland, the Huskies couldn’t seem to get much right against Rutgers early.
Washington committed four penalties in the first quarter while gaining the same number of first downs. Two penalties occurred on kickoff returns, including a kick Adam Mohammed returned to the 15 after fielding it five yards deep in the end zone, and another one the Huskies elected not to bring out. UW’s Tacario Davis, back in the lineup after missing three games with a rib injury, also dropped an interception, and the Huskies were 0-for-3 on third down in the first quarter.
“We’ve got to make a big point of emphasis that we’re not going to win a lot of games by having six, seven, nine penalties,” Fisch said. “We’ve got to be smart. We’ve got to be aggressive — we’ve got to be aggressive. They called (defensive pass interference), and that’s going to happen if we’re going to play aggressive man coverage. From time to time, that’s going to happen.
“We’re going to continue to work on our technique, and we’re going to continue to see if we can bring that penalty count down.”
Jacob Manu Out, Zaydris Rainey-Sale In
Senior linebacker Jacob Manu did not play in the game, as he and the team wait to see if the NCAA will change the redshirt rule or if he wins an injunction he recently filed to allow him the option to play a full season this year and return in 2026. Manu was injured in his seventh game last season, and missed the first three this year. He can play in two more regular-season games this year and be able to play another season of college football under the current redshirt rules.
“It’s a very unfortunate deal,” Fisch said. “He got hurt in Week 7 (last season). If he got hurt in Week 4, he’d be able to play two full years. If he got hurt in September, not in October, he’d be able to play two full years. We’re hopeful that that will change.”
Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, a true freshman linebacker who was UW’s top-rated recruit for the Class of 2025, saw his first action in a UW uniform Friday. Rainey-Sale, who was cleared to play last week after recovering from an ACL injury suffered last year at Bethell High School, recorded his first tackle of the season.
Xe’ree Alexander, who started in place of Manu, tied fellow linebacker Deven Bryant for the team lead with eight tackles against Rutgers.
