Washington Huskies Penn State football rematch, Digi Mart USA News (Husky Stadium, Seattle): Two days shy of two years will have passed when the University of Washington football team faces Penn State again, this time in the friendlier confines of Husky Stadium with far fewer fireworks.
Not much remains from their previous meeting in State College, Pennsylvania, where the Nittany Lions won 35-6 at Beaver Stadium. The result was the most lopsided loss of Jedd Fisch’s tenure as Washington coach in terms of margin and points scored, and 110,223 fans attended the game along with an elaborate pregame pyrotechnics display.
Penn State has a new coach in Matt Campbell, who has a former Husky assistant coach and player, Ikaika Malloe, on his staff as defensive-line coach. Since that game, the teams have also had some crossover, as Washington welcomed former Penn State wide receiver Omari Evans last year after he played a small role against the Huskies in 2024.
The Huskies will field a team with just three starters returning from the 2024 game: offensive tackle Drew Azzopardi, wide receiver Rashid Williams and tight end Decker DeGraaf. Five more players who appeared as reserves in the previous meeting are also still with the program: quarterback Demond Williams Jr., offensive tackle Soane Faasolo, defensive tackle Elinneus Davis, edge rusher Isaiah Ward and edge rusher Russell Davis II.
As a freshman in that earlier game, Demond Williams played the entire second half against the Nittany Lions and logged 31 snaps in his first extended action for the Huskies. On his first offensive snap, following a Washington fumble recovery at the Penn State 34, Williams threw a pass to DeGraaf that was just out of his fellow freshman’s reach at the 25, and a possible touchdown was lost.
Afterward, Fisch discussed the physical disparity between the teams and said his recruiters would be seeking bigger and stronger players going forward. Penn State has just two starters still around from the 2024 game, offensive guard Anthony Donkah and linebacker Tony Rojas, and kicker Ryan Barker is also back.
Two backups, center Dominic Rulli and wide receiver Ethan Black, are also still coming off the bench for the Nittany Lions. Beyond those players, few familiar faces remain in this Big Ten reunion, as the rest of the evidence from the earlier meeting has largely faded with time.
