After semi-White Outs against Illinois and Ohio State, Penn State football hosts the Washington Huskies in the official White Out at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

The Nittany Lions are coming off a 20-13 loss to the Buckeyes, their first of the season. Meanwhile, the Huskies edged USC 26-21 in Seattle last week. Before Saturday night’s contest kicks off, let’s preview Washington ahead of its first visit to Beaver Stadium.

The Team

Washington is 5-4 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play. The team has only one loss at Husky Stadium, which is notable given the Seattle venue is considered one of the toughest places to play in college football.

The entire Washington program underwent significant changes this offseason. After guiding the Huskies to a 2024 national championship appearance, head coach Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama’s coaching vacancy. Thirty-one players transferred, and 10 went to the NFL. Among those 10 players were quarterback Michael Penix Jr., wideout Rome Odunze, and offensive lineman Troy Fautanu, who were first-round selections.

Twenty-eight players transferred into the program, many of them now starters. Jedd Fisch took over the coaching job after going 16-21 in three years at Arizona, although he went 10-3 in his final season.

Steve Belichick, son of legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick, is Washington’s defensive coordinator. Brennan Carroll, son of longtime USC and Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, is the offensive coordinator. Both are in their first season in their respective positions.

Washington averages 23.6 points per game while holding opponents to 19 per game.

Penn State owns a 3-0 series lead over Washington. The most recent matchup was a 35-28 victory in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.

Offense

Senior Will Rogers is Washington’s starting quarterback. He has 2,284 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a 71.1% completion rate. The former Mississippi State Bulldog had 12,315 passing yards, 94 touchdowns, 28 interceptions, and a 69.3% completion rate over four seasons in Starkville.

Jonah Coleman leads the Huskies with 889 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Cameron Davis, the second string, has 190 yards and no touchdowns.

While Coleman is the only player used consistently in the run game, the same can’t be said for the passing game. Denzel Boston is Rogers’ No. 1 receiver with 682 yards and nine touchdowns, but former Michigan Wolverine Giles Jackson has 597 yards and two touchdowns. The No. 3 is Jeremiah Hunter, who has 312 yards and a touchdown. All three players have at least 10 yards per catch.

Washington’s starting tight end is Keleki Latu, with 306 receiving yards. Decker DeGraaf, his understudy, has 182 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Soane Faasolo and Gaard Memmelaar start at left tackle and left guard. D’Angalo Titialii is Washington’s starting center. Meanwhile, Drew Azzopardi and Enokk Vimahi start at right tackle and guard.

Defense

Washington’s defense is among the nation’s best. It is the No. 10 total defense, No. 2 in passing defense, but No. 71 in run defense.

Linebackers Carson Bruener and Alphonzo Tuputala lead Washington with 67 and 50 tackles. Bruener has three interceptions, while Tuputala has 2.5 sacks.

In front of Bruener and Tuputala is a defensive line that includes Sebastian Valdez, who has 31 tackles and a sack. Jacob Bandes, who lines up next to him, has 20 tackles and an interception. Voi Tunuufi, with 26 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble is one of the edge rushers alongside Isaiah Ward, who has 18 tackles, three sacks, and two breakups. Zach Durfee doesn’t start, but he still has 15 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one pass breakup.

Kamren Fabiculanan anchors the Husky secondary. The safety has 36 tackles, two interceptions, and two pass breakups. Alongside him is Cameron Broussard, who has 22 tackles and a pass breakup. Makell Esteen, who has 27 tackles, also gets playing time.

Thaddeus Dixon, Ephesians Prysock, and Jordan Shaw are Washington’s starting cornerbacks. Dixon leads the group with 27 tackles, eight breakups, and one pick. Prysock has 24 tackles and five pass breakups, while Shaw, who plays as a nickelback, has 25 tackles and six breakups.

Special Teams

Grady Gross has made 13 of 20 field goal attempts with a season-high of 45 yards, and he’s averaging 60.5 yards per kickoff. Meanwhile, Jack McCallister is averaging 44.56 yards per punt from 27 punts, with nine landing inside the 20-yard line and at least six traveling at least 50 yards.

Boston is averaging 6.7 yards over 10 punt returns. On kickoffs, Keith Reynolds is averaging 23.54 yards over 13 returns.