Huskies DC Ryan Walters, who was the head coach at Purdue, discussed the upcoming game between the two Big Ten rivals
The Washington Huskies football team are coming off their most disappointing loss of the season.
The Huskies entered their last game against the Wisconsin Badgers on Nov. 8 ranked No. 23 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Before that game, Washington had a small but very real chance at making the CFP if it won out and several Big Ten rivals suffered losses.
The Huskies dropped the game to the unranked Badgers 13-10, effectively ending their chances at the third CFP in program history.
Despite the loss, Washington still has a chance to end the season on a solid note.
The Huskies have three more games left in the season against Purdue, UCLA and No. 7 Oregon. Washington's game against Purdue will be at 4 p.m. PT on Nov. 15 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.
The game against the Boilermakers could be a perfect get-right game for the Huskies. Purdue will enter the game 2-8 overall and 0-7 in the Big Ten.
It will also mark a reunion for one of the coaches on Washington's coaching staff.
Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters coached the Boilermakers from 2023-24. Walters had a 5-19 record while coaching the Boilermakers and was fired at the end of last season.
On Jan. 3, Washington coach Jedd Fisch hired Walters as defensive coordinator.
In a news conference Tuesday, Walters talked about facing his former team.
"I've already had the reflection period as far as my time there," Walters said in the news conference. "For me, personally, it's another Big Ten game that we need to play well, especially coming off of last week. So that's just been the focus, is on how to improve, how to give our guys a chance to have success to win a ball game at home and right the wrongs of a week ago."
Walters' defense was one of the few highlights for the Dawgs in the loss against Wisconsin but he still had some takeaways on how the unit could improve.
"I really, really would have liked to get a stop when we had turned it over (against the Badgers), backed up and forced a field goal," Walters said. "To me, that's when you take the next step as an elite defense, when you get opportunities like that in games where you know the score might be 10-6 or 13-10 like it was. You get in those situations, those moments, you can't take the field frantic. You got to be super dialed, super locked in and do everything you can to get a stop."
Walters defense has been one of the better units in the Big Ten this season. The Huskies rank eight in the 18-team conference in yards allowed per game (318.9) and eighth in points allowed per game (20.0).
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