Jedd Fisch had kind words to say to Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck ahead of the Huskies' Big Ten opener.
SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies football team (3-0) is set to begin its Big Ten slate with a game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 8 p.m. PT on Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle.
The Huskies will be marketing the game as a blackout and will don black jerseys to fit the night game atmosphere.
Both teams will be looking for their fourth Power Four win of the season. Washington's nonconference schedule was comprised of games against two Group of Six teams, the Pac-12's Washington State Cougars and Utah State Aggies, and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team, the Eastern Washington Eagles.
Minnesota came out on top against FCS team, the Eastern Illinois Panthers, and Group of SIx teams the Akron Zips.
The Golden Gophers' one other nonconference game came against the No. 24 Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sept. 12, which Minnesota lost 38-13.
Despite the Golden Gophers coming out on the losing end against their one "true" test of the season, Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch was extremely complimentary of his Saturday opponents, a school he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of in 2009.
"I think it was 1977 the last time we played University of Minnesota here," Fisch said in a weekly news conference Monday at Husky Stadium. "We're excited about the chance to have them here. (Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck) does an amazing job. I have all the respect in the world for him. Known him for a very long time. His team's extremely well-coached. ... I've always been very impressed with him. I know how hard it is to win at Minnesota. Coached there back in 2009 and he does an incredible job at getting that done."
The respect apparently goes both ways, as Fleck showed respect to Fisch's quarterback, third-year signal-caller Demond Williams Jr., in a recent interview.
"Demond is one of the best players in the Big Ten," Fleck said in his own Monday news conference, which was shared in an article written by Tony Liebert for Bring Me The Sports. "It’s not just his arm. He can throw hash to sideline, they spread you out sideline to sideline, but they can work really, really tight too (and) put you down in 13 personnel. He’s a great runner; he’s not just looking to run, he’s throwing the football. And then if you break down in coverage and give him a lane, he’s going to run for a long time."
The last time the two teams faced each other was on Oct. 1, 1977, in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers won that game 19-17. The two sides faced the year before Oct. 2, 1976, and the Huskies won 38-7.
Washington and Minnesota have faced 17 times all-time, with the Golden Gophers owning the advance 10-7 in the all-time series.
