The University of Washington football fans who sat this one out, uninspired by the 8 p.m. kickoff and leaving huge gaps of empty seats throughout Husky Stadium, must have had a premonition.

Boos were evident from those who came.

Offense and defense were not.

It was a stinker, one of the worst in coach Jedd Fisch's time in Montlake.

On Saturday night, the Huskies found themselves up past their bed time, got beat in every facet of the game at times and were handed a rather disheartening 27-24 defeat by the Minnesota Gophers, a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team.

On this night, the Huskies (3-1 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) resembled the Mariners -- once harboring plenty of promise but continually striking out.

They tried trickery. Swapped out the offensive line. Went with three linebackers. Not much could change the course of this one.

Most telling, UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. was sacked 7 times.

Things began to unravel as soon as the Huskies took their first snap of their second offensive series.

Getting a running start, Minnesota edge rusher Anthony Smith had a clear shot at Williams and hit him as he threw, sending a fluttering football into the hands of linebacker Maverick Baranowski for an interception at the Husky 15.

The Gophers (3-1, 1-0) wasted no time in cashing in on this defensive gift. A play later, quarterback Drake Lindsey drilled a touchdown pass to freshman Quayd Hendryx on a crossing pattern in the end zone, beating new UW starting cornerback Elias Johnson, and this smackdown at home was on.

Fisch's third Husky team was simply not as good as everyone initially thought.

After a change of possessions, the Huskies trailed 14-0 as their once vaunted defense couldn't get in anyone's way in a Minnesota uniform. That was more surprising than anything else.

The Gophers quickly moved into scoring position after running back TJ Thomas got loose for a 45-yard to the Husky 20 in a most unexpected manner -- honors candidate safety Alex McLaughlin whiffed on a tackle.

Two plays later, the Gophers had their second touchdown when the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Lindsey hit wide receiver Jalen Smith on a 9-yard crossing pattern in the end zone, with the visitors picking on new starter Elias Johnson again.

Johnson was a replacment for Manny Karnley, out a second consecutive week with an unspecified leg injury.

With 1:57 left in the first quarter, the Huskies found themselves staring at a two-touchdown deficit for the first time this season.

The Huskies finally picked up their initial first down when Williams connected with tight end Baron Naone on a 16-yard pass play to their 42.1q2

Six plays later, Williams dumped a pass to the right side to Dezmen Roebuck, who slipped round the corner, dove for the end zone and reached the ball over the pylon for a 16-yard touchdown pass. At 13:09 in the second quarter, the Huskies trailed 14-7.

Minnesota immediately responded with an 11-play, 74-yard drive, capped by Davon Tracy's 6-yard scoring catch to boost the lead back to 21-7.

Struggling to get any conventional offense going, Fisch called for a double-reverse pass that saw the ball flipped to a pair of receivers before it ended up back in Williams' hands and he threw a 30-yard strike to tight end Decker DeGraaf.

That bit of trickery, however, landed the Huskies just three points on Tyler Robles' 33-yard field goal with 1:56 left in the half and it was 21-10.

At halftime, Fisch's team had 120 yards of total offense and six first downs and things looked bleak.

Minnesota went up 24-10 on Luke Drzewiecki's 31-yard field goal before the Huskies finally made a game out of it.

After the teams trade interceptions, the UW moved 66 yards to score early in the fourth quarter on a hope play.

With Williams under a heavy rush, he lobbed one toward the end zone where Naone pulled the ball in for a 15-yard TD catch. He might have pushed off a little, but nothing was called. The UW trailed just 24-17 with 11:03 left.

The defense, however, couldn't get a stop. It held the Gophers to a field goal, a 51-yarder by Drzewiecki, that turned out to be a most critical kick, with the Huskies now trailig 27-17 with 7:28 left to play.

At the 1:53 mark Williams scampered into the end zone from 13 yards out to pull the UIW within 27-24, but there wasn't enough time or firepower to pull this one out.

All he did was make the game seem closer than it was.