Washington had reasons to feel good when the Big Ten schedule first dropped after the Huskies joined the league. At the time, 2026 looked like the soft landing spot: only four conference home games, no Michigan or Ohio State, and Penn State coming to Seattle. On paper, that looked like a break.
Now the picture is a lot uglier.
Indiana just won the national title. USC looks like it may finally be turning the corner under Lincoln Riley.
Oregon is still one of the hardest road trips in the sport, even after losing both coordinators, because it brought back so much from last year’s CFP team. Nebraska is never a simple visit, and Iowa can squeeze the life out of an offense anywhere.
Stack all of that together and Washington is staring at a schedule that could punish almost any mistake. The Huskies are likely to run into five top-25 caliber teams, plus Nebraska and Minnesota, two teams that could each win nine games if things break right.
Even if Washington is a solid top-20 team, 7-5 is still very much in play without any truly shocking upset losses. And the way the season closes is brutal: two teams that lost a combined zero games against anyone other than the national title winner.
That’s the outside pressure point. The deeper concern is what Washington lost from inside its own roster.
Last offseason, the expectation was that the transfer portal damage would be limited. With starting jobs opening up in key places, the hope was that the next wave of depth would stay intact.
Instead, 20 players left and signed with other schools. None of them had more than 600 career offensive or defensive snaps, so this wasn’t a mass exodus of established starters.
But 15 of those departures landed at power conference programs, which tells you other teams saw something worth chasing.
Some of those moves can be explained away. Caleb Smith, a three-star true freshman who never played, still found a spot at Alabama.
Fine. But the bigger issue is the kind of players Washington lost: Adam Mohammed, Zachary Henning, and Brice Butler were all in position to compete for starting roles this year and chose to go elsewhere.
Those are the kinds of rotational players who don’t always get the headline treatment, but they’re often the backbone of a strong roster after a couple of seasons of development.
That’s why the replacement plan matters so much. Washington is going to lean far more heavily on freshmen than it probably wanted to, rather than banking on sophomores and juniors stepping into those backup and starting jobs.
That can absolutely work. It can also go sideways fast if the young players aren’t ready.
There’s also the question of what Washington really was last season.
The optimistic version is easy enough to defend. The Huskies finished with a #13 ranking in SP+, and they earned it by doing what good teams are supposed to do: hammer weaker opponents.
They were also competitive against quality teams. In all four losses, Washington was within one score entering the fourth quarter, including two home games against top-five opponents and two road games in tough environments.
But the less flattering version is harder to ignore. Washington’s only win last year came against a team that finished in the top 60 of the final SP+ rankings.
The blowouts were real, but that alone doesn’t prove the Huskies were a true elite outfit. The offense, especially, disappeared too often against the best defenses on the schedule, and now Jonah Coleman and Denzel Boston are gone.
That loops back to the schedule problem. If Washington was inflated by dominating weaker teams, this fall could get uncomfortable in a hurry.
There won’t be nearly as many bottom-tier opponents to pad the record. The Huskies are going to have to show they can score 20-plus points against elite competition.
If they can’t, the season may be over before it really gets rolling.
In Other News...
Washingtons Defense Is Giving Huskies Fans Real Reason To Believe
A year into Ryan Walters tenure as defensive coordinator, Washington is counting on the side of the ball that kept it afloat to become the foundation of the season. The Huskies have reason to feel better about the pieces in front of him, with improvements expected in the linebacker corps, along the interior defensive line and across the secondary, giving the defense a chance to look less like a stabilizer and more like a strength.
There are still questions on offense, but John Mills is a name worth watching as he enters his second year and tries to take another step on a line that also includes freshman Kodi Greene. And while the football program is grinding through its own preseason buildup, Washington runners are making noise of a different kind at the World U20 Championships in Eugene, another reminder that the Huskies keep showing up on bigger stages than one roster alone. [Read more 🡒]
Isaiah Ward Could Answer One Big Question For Washingtons Pass Rush
Isaiah Ward has spent the offseason trying to put himself in position to be a steady presence on Washingtons edge, and the fifth-year defender sounds as if he has embraced the work that comes with that role. Ward spoke highly of the Huskies coaches and teammates, and his comments around the program suggested a player who feels comfortable in Seattle and eager to be part of a defense that believes it took steps forward.
The bigger question for Washington is how much Ward can hold up over the course of a full season, especially with the pass rush needing reliable production from veteran pieces. Wards confidence in the group, along with his excitement for the Apple Cup and the broader challenge ahead, adds another layer to a position that could help define how far the Huskies go this fall. [Read more 🡒]
Washington May Have Early Edge In A Huge 2028 Recruiting Battle
With fall camp underway and Washington already looking ahead to the 2026-27 season opener against Washington State, the Huskies are also keeping an eye on the recruiting trail. One of the more intriguing long-range targets is an elite edge rusher in the 2028 class, a prospect who has drawn plenty of attention from national recruiting services and remains one of the better-regarded players in Arizona.
Washington's pitch has some familiar footing, too. The Huskies already hold commitments from two of his Desert Edge High School teammates in the 2027 class, which gives the program a built-in connection as it continues to push for future frontline help. In a recruiting cycle that still has plenty of time to unfold, Washington appears to have positioned itself well in the chase for a player who could become one of the headliners of that class. [Read more 🡒]