Washington’s 2026 path in the Big Ten looks manageable in stretches, but the league’s new reality is going to test Jedd Fisch’s team in the places that matter most.
CBS Sports analyst Brad Crawford’s latest win-loss projection has the Huskies finishing 9-3 in the regular season. That’s a strong mark on paper, yet it still leaves Washington on the wrong side of the College Football Playoff conversation because of what awaits away from home.
Crawford’s model sees Washington handling the games it should. In non-conference play, the Huskies are projected to beat Washington State, Utah State and Eastern Washington. Inside the Big Ten, the predicted wins include Nebraska, Minnesota, Purdue, Penn State, Michigan State and Indiana.
"Washington has enough balance and experience to stack wins and stay inside the top 25 deep into November," Crawford wrote.
The trouble starts when the schedule turns hostile. The projection has Washington dropping road games at USC and Oregon, and also taking a home loss to Iowa. Those are the kinds of results that can flatten a playoff push before it ever gets real traction.
"The road schedule is unforgiving, and losses at USC and Oregon will be the setbacks that keep the Huskies out of CFP contention against competition that's built to punish mistakes at home," Crawford noted.
Crawford added that if Williams can raise his level and "steal one against the Trojans or the Ducks," Washington could work its way back into the playoff bracket for the first time under Fisch. Until then, the Huskies are projected to stay outside the national title picture.
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Washington enters Jedd Fischs third season with a roster that looks built to keep climbing, not slide backward. The Huskies have key offensive pieces back in place, including Demond Williams Jr., Dezmen Roebuck, Decker DeGraaf and four of five starting offensive linemen, while the defense is also getting a fresh look with new starters at cornerback. After the upheaval that followed the programs post-playoff turnover, Fisch has already taken the Huskies from a 6-7 first year to a 9-4 finish, and that kind of continuity usually earns a little more respect than this group is getting.
Instead, several betting sites have set Washingtons win total below last seasons mark, as if the Huskies are due for a step back before they even take the field. The Athletics preseason top 25 poll is more bullish, slotting Washington 14th and pointing to the returning core and incoming talent as reasons for optimism. Even so, the gap between how the market is pricing this team and how it is being viewed by national voters says plenty about the challenge ahead for a program still trying to prove it belongs among the sports more stable contenders. [Read more 🡒]
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McDuffies latest milestone only adds to the sense that his career has moved into a different tier, and it comes after the kind of transaction that can reshape a players future in a hurry. The former Husky was originally drafted by Kansas City, then moved on in a trade that sent multiple draft picks the other way before he landed his new extension, a sequence that now looks even more consequential given where his market has gone and how highly he is regarded across the league. [Read more 🡒]