Washington Huskies 2026 College Football Preview & Predictions

Year 2 of the Jedd Fisch era saw Washington improve from 6-7 to 9-4 after the program was completely gutted following its appearance in the National Championship. Kalen DeBoer’s departure to Alabama followed this move. The addition of DC Ryan Walters resulted in a much-improved defense, while Fisch is clearly in charge of the offense.

Washington Huskies Snapshot

• 2025 Record: 9-4 (5-4) | Big Ten Finish: 7th (tied)
• P. Poll: No. 17 | Coaches Poll: No. 19 | SP+: No. 21
• Head Coach: Jedd Fisch (3rd Year) | Record: 32-33 | At Washington: 15-11
• Offensive Coordinator: Jedd Fisch (1st Year)
• Defensive Coordinator: Ryan Walters (2nd Year)

The program dealt with the potential loss of QB Demond Williams Jr., which resulted in some sleepless nights in Seattle before Fisch convinced his star player to return. Is that enough to continue their upward trajectory?

Washington Futures Odds (DraftKings)

• Regular Season Wins: OVER 7.5 -170 | UNDER 7.5 +140
• Conference Wins: OVER 5.5 -134 | UNDER 5.5 -170
• National Championship Odds: +12000 | CFB Playoff Odds: YES +390 | NO -575
• B1G Championship Odds: +2400 | To Reach B1GCG: +700

The Huskies are an interesting team in that they are -170 to go OVER 7.5 wins, while their conference wins total is at 5.5 (not 4.5) despite an easy out-of-conference schedule, with the UNDER juiced heavily at -170. Washington is squarely in the Big Ten’s second tier, right there with USC, Michigan, and Penn State, in the polls and odds. While they’re fourth in the pecking order, the Huskies are closer to USC than they are Iowa. Basically, the sportsbooks are saying there’s a chance.

Washington Preview: Why You Should Buy

• Returning Production: 65 percent (16th nationally)
• 155 Returning Starts (fifth in B1G)
• QB + 4/5 of Offensive Line is Back

It’s clear, Fisch is building something in Washington. The offense returns 69 percent of its production and, more importantly, its highly productive quarterback, as well as four starters along the offensive line. It all begins with Williams, who accounted for 31 touchdowns in his first season as a starter: 25 passing and six rushing. The dynamic dual-threat has a big-time arm and elite escapability. Williams led all Big Ten quarterbacks with 611 rushing yards. The true junior ensures a high ceiling and floor for the Huskies.

The blocking up front will be huge, and the program believes this is its best offensive line under Fisch. Left guard John Mills is an absolute stud coming off his freshman All-American season, with seniors Landen Hatchett and Drew Azzopardi manning center and right tackle. Also, back is right guard Geirean Hatchett, who is competing with former four-star Champ Taulealea, who played well in limited duty as a true freshman.

Washington Preview: Why You Should Sell

• Fisch Record as Underdog at Washington: 1-8
• Fisch Record vs. Ranked Teams at Washington: 1-4
• Fisch Record in Big Ten Road Games: 2-8

Do you trust the Huskies and Fisch to win the tough games? Not only are they 1-8 as underdogs over the past two seasons, but they were also underdogs by five points or less in five of those games. During that same time, they lost twice as a six-point favorite in the five games they were favored by a touchdown or less. They’ve been able to bully inferior teams but haven’t shown the ability to step up in class.

Speaking of stepping up in class, the Huskies are 1-4 versus ranked teams under Fisch. Their lone win came against Michigan in 2024, a Wolverines team that finished the regular season 6-6 and was far from ranked. In the other four games, they lost by 29, 28, 18, and 12 points. Washington also hasn’t traveled well. They are 2-8 in Big Ten road games over the past seasons, including five losses by 14-plus points. Their wins both came last season, over Maryland (who lost their final eight games) and UCLA, with an interim coach (4th loss in a row, a five-game losing streak to end the season).

Washington Breakout Player: Offensive Skill Players

• Jayden Limar: 7 YPP (46 carries with Oregon)
• Dezmen Roebuck: Freshman All-American

The best two players Washington lost were WR Denzel Boston and RB Jonah Coleman. The Huskies also replace RB2 and WR3 with their leading returning running back, Jordan Washington, who is unlikely to play (neck injury). Former Oregon Duck Jayden Limar averaged 5.7 YPC last season but battled injuries. With a career-high of 262 yards, Limar will have a chance to prove he’s a legitimate RB1. Batting for reps will be redshirt freshman Quaid Carr, who impressed in the spring. At receiver, Dezmen Roebuck (42-560-7 TDs) appears ready to take over as WR1. At the same time, junior Rashid Williams (missed 10 games with injury), sophomore Chris Lawson, and true freshmen Jordan Clay and Trez Davis are all former four-star recruits competing for playing time alongside Roebuck.

Washington X-Factor: The Newcomers

• 5-Star Freshman Kodi Greene
• 247Composite Class of 2026: 13th Ranked Class

We already mentioned Limar as a starter. They also added RB Trey Cooley, who has 1,009 career yards (4.7 YPC) at Louisville and Georgia Tech. Along the defensive line, transfers Darin Conley (Ball State) and Logan George (Ohio State) could start or provide depth. CB Emmanuel Karnley was their most-important portal addition. He started his career with Fisch at Arizona and fills a key role in Walters’s defense, which relies heavily on man-to-man coverage.

Even more intriguing is Washington’s freshman class. In two seasons, Fisch has produced five freshmen All-Americans, so he’s not afraid to use the “first-round picks,” as he calls them, as rookies. Expected to start on what is mostly an experienced offensive line is true freshman left tackle Kodi Greene, the sixth-highest-rated recruit at Washington in the 247Sports era. In a recent interview, Fisch also touted true freshman Derek Colman-Brusa (top 150) as the likely starter at the three-technique, and Jeron Jones (4-star) as ready to run with the first unit at cornerback.

Washington Schedule Analysis

• SP+ SOS Rank: 23
• Phil Steele Toughest Schedules: 44

The Huskies open the season with four games they should win: Washington State, Utah State, Eastern Washington, and Minnesota. The bad news is they have to play five Big Ten road games again. It’s not all bad, as their toughest road games come in the Pacific time zone against Oregon and USC. They also play at Purdue and Michigan State, and while that means traveling multiple time zones, those might be the two worst teams in the Big Ten.

They also host Indiana, Iowa, and Penn State. They should be favored in two of those games, as the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions have to travel multiple time zones. The Huskies play two of the B13 and five of seven ranked teams, missing only Ohio State and Michigan.

Washington Best Bet, Long Shot, and Prediction: OVER/UNDER 7.5 Wins

• Win Total: OVER 7.5 Regular Season Wins (-170 @ DraftKings)
• Best Bet: OVER 7.5 Regular Season Wins (-170 @ DraftKings)
• Long Shot: Exactly 8 wins (+295 @ DraftKings)

If they do start 4-0 as expected, can the Huskies avoid bad losses at Michigan State and Purdue? If so, that means they need to find two wins against USC, Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State, Indiana, and Oregon. Three of those games are at home, and they should be favored at least twice. If they win all the games they’re favored in and lose the games as underdogs, that gets them to 8-4 or even 9-3, which is why OVER is more likely.

You can also make a strong case for taking them to win fewer than 5.5 conference games. If they don’t get a win against USC (road), Indiana, or Oregon (road), we’d only need them to slip once, either on the road (Purdue, Nebraska, Michigan State) or as a small favorite against Iowa or Penn State. History tells us that is more likely than not to happen. If you see them winning six conference games (+134), go with OVER 8.5 wins (+144).