Washington Huskies College Football Preview 2024: Key Players, Schedule, Season Predictions

Washington College Football Preview 2024

Granted, it’s because of the extra chances by advancing in the College Football Playoff, but the 2023 Washington football team won the most games in school history.

And by a lot.

The 1991 national champion won 12 games, and the 2016 team came up with a 12-win season before losing to Alabama in the CFP. Last year’s team might have come up short, but …

It won 14 games, the last - for now - Pac-12 Championship, beat Oregon twice, beat Texas once, took down USC in Los Angeles, Michigan State in East Lansing, walloped a Boise State team that won the Mountain West title, survived Utah, and in seemingly game after game came through in thrilling fashion. And in the end …

Washington played for the national title in the four team College Football Playoff era. Let that sink in for a moment.

USC never did that. Notre Dame, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Florida State, Tennessee, Penn State, Wisconsin, Miami and Texas A&M never got there, either.

Just eight college football programs - Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, TCU, Washington - will be able to claim that honor forever, because that’s it.

Getting to the national title in a 12 team era will have its own distinction, but you had to be really, really good - or catch the TCU break of a total Michigan brain melt - to run out of the tunnel with the national title on the line.

And now it’s all starting from close to scratch for Washington. It’ll be okay.

Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama. Okay, fine. If your spouse leaves you for Taylor or Travis you tip your hat, move on, and sleep well.

Do you know how bad Arizona was before Jedd Fisch got there? It went through three straight losing seasons, four in five years, and hadn’t won more than seven games wince 2014 when he took over.

Arizona State 70, Arizona 7. That was the last game of an 0-5 2020 season, and that’s what Fisch walked into.

He had to build up the lines, the talent level, the attitude, and the base of players to rely on. It was a struggle of a 1-11 2021 season, a solid improvement going 5-7 in 2022, and then last year his Wildcats went 10-3 and was about three plays away - everyone says stuff like this, but it’s real here - from pushing for a perfect regular season.

Replacing a ton of talent at Washington from a team that just played for the national championship isn’t nearly as heavy of a lift.

Yes, almost all of the key parts are gone, and no one in the Big Ten - oh yeah, that; it’s a big deal - has to replace more production.

This team is still good, it’ll have a gigantic chip on its shoulder - the “no one believes in us” thing is true - and now it doesn’t even have to win 13 games to get in to the new 12-team playoff.

Go 10-2, and that might be enough.

(Horrifically sorry to close this part on a dreadful cliché, but yeah … )

This isn’t a rebuild, it’s a reload.

(Ugh, that reads worse that I thought. I had to go with because it’s true, thanks to …)

Washington Football Preview 2024: Offense

- Brennan Carroll was Jedd Fisch’s offensive coordinator at Arizona, and now he’s coming up to Washington. How will things change?

Not as much of a reliance on downfield passing, a HUGE emphasis on completion percentage on midrange plays, and there should be a bit more control. Washington was great at hitting the third down plays last season, but Arizona was better.

Enter Will Rogers - the Mississippi State short-range passer who was the exact opposite to Michael Penix Jr.’s bombs-away style over the last two seasons. It’s not that he can’t throw down the field; it’s that it wasn’t really a part of the Bulldog style of offense. He won’t run, but in this attack he’ll connect on close to 70% of his throws.

- It’s not easy to move on from that Washington receiving corps. Rome Odunze (Chicago), Ja’Lynn Polk (New England) and Jalen McMillan (Tampa Bay) combined for over 3,000 yards last season. Star TE Jack Westover (Seattle Seahawks) is also gone, as is dangerous No. 4 WR Germie Bernard (Alabama).

Denzel Boston and Giles Jennings go from role players to lead roles, and getting Jeremiah Hunter from Cal - he caught 144 passes and 13 scores over the last three seasons - is a big deal.

- The offensive line won’t take nearly as long for Fisch to put together as it did at Arizona. There are some elite losses from last year’s front five. Even though it’s a wholesale change, the front five in place won’t be all that bad, and the transfer portal will help. Getting Drew Azzopardi from San Diego State is an instant fix at one tackle spot.

Dillon Johnson is done after running for close to 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns, but Jonah Coleman is coming with Fisch from Arizona after funning for close to seven yards per carry last season with 871 yards and five scores. Veteran Daniyel Ngata will get the first look at the backup job.

Washington Football Preview 2024: Defense

- Yup, new Washington defensive coordinator Stephen Belichick is his son. This is his first time ever running a defense - he was a positional coach for the Patriots over the last eight years - and he has some work to do.

Washington’s defense overall had just enough good moments to get by and came though when it absolutely had to. The transfer portal will help fill in the gaps, but …

- The linebacking corps should be a strength. Carson Bruener will be a big tacklers in the middle - he was third on the team with 86 stops - and Alphonzo Tuputala is a thumper who was fourth in 69 tackles.

They’ll clean everything up behind a line loaded with new guys. Part-time starter Jacob Bandes is back inside. Montana State’s Sebastian Valdez is a nice get for the nose, and Arizona’s Russell Davis and Isaiah Ward are coming in as instant pass rushing options.

- There’s enough talent back in the secondary to be okay. Losing Jabbar Muhammad and his 16 broken up passes to Oregon hurts, but getting CB Ephesians Prysock from Arizona helps - he’s a strong tackler - and Jordan Shaw from Indiana has to matter at one safety gig.

Elijah Jackson is a playmaker at one corner job, Kamren Fabiculanan is a decent safety, and there are plenty of options to work into a rotation.

Key To The Washington Football Season

Generate more of a pass rush and …

Stop giving up so many first downs.

The offense will take care of itself - it won’t be last year’s version, but it’ll still be strong - but the D has to start generating more big plays in the backfield.

Jedd Fisch’s Arizona team had a good pass rush, the defense allowed a not-horrible 19 first downs per game - by comparison, Michigan was amazing allowing just 13.3 per outing - and then there was Washington. The pass rush stunk, and the defense was 113th in the nation allowing 22.1 first downs per game.

Basically, be stingier on defense.

Washington Key Player

Will Rogers, QB Sr.
Demond Williams is the dangerous future star with lightning fast wheels and a good enough passing arm. He’s not big, but that’s fine - he’ll eventually fit what Fisch wants to do. For now, the team needs an experienced option.

In comes Will Rogers from Mississippi State as the four-year starting veteran under the late Mike Leach on through to Zach Arnett. He threw for 12,315 yards and 94 touchdowns in four seasons with just 28 interceptions.

No, he won’t be another Michael Penix Jr., but he should be a veteran who can ease the transition a bit.

Washington Football Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss

Top Transfer In: Drew Azzopardi, OT Soph.
To keep hammering this point, Jedd Fisch did wonders to turn around Arizona thanks to the improvement on the offensive front. Washington’s has to build a little bit, and that starts with the 6-7, 308-pound Azzopardi coming in from San Diego State. He still has some work to do and has to see more time, but the upside is enormous.

Top Transfer Out: Jabbar Muhammad, CB Sr.
The secondary will be okay, and there’s depth to come up with several options, but Muhammad is coming off a few massive seasons and now he’ll be a key part of the Alabama defensive backfield.

In his last year at Oklahoma State and first one at Washington he broke up 25 passes and made 94 stops.

Washington Key Game

Michigan, Oct. 5
If everything goes to plan, Washington should be 5-0 to start the season. Going to Rutgers is dangerous, and Northwestern isn’t a pushover, but yeah, 5-0. And then Michigan comes to town.

Beyond being a monster Big Ten matchup and national title rematch, it’s really a game between two rebuilding teams that need a win with bigger stuff happening over the second half of the year.

Washington still has to go on the road to face Iowa, Penn State, and Oregon - not to mention Indiana. Be good enough to win this, though, and there’s a real shot to push for ten wins.

10 Best Washington Football Players

1. Carson Bruener, LB Sr.
2. Jeremiah Hunter, WR Sr.
3. Will Rogers, QB Sr.
4. Jonah Coleman, RB Jr.
5. Drew Azzopardi, OT Soph.
6. Alphonzo Tuputala, LB Sr.
7. Ephesians Prysock, CB Jr.
8. Elijah Jackson, CB Jr.
9. Sebastian Valdez, DT Sr.
10. Landen Hatchett, C Soph.
Grady Gross, PK Jr.

Washington 2023 Fun Stats

- 4th Down Conversions: Washington 14-of-22 (64%), Opponents 15-of-37 (41%)

- Washington 2nd Quarter Score: 203, 3rd Quarter Score: 93

- Average Yards Per Carry: Opponents 4.7, Washington 4.3

Washington Football 2024 Win Total Prediction: What to Expect This Season

The schedule works out fine and the season should be good even if there aren’t enough big breaks in the Big Ten slate.

There’s one huge solid - no Ohio State. Not playing Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, and this year, Nebraska, should help. Illinois, Michigan State, and Purdue are also missing.

The big issue in the new Big Ten is that there aren’t two home games in a row. There’s the help with weeks off between road games at Iowa and Indiana, and late before going to Oregon for the regular season finale, but having to travel to Iowa and Penn State will be difficult.

Not dealing with the Buckeyes means there isn’t a game on the schedule Washington can’t win, and - no disrespect to Wazzu - there’s nothing from the non-conference slate to get into a twist over.

It won’t be another College Football Playoff season, even in an expanded field, but it’ll be a strong year of transition.

Set The Washington Win Total At … 8

Likely Wins: Eastern Michigan, Washington State, Weber State

50/50 Games: at Indiana, at Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, at Oregon, at Penn State, at Rutgers, UCLA, USC

Likely Losses: No apparent sure-thing losses

2024 Washington Football Schedule

Aug 31 Weber State
Sept 7 Eastern Michigan
Sept 14 Washington State
Sept 21 Northwestern
Sept 28 at Rutgers
Oct 5 Michigan
Oct 12 at Iowa
Oct 19 OPEN DATE
Oct 26 at Indiana
Nov 2 USC
Nov 9 at Penn State
Nov 16 UCLA
Nov 23 OPEN DATE
Nov 30 at Oregon

Missing: Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin