Coming off consecutive double-digit win seasons and an appearance in the national title game, Washington had a losing record last year in their debut under Jeff Fisch. However, with the issues that came with year one gone, the Huskies could be back in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff, in the opinion […]
Coming off consecutive double-digit win seasons and an appearance in the national title game, Washington had a losing record last year in their debut under Jeff Fisch. However, with the issues that came with year one gone, the Huskies could be back in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff, in the opinion of Greg McElroy.
McElroy recently tiered the teams in the Big Ten on ‘Always College Football’. Washington appeared on tier two, along with USC, Michigan, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, as a playoff contender in his eyes.
“This is a team that is flying under the radar going into this year. But, man, you need to start to wake up for what this team could accomplish,” said McElroy.
Much of that has to do with the improvement McElroy expects after what all came with Fisch’s first season in Seattle. This offseason, he didn’t have to deal with what all came with the coaching change, namely the amount of departures they had coming off their runner-up finish in the playoff. Which, considering how many key players they did lose, McElroy did give them credit for managing to finish at .500.
“We all know the domino effect that existed from Nick Saban’s retirement and the challenges that Jedd Fisch had to endure when Kalen DeBoer left to become the head coach at Alabama. There was a little bit of a roster exodus, only two returning starters returning from the year before. So, at the start of the season last year, they had just 56 scholarship players at the start of spring ball,” said McElroy. “You look at their schedule? They played seven of the top-ten teams from the Big Ten last year. They also lost the Apple Cup, got blown out in Penn State’s Whiteout. So you kind of look at everything, the fact that they even got to 6-6 isn’t that bad. You get a win over Michigan. That was pretty significant to avenge that loss in the national championship game the year before.”
“I think the record last year was not reflective of what this team could be this upcoming year,” McElroy added. “I think you get a second-year coach bonus boost from Jedd Fisch.”
Now, with that, both units, with names actually coming back this fall, could be better this season for the Huskies. That’s with QB Demond Williams taking over the offense with upside as a sophomore starter while DC Ryan Walters takes control of the defense after a two-year stint as a head coach.
“The reason why I’m so optimistic about Washington this year, though, is Demond Williams,” McElroy stated. “We got to see a little bit of him and then he got going a little bit…I think he has a chance to be a superstar in college football. And, if he reaches his potential, then look out. This Washington team could become a real problem.”
“(Fisch)…brought in Ryan Walters as the defensive coordinator – who’s outstanding in the coordinator role even though it did not work out for him as a head coach,” said McElroy. “This guy knows what he’s doing. This group should be pretty stable kind of across the board.”
What also should help Washington in McElroy’s eyes is their slate for this season. The Huskies go from a difficult schedule a year ago, especially against the conference from October on, to one that’s more manageable this year if they want to contend both in the Big Ten and for a possible spot in the CFP.
“I think the schedule goes from being one of the hardest to one of the most gettable,” said McElroy. “They draw five of the Big Ten’s bottom-eight teams, so that should be really helpful. They do get Ohio State but that game is at home. They’re at Michigan on October 18th – that’ll be tough. They also draw Oregon in the final game of the regular season. They’ll go to Washington State in the Apple Cup. They’ll go to Wisconsin, they’ll go to UCLA. You look at the rest of their schedule? It’s kind of gettable. You get Illinois at home, you get Purdue at home, you get Rutgers at home.”
“I think things are kind of lining up right now to allow Washington to slip into sleeper mode here, if Demond Williams at quarterback can take that next step,” McElroy said.
Category: General Sports
