Analysis: How Many Games Will Washington Huskies Football Team Win This Season?
It’s not a common sight to see a University of Washington football team picked to finish 10th in its conference. That’s where the Huskies ended up in the preseason media poll, though, and it’s not as bad as it might sound.
🏈 KOTN Big Ten Preseason Poll results
🏈 54 voters who cover the Big Ten and national CFB
🏈 1-18 predicted order of finish, led by Penn State
🏈 1st-place votes: Penn State 35, Ohio State 18, Oregon 1 @B1Gfootball @BigTenNetwork https://t.co/GFcSLwGzUL pic.twitter.com/jlJzxaPdeb— Kings of the North (@KOTNCFB) July 21, 2025
This isn’t the Pac-10 or even the Pac-12. We’re talking about an 18-team Big Ten, which saw 10 teams finish the 2024 season with winning records.
The unofficial poll, conducted by the Kings of the North Podcast, included 54 voters and is considered the most comprehensive view of preseason expectations for the league. There was at least one representative who covers each team and 20 who cover college football nationally who participated.
It seems pretty hard to argue that the top three — Penn State, Ohio State and Oregon — don’t deserve to be up there. All three appear to be the most talented on paper. After that, there are a lot of question marks in the Big Ten, and a sound argument could be made for any of the teams ranked 4-12 to win eight games.
They won’t, of course. A couple of those teams will be in the playoff discussion, and a couple of others will fall apart.
Penn State ranked at the top is also a bit unfamiliar. The Nitanny Lions, however, have a ton of talent returning this season, including quarterback Drew Allar. Ohio State and Oregon have some key roles to fill, though both programs have elite talent to plug into those positions.
I would put the Huskies up a few spots, because I do think they will be improved in multiple places, including the offensive and defensive lines. However, they’re still not elite in those areas. Winning games at Michigan and at home against Ohio State and Oregon will be tall orders because of that. It wouldn’t be shocking, though, if Washington pulls off a stunner in one of the three.
To me, the optimistic view for Washington this season is to go into the regular season finale with an 8-3 record and the thought that, “If they somehow beat Oregon at home, UW could have a shot at a College Football Playoff spot.” Whatever happened in that game, it would be a fun Thanksgiving week leading up to it.
I’ll make official predictions as we get into fall camp, but I see 8-4 as about right if the Huskies stay healthy. A 7-win regular season would not be a surprise. Barring injury disasters, six wins seems like the floor while nine is the ceiling.
If Washington goes 8-4, that most likely means a 5-4 conference record. Last season, Michigan and Minnesota finished seventh and eighth, respectively, after 5-4 conference finishes.
While the top three seem solid, the next six teams above Washington have question marks. Is Illinois truly the fourth-best team in the league? The Illini visit Washington on Oct. 25, coming off a bye, and that could be a tipping-point game for both programs.
Can Michigan recover after a down year? All signs point toward yes, but the Wolverines will have to prove it under second-year coach Sherrone Moore.
Indiana went to the CFP last year. Was that a fluke? The Hoosiers had a favorable schedule in 2024, but will be on the road this year against Oregon and Penn State. We’ll learn a lot when Illinois visits Indiana on Sept. 20.
Is USC back? I would be pretty tempted to flip-flop USC and Washington in the Big Ten rankings. Lincoln Riley has a lot to prove this season.
Nebraska went 3-6 last season, so eighth feels a little high. I’d switch Iowa and Nebraska in the rankings.
The teams ranked Nos. 7-10 in the poll, in particular, all feel very similar — Good, not great teams who probably won’t fall on their faces but aren’t title contenders either. Someone will be shockingly good, and someone will be shockingly bad. That’s what makes college football so great despite the chaos.
