Minnesota Stuns Huskies at Home in Conference Opener

Much was expected of the Washington Huskies football team entering the 2026 season.

With the return of $4-plus million quarterback Demond Williams Jr., a stout defense and some highly touted yet inexperienced players around Williams, there was talk of being in the mix for a College Football Playoff.

After three uninspiring wins during a weak non-conference schedule, the Huskies’ thoughts of a strong season suffered a major setback with a 27-24 to midling Big Ten team Minnesota Saturday night in the conference opener at Husky Stadium.

The black uniforms looked cool, the band sounded good and the student section showed out. All else was essentially a mess for the Huskies. It was Washington’s first loss at Husky Stadium to an unranked opponent since a disaster of a 2021 season when UW finished 4-8.