Season Preview: Which Games Will Washington Win and Who Will Stand Out For Huskies?
The predictions for the 2025 Washington Huskies football team are all over the place.
FOX analyst Joel Klatt said the Huskies could be this year’s Indiana, which means 10 or 11 wins and one of 12 spots in the College Football Playoff. Most Vegas lines have UW’s over-under of 6.5 or 7.5 wins. Washington was not among the 49 teams to receive votes in the Associated Press Poll, and the Huskies were ranked 10th in the Big Ten media’s unofficial poll. Some members of the press, however, are thinking 8-10 wins.
So, who are the 2025 Washington Huskies?
Much of it will come down to the expectations for sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. He’s displayed elite abilities as a runner and NFL-level arm strength in limited duty as a true freshman and through spring and fall practices.
Those who say he’s a potential conference player of the year and Heisman candidate point to 78.1 percent completion percentage and an 8-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio last season, which included 374 yards and four touchdowns against Louisville in the Sun Bowl.
To argue that he’s not ready to lead a team to the CFP, people can point to the 15 combined sacks he took in his two starts against Oregon and Louisville, and the number of backups who played for the Cardinals in Williams’ breakout bowl game.
Another point of debate is the offensive line, which was mostly dismal in 2024 after the NFL draft and portal losses following the departure of coach Kalen DeBoer.
The 2025 line will need to stay healthy for the Huskies, because the depth is mostly in the form of freshmen and other inexperienced players. But left tackle Carver Willis and right guard Geirean Hatchett are massive upgrades. A fully healthy Landen Hatchett is an improvement at center. Drew Azzopardi appeared to take some steps forward during the offseason. The left guard spot — expected to be either true freshman John Mills or redshirt freshman Paki Finau — lacks experience, but the talent is there.
The defensive line is much bigger and deeper than last year, which should allow Washington to hold up better against top Big Ten offensive lines. Senior 6-4 cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock look to be one of the better tandems in the country, which will allow first-year defensive coordinator Ryan Walters to be creative with blitzes.
I think the offense will show flashes and occasionally struggle. Williams will bail the team out often with his legs, and Jonah Coleman will be one of the college football’s best running backs. The defense — though lacking elite pass rushers outside of potentially Zach Durfee — could be one of the top units in the country with Walters pulling the strings.
I’m not quite ready to send this team to the CFP, unless there’s a lot of carnage in college football and 9-3 is good enough to get a couple of teams in. A valid argument could be made for six losses, but I wouldn’t scoff at anyone who laid out a map to 10 wins.
The toughest games would seem to be at home against Ohio State, Illinois, and Oregon, and on the road at Michigan, Wisconsin, and UCLA.
A 3-0 start against Colorado State, UC Davis, and at Washington State for the Apple Cup is a must. I see UW winning three of the six tougher games to get to nine wins. While that would mean likely falling short of a playoff appearance, a 9-3 season would be a massive step forward in Fisch’s second year and potentially set the Huskies up for an even bigger 2026.
Players to Watch: Offense
Williams, Coleman and receiver Denzel Boston all seem to be headed for big seasons. The receiving targets appear to be up for grabs after that. It’ll be interesting to see how much true freshmen Raiden Vines-Bright and Dezmen Roebuck get involved as the season goes along. Wide receiver Rashid Williams and tight end Decker DeGraaf will likely finish second and third, respectively, in targets with Vines-Bright, Roebuck, senior Omari Evans and others fighting for whatever’s left.
Read more about the expected depth chart here, or watch the Spectrum’s video here.
Players to Watch: Defense
If he can stay healthy, Durfee has all the makings of an elite edge player. Safety Alex McLaughlin, a transfer from Northern Arizona, will make some highlight reel tackles during the season. The growth at the nickel spot, whether it’s Leroy Bryant or Rahshawn Clark, will be a key to the defense while Davis and Prysock lock up the outsides. We’ll also see who emerges on the edge opposite Durfee, and who among the improved defensive line gets the most snaps. True freshman safety Rylon Dillard-Allen could be fun to watch if he gets some time. He plays with an edge and is another big hitter.
Read more about the expected depth chart here, or watch the Spectrum’s video here.
Game Predictions
So, how does this look game by game?
Just to be clear, my preseason predictions will not necessarily match my weekly predictions as we go through the season. We’ll keep track of both. But, if Purdue becomes a national powerhouse, that weekly prediction may look wildly different than it does in this preseason piece.
For 2024, I was 9-3 straight up. Good picks were calling an upset win over Michigan and the Friday night loss at Rutgers. Bad picks were the Apple Cup, the win over USC, and a loss to an Indiana team that was much better than I expected.
Rankings are from the preseason AP Poll. Game times are TBD unless specified.
Colorado State at Washington
August 30 (8 PM, Big Ten Network)
We’ll have a more detailed preview of this game in a few days. I expect Washington to start slowly in the opener and pull away in the second half. If I were a betting man, I wouldn’t touch that 20-point spread, as I could see a couple of knees by UW at the end with a double-digit lead. The Rams feature third-year starting quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and might be a bowl team this season. The Huskies, though, have more playmakers and overall talent than the Mountain West Conference opponent.
Pick: Washington 31-13
UC Davis at Washington
September 6 (8 PM, Big Ten Network)
Former UW coach Chris Petersen’s alma mater is a strong team in the FCS Big Sky Conference. The Aggies made it to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Division I FCS playoffs before falling to South Dakota. The Huskies should be able to impose their will against the lower division team, though, and I expect that half the fans will head for the Zone at halftime and never quite make it back to their seats.
Pick: Washington 42-10
Washington at Washington State
September 20 (4:30 PM, CBS)
I hesitate to call this a rematch, because so few players involved in WSU’s 24-19 win over Washington at Lumen Field last season remain at the schools. The Cougs took the biggest hit, though, losing most of their roster and their head coach. It’s always tough to play in Pullman, but the returning Huskies will have revenge on their minds and a decisive advantage in talent.
Pick: Washington 35-17
No. 3 Ohio State at Washington
September 27
I caught some pregame flak last year for picking UW to beat Michigan, and I’ll use similar logic for this matchup. Ohio State is loaded with talent, but lost 14 players to the NFL draft. Redshirt freshman Julian Sayin’s first college road start will be at Husky Stadium, which will be rocking for the defending national champions. While the Buckeyes will be coming off a bye, that should be somewhat mitigated by two relatively easy wins for UW leading into this game. I think Ohio State will be surprised by the environment, and I’m just saying that Sayin will make a couple of mistakes against the Huskies 6-4 cornerbacks.
Pick: Washington, 24-23
Washington at Maryland
October 4
This is a pretty soft landing for UW after traveling across the country for its first conference road game. It could be a bit of a slog, but the Terrapins are not very good. Demond Williams Jr. should be able to put up some solid numbers against a Maryland defense that ranked 106th against the pass last season.
Pick: Washington 31-18
Rutgers at Washington
October 10 (6 PM, FS1)
I picked the Scarlet Knights to win last year because it was a cross-country trip to Piscataway, N.J. for a Friday game. The reverse is true this year. Washington’s Grady Gross missed three field goals in last year’s 21-18 loss. A lot more bad things would have to happen for Rutgers to win the Friday game this year on Montlake.
Pick: Washington 38-17
Washington at No. 14 Michigan
October 18
This will be the first tough road environment for the 2025 Huskies as they play in front of 107,000-plus Michigan Stadium fans, many of whom will have revenge on their minds after Washington’s 2024 win. I’m not sure the Wolverines will be ranked 14th by the time this game is played, but they’ve got enough talent to beat West Coast teams making the cross-country trip. UW will have an extra day to prepare for this one, and it should be a pretty good matchup.
Pick: Michigan 27-20
No. 12 Illinois at Washington
October 25
We’ll find out which of these teams is the real deal. The Fighting Illini head into the season with some picking them to be a playoff team. They’ll enter Husky Stadium after a bye, but may be licking their wounds after facing Ohio State on October 11. I’m not buying the Illinois hype, and I think this will be the Illini’s third loss of the season.
Pick: Washington 26, Illinois 21
Washington at Wisconsin
November 8
Wisconsin has a brutal schedule this year, and may have 3-4 losses entering this game. The Huskies will be riding high entering this game with a 7-1 record coming off a bye. I think they come back to earth in what might be considered an upset loss. It’s another long trip to a tough environment, and the Badgers will also have the benefit of a bye. I see this as a “what could have been… sigh…” type of loss when UW finishes just outside the CFP.
Pick: Wisconsin 23-16
Purdue at Washington
November 15
Purdue might go winless in the Big Ten this season, and I could see them being three-touchdown underdogs to the Dawgs for this one. The UW football team should feast on the Boilermakers, and Washington fans might be back to drinking them in the Montlake parking lot by halftime.
Pick: Washington 44-14
Washington at UCLA
November 22
Much of this game will come down to the emotions of both teams. UCLA will be playing at home, but the Rose Bowl could be 3/4 empty if the Bruins come in with five or six losses. Both teams will have to avoid looking ahead to the following week’s rivalry games. UCLA travels crosstown to face USC on November 29, the same day Washington hosts Oregon. Games in Southern California are usually tough for the Huskies, but the Bruins aren’t very good and won’t have much to play for at this point.
Pick: Washington 28-24
Oregon at Washington
November 29
This game at Husky Stadium could well come with all the vibes of the 2023 matchup. I have both teams coming in 9-2. If it turns out that way, this essentially becomes a College Football Playoff play-in game.
Dante Moore will be Oregon coach Dan Lanning’s least experienced quarterback, so that will be something to watch this season. Lanning had the two longest-tenured starting quarterbacks in college football history in transfers Bo Nix (2022-23) and Gabriel (2024). Gabriel’s 63 career starts at Oklahoma and Oregon surpassed Nix’s previous record of 61 by an FBS quarterback.
Moore started five games at UCLA in 2023, sat behind Gabriel at Oregon last year, and will be the man behind center for the Ducks in 2025. If he’s a solid starter, Oregon has enough talent around him to win 10 or 11 games.
If this contest were early in the season, I’d lean Huskies. But by Thanksgiving, Moore will have played big road games at Penn State and at Iowa in addition to his experience in prior seasons. I’ll lean Ducks on this one, which means — unless a lot of dominoes fall the right way — the Huskies will just miss out on the CFP in 2025.
Pick: Oregon 34-33
Big Ten Standings
The middle of the conference is going to be a bloodbath. I see places 4-11 separated by one conference win. I’m not taking tiebreakers into account with these standings, so we’ll call teams with the same conference records tied for now.
1. Penn State 8-1, 11-1
t2. Ohio State 7-2, 10-2
t2. Oregon 7-2, 10-2
t4. Washington 6-3, 9-3
t4. Illinois 6-3, 9-3
t4. Michigan 6-3, 8-4
t4. Indiana 6-3, 9-3
t8. Iowa 5-4, 7-5
t8. Nebraska 5-4, 7-5
t8. USC 5-4, 7-5
t8. Minnesota 5-4, 7-5
12. Wisconsin 4-5, 6-6
t13. Michigan State, 3-6, 6-6
t13. Rutgers 3-6, 6-6
t13. UCLA 3-6, 5-7
t16. Maryland 1-8, 3-9
t16. Northwestern, 1-8, 3-9
18. Purdue 0-9, 2-10
