- Head coach: Jedd Fisch (first season)
- 2023 record: 14-1 (lost national championship)
- PFF power ranking: 9th
- Chance to win the Big Ten: 8%
- Strength of schedule: 26th
- Projected win total: 8.1
- FanDuel win total: 6.5
- 2024 recruiting rank (On3): No. 49 nationally, No. 15 in the Big Ten
Washington won the Pac-12 conference in its farewell season and made it to the first national championship game in program history. While most programs would use a magical season like that as a foundation for the future, the Huskies need to essentially build from the ground up again.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer was hired as Nick Saban’s successor at Alabama, and star offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb departed for the same role with the Seattle Seahawks. Washington also returns just eight of the 32 players who played at least 300 snaps last year, and none come from its electric offense. Jedd Fisch proved he can turn around a program while at Arizona and the Huskies made some nice additions in the transfer portal, but it could take Washington a few years to recover from this kind of attrition, especially in a more difficult Big Ten conference.
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Biggest Strength: The second and third levels of the defense
The few returning key contributors from last year’s team are mostly at linebacker and in the secondary. Safety Kamren Fabiculanan and linebacker Carson Bruener earned 75.0-plus PFF grades on about 400 snaps each in 2023, while cornerback Elijah Jackson and linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala are returning starters. Arizona cornerback Ephesians Prysock was a major addition in the transfer portal, as well, after placing fifth among Pac-12 cornerbacks with 10 coverage stops last season.
Biggest Weakness: A brand-new offense
Simply put, Washington’s offense will be unrecognizable from the one that torched defenses over the past two years. All 11 starters from last season are gone, including first-round picks Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze and Troy Fautanu. Not to mention, two offensive masterminds in head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb are no longer roaming the sidelines.
The Huskies made some nice additions in the portal, as evidenced below, but this unit likely won’t be nearly as effective as it was over the past two years.
2023 Team Overview
Offense |
||||
| EPA per play | Yards per play | Successful play rate | Explosive run play rate | Explosive pass play rate |
| 0.181 | 7.0 | 41.5% | 12.4% | 21.4% |
| 8th | 7th | 6th | 114th | 4th |
Defense |
||||
| EPA allowed per play | Yards allowed per play | Successful play rate allowed | Explosive run rate allowed | Explosive pass rate allowed |
| 0.040 | 5.9 | 37.4% | 17.4% | 12.8% |
| 94th | 88th | 111th | 111th | 39th |
Three Notable Transfer Portal Additions
- RB Jonah Coleman (Arizona): 92.1 PFF grade
- QB Will Rogers (Mississippi State): 77.3 PFF grade
- WR Jeremiah Hunter (California): 75.9 PFF grade
Three Notable Transfer Portal Losses
- CB Jabbar Muhammad (Oregon): 73.9 PFF grade
- C Parker Brailsford (Alabama): 78.4 PFF grade
- WR Germie Bernard (Alabama): 70.6 PFF grade
Quarterback Spotlight: Will Rogers
2023 Grade: 77.3
Key Stat: 6.3 yards career average depth of target (Lowest in PFF College history)
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