How Huskies Fared In Some Of Earliest Top 25 Polls

How Huskies Fared In Some Of Earliest Top 25 Polls

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How Huskies Fared In Some Of Earliest Top 25 Polls
Jedd Fisch addresses the Huskies after the Spring Game.
Jedd Fisch addresses the Huskies after the Spring Game. | Dave Sizer photo

Phil, meet George.

They hold the distinction of being among the first to drop a Top 25 college football ranking as the Fourth of July holiday came and went.

That would be Phil Steele, a football magazine publisher for nearly three decades, and George Wrighster, a former NFL player and host of the podcast The Unafraid Show.

Their polls resonate in Montlake because both included the University of Washington football team, though with a wide disparity in placement — at No. 25 and 13, respectively.

Steele almost randomly threw the Huskies into his poll in the final slot behind a lot of blue bloods, which is fair enough until Jedd Fisch's team shows itself capable of beating those long-time stalwarts.

Yet where this Ohio man left people shaking their heads some is by putting Navy at No. 20 and Boise State at No. 23 ahead of the UW.

With Power 4 programs paying large sums of money for talent, it's almost ridiculous to think a service team such as Navy is going to be better than even the 25 best entries in just the Big Ten and SEC combined.

The academy primarily is paying for military officer talent with its assortment of appointments and personnel stockpiling rather than 4- and 5-star football recruits.

Consider that Steele has Navy ranked higher than Tennessee, LSU, Boise State, Utah and the Huskies.

Who's going to pick the Midshipmen over those SEC schools and the UW in a head-to-head match-up?

Maybe Steele was just feeling patriotic.

PHIL STEELEGEORGE WRIGHSTER
1. Notre Dame1. Oregon
2. Georgia2. Notre Dame
3. Ohio State3. Ohio State
4. Texas4. Miami
5. Indiana5. Texas
6. Oregon6. Indiana
7. Miami7. Georgia
8. Alabama8. LSU
9. Texas Tech9. Texas A&M
10. BYU10. Texsa Tech
11. USC11. BYU
12. SMU12. USC
13. Oklahoma13. WASHINGTON
14. Ole Miss14. Ole Miss
15. Michigan15. Penn State
16. Texas A&M16. Oklahoma
17. Clemson17. Alabama
18. Louisville18. SMU
19. Penn State19. Michigan
20. Navy20. Iowa
21. Tennessee21. Missouri
22. LSU22. Virginia
23. Boise State23. Houston
24. Utah24. Illinois
25. WASHINGTON25. Arizona

Speaking of Boise State, Steele has the Broncos two slots higher than the Huskies.

However, it's hard to imagine that those teams have changed their personnel much since they met seven months ago in the LA Bowl, which the UW won 38-10.

As for Wrighster, we'll get right to the point.

He's a former Oregon tight end who, while being overly generous in his ranking of the rival Huskies at 13, couldn't help himself and put the Ducks No. 1 in his poll.

Nothing dilutes a poll faster than partisanship.

Now the team from Eugene typically is highly competitive and it's not out of the question to think it might win a national title someday.

Yet Wrighster needs to show some restraint if he's going to stick his neck out with some supposed expert analysis. Steele, for that matter, has Oregon No. 6.

In his poll, Wrighster has the Huskies ranked four slots higher than Alabama and former UW coach Kalen DeBoer, which is a bold suggestion. DeBoer, however, is still looking for a starting quarterback, which could be a problem.

To his credit, Wrighster didn't put Boise State ahead of the Huskies. In fact, he didn't vote for the Broncos at all.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington as How Huskies Fared In Some Of Earliest Top 25 Polls.

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