Washington projected as College Football Playoff team in new analysis

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Washington is a projected College Football Playoff team, per at least one national analyst.

On3's Brett McMurphy released his preseason bowl projections on Monday, the first of a weekly installment throughout the season. He had the Huskies at No. 11, traveling to No. 6 Miami in the first round of the playoff.

McMurphy has Big Ten members Ohio State (No. 1), Oregon (No. 2), and Indiana (No. 7) ranked above the Huskies, a fairly optimistic view of what Washington could be this season when compared to most preseason projections, which put Jedd Fisch's squad in the middle class of the conference with the likes of Penn State and Iowa.

To make McMurphy's projection a reality, the Huskies would likely need to start the season 10-0 before games against No. 6 Indiana, the defending national champions, and No. 2 Oregon to close out the year. That's a gauntlet that includes No. 14 USC, No. 22 Iowa, and No. 18 Penn State but avoids other conference contenders like No. 1 Ohio State and No. 16 Michigan, the other two teams to earn a spot in the preseason AP poll.

Of course, if you assume that a final record of 10-2 is required in some way, Washington could drop a game early but would need to steal it back against either Indiana or Oregon, two games where they will almost certainly be underdogs barring either of those teams turning out to be a much less potent version of themselves than many expect heading into the season.

To get there, the Huskies will need to see Ryan Walters' defense take another step in 2026, which starts with better pass rush production from their remade defensive line. Freshmen Ramzak Fruean and Derek Colman-Brusa are expected to start for that very reason, but the additions of Logan George on the edge and Darin Conley and DeSean Watts on the interior also give Washington a new dimension they may have lacked in 2025.

Cornerback play will also be something to watch after the Huskies sent Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock to the NFL last year. Virginia transfer Emmanuel Karnley and second-year corner Dylan Robinson both have experience with the coaching staff and have been playmakers this offseason in practice.

On offense, the easiest path to a College Football Playoff-caliber team is quarterback Demond Williams Jr. playing his way into the Heisman Trophy conversation. Williams is unquestionably one of the most dynamic players in the country, but Washington will need him to play at a high level more consistently in his second season as a full-time starter. Their tooth-and-nail fight to hold him to his NIL contract and keep him on Montlake after he announced his intention to transfer in January is proof they think he'll get there.

Outside of Williams, an offensive line led by right tackle Drew Azzopardi and left guard John Mills adds five-star freshman Kodi Greene at left tackle and will need him to live up to that pedigree quickly. Younger players like Dezmen Roebuck at wide receiver and Quaid Carr at running back may also need to take leaps to keep the offense at the level of a true contender.

All of that is possible, and playing a loaded Big Ten schedule will help cushion a couple of losses if the Huskies take them, but that same loaded schedule quickly turns into a slippery slope if they stumble out of the gate. We'll soon see what much of it looks like in actuality when Washington takes on Washington State in the Apple Cup on September 6.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington projected as College Football Playoff team in new analysis

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