Final thoughts before Washington-Ohio State, plus a prediction
And the 2025 debut of my Big Ten picks.
In the aftermath of a most humbling Big Ten initiation, I wondered how different Washington might look against similar opponents in 2025.
Penn State mauled Washington, 35-6, in White Out fashion last year in State College. The Nittany Lions scored touchdowns on all four first-half possessions, dominated in the trenches and kept the Huskies out of the end zone before a pulsing crowd of 110,233. It all felt inevitable, too, the Huskies lacking the personnel necessary to permit even mild belief that they might challenge a CFP-bound opponent.
That night in Happy Valley, I asked coach Jedd Fisch whether he thought Washington could close that yawning gap to a meaningful degree in a single offseason.
“Do I know if we can go on the road next year and beat this team in one offseason? I don’t know that,” Fisch said. “I know that when we go on the road next year, whomever we play, we’re going to be a lot better than we were this year. We’re going to continue to build it. We’re going to continue to grow. And I really believe that we’re building this foundation so in one offseason, we’re able to make a big jump, and then in another offseason make an enormous jump.
He reiterated: “I know that next offseason, when we have a full year with these guys, how good we can be, which I think will be a big jump.”
Well?