With the 2026 college football season looming, there's a new high man on the Washington Huskies: On3's Brett McMurphy. The analyst released his preseason top 25 rankings on Thursday and slotted Jedd Fisch's team in at No. 10 in the nation, projecting a breakthrough campaign for the Huskies in the head coach's third season at the helm, coming off a 9-4 season in 2025, including a win over Boise State in the LA Bowl. McMurphy's ranking places the Huskies as the No. 4 team in the Big Ten, only behind No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 7 Indiana. Heading into the 2026 season, with two of those programs on their schedule (the Buckeyes being the exception), Fisch is hoping to lean on his star quarterback in Demond Williams Jr., and what internally, the program expects to be one of the nation's best defenses, led by coordinator Ryan Walters.
"Demond Williams is back. Really, he is," McMurphy wrote in his reasoning. "Washington’s star QB considered leaving, but didn’t (or couldn’t). Either way, the Huskies could have a special season. Last year, when Williams was on, so was UW. In nine wins, 22 touchdowns, two interceptions; in four losses, three touchdowns." "Coach Jedd Fisch (continues, McMurphy incorrectly wrote that he assumes) play-calling duties, which should make a dangerous offense even better. UW’s weakness has been away from Seattle: 2-8 in Big Ten road games last two years. At home, a different story: 7-2, and the Huskies host Iowa, Penn State and Indiana this year. The defense, under former Purdue coach Ryan Walters, will be improved." Even as the Huskies look to replace the significant production that they lost to the NFL in running back Jonah Coleman and wide receiver Denzel Boston, Fisch's coaching staff feels confident in a combination of young players and transfers like Jayden Limar and Quaid Carr in the backfield and Dezmen Roebuck, Christian Moss, and Rashid Williams out wide to make up for the losses. This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: College football analyst ranks Washington football inside top ten