Media predicts Washington football to finish near middle of Big Ten in first season
INDIANAPOLIS – The Washington Huskies are going to have to earn their respect. They’re certainly considered underdogs in the hierarchy of their new conference.
Washington had no representatives on the 12-player Big Ten preseason honors list, released by the conference on Tuesday morning. Two Big Ten media polls, one published by Cleveland.com and one by the Kings of the North Podcast, were similarly absent of Huskies and projected Washington to finish 10th in the Big Ten. The USA Today Sports Network poll had Washington at No. 9.
The Big Ten’s preseason honors list included six offensive and six defensive players. Ohio State made up a third of the group by itself. Sophomore safety Caleb Downs, senior running back TreVeyon Henderson and a pair of Washington natives – senior wide receiver Emeka Egbuka out of Steilacoom High School and defensive lineman J.T. Tuimoloau from Eastside Catholic High School – all made the cut.
Michigan and Oregon were the only other schools with multiple selections. Junior defensive tackle Mason Graham, junior defensive back Will Johnson and junior tight end Colston Loveland were selected for Michigan, while senior wide receiver Tez Johnson and fifth-year quarterback Dillon Gabriel represented the Ducks.
Johnson is the only returning 1,000-yard receiver in the Big Ten this season. Gabriel, who transferred to Oregon from Oklahoma, was also selected as the preseason player of the year by the Kings of the North media poll and the USA Today poll.
The Big Ten’s preseason watchlist was rounded out by Rutgers senior running back Kyle Monangai, the conference’s leading rusher in 2023, Iowa fifth-year linebacker Jay Higgins, the Big Ten’s leading tackler in 2023, and Penn State junior edge rusher Abdul Carter.
The Cleveland.com media poll, with 27 voters, and the Kings of the North media poll, which had 33 voters, had Ohio State as the preseason favorites to win the conference ahead of Oregon. USA Today, featuring 14 voters, also went with Ohio State instead of Oregon but by smaller margins.
In fact, Cleveland.com and Kings of the North agreed on the order of the conference through the top 12 teams. Penn State was projected to finish third, ahead of the reigning College Football Playoff champion Michigan in fourth. Iowa was ranked fifth, then newcomer USC slotted in at No. 6 followed by Wisconsin at No. 7.
Nebraska, which finished the 2023 season 5-7 and hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2016 but added one of the top high-school quarterback recruits in the country, was ranked eighth before Rutgers at No. 9.
Washington slid in at No. 10 in both polls, though the Cleveland.com poll noted the Huskies were projected as high as No. 4 and as low as No. 16.
Cleveland.com finished the rankings with Maryland, Minnesota, Illinois, Northwestern, UCLA, Michigan State, Indiana and Purdue, respectively. The Kings of the North poll ranked the same group slightly differently, with UCLA at No. 13, Illinois at No. 14, Michigan State at No. 15 and Northwestern at No. 16.
USA Today went with a tie for third between Michigan and Penn State, before USC, Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Washington was the No. 9 team, ahead of Rutgers at No. 10. Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, UCLA, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern and Rutgers rounded out the USA Today poll.
Cleveland.com and Kings in the North also agreed the Big Ten was likely going to have three teams in the CFP’s new 12-team model. Johnson was the King of the North’s preseason defensive player of the year. Oregon’s Dan Lanning was Cleveland.com’s preseason coach of the year, while USA Today opted for Ohio State’s Ryan Day.
USA Today also did full preseason teams, though Washington’s only appearance was fifth-year linebacker Carson Bruener in the received votes category.