As Teams Opt Out of Bowls, Fisch Says He'd Never Do It

Notre Dame, Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State all pulled out of postseason consideration.

Jedd Fisch and running back Jordan Washington confer on the sideline. | Dave Sizer photo

The bowl season is upon us, which means it's time for players to opt out in order to transfer, for them to turn in their stuff so they can protect themselves in advance of the NFL Draft or, in the latest trend, have a coach pull his entire team out of postseason consideration.

On Sunday, Notre Dame, Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State each said no thanks to the bowl season, with conference fines levied out to those teams affiliated with one.

The Fighting Irish did so in reaction to being left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff and feeling snubbed, while the others, in most cases, had recent coaching changes and chose not to patch things together with an interim leader.

At the University of Washington, the Huskies have lost just one player so far, with sophomore reserve wide receiver Audric Harris entering the transfer portal.

Otherwise, it's business as usual for the UW, which is in preparation for the program's 44th bowl game, the LA Bowl against Boise State next Saturday at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area.

"There would be zero change we could opt out," UW coach Jedd Fisch said on Sunday in an LA Bowl news conference. "You only get better by playing football."

Similarly, Boise State coach Spencer Danielson, while noting that a few of his players might be mulling their availability for NFL reasons, said he wouldn't opt out his team.

"There's a lot of seniors, as soon as the season is over, they're not going to be playing football anymore," Danielson said.

Before facing Oregon to close out the regular season, Fisch acknowledged the possibility of a player or two sitting out the bowl game, but he wasn't expecting it.

"There's some guys who might not want to play in the bowl game," the coach said. "That will just free opportunities for others. I would expect most of our team to play in the bowl. It's another opportunity to be able to showcase your skiils."

Harris apparently had intimated he was considering leaving the team at the season's end while he attempted to preserve a redshirt, yet Husky injuries prompted him to make himself available. He started against UCLA out of need and consequently gave up his redshirt.

He ended up playing in six games, two over the limit, and then entered his name in the transfer portal last week.

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