Inside The Huskies

Huskies Still Can't Elevate Into Associated Press Top 25

The UW misses out by three slots in the voting following its 42-25 win over Illinois.
Dan Raley|
The Husky offense huddles up during the 42-25 victory over Illinois.
The Husky offense huddles up during the 42-25 victory over Illinois. | Dave Sizer photo

After beating 23rd-ranked Illinois handily at home, the University of Washington football team was back in the rankings conversation on Sunday, but it still hasn't talked its way into the Associated Press Top 25.

In week 10, the Huskies (6-2 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) still found themselves three slots shy of elite college football company after receiving 46 points in the weekly balloting.

That left Jedd Fisch's team 84 points behind No. 25 Memphis (7-1, 3-1) and trailing fellow also-rans Navy (7-0, 5-0) by 40 points and Tulane (6-1, 3-0) by 13 points, all of which are American Conference members.

A flag gets tossed as UW running back Adam Mohammed tries to skirt the end against Illinois.
A flag gets tossed as UW running back Adam Mohammed tries to skirt the end against Illinois. | Dave Sizer photo

It's hard to imagine the UW, after losing only to No. 1-ranked Ohio State (7-0, 4-0) and No. 21 Michigan (6-2, 4-1) this season, not being favored over all three of those American teams if somehow they were matched up in the postseason.

For now, the Huskies will have to be content with hovering as the 28th-best vote-getter because they have a bye this coming week and likely won't elevate in the national rankings while idle.

The UW hasn't been ranked by the AP since the 2023 season, when it finished 14-1 and No. 2 in the final regular-season poll after losing to Michigan 34-13 in the College Football Playoff national championship game in Houston.

The Huskies should be favored in three of their final four games, all played in November, against Wisconsin (2-6, 0-5), Purdue (2-6, 0-5) and UCLA (3-5, 3-2), but not sixth-ranked Oregon (7-1, 4-1) for obvious reasons.

Ohio State, which beat the Huskies 24-6 in Seattle a month ago, remained on top of the AP poll after going through a bye week and returns to action against unranked Penn State (3-4, 0-4) this coming weekend.

While the Big Ten supplied the top two ranked teams in the Buckeyes and Indiana (8-0, 5-0), it had just five of its18 teams appear in the latest AP top 25 listing.

Barely visible, Rahshawn Clark makes an interception late in the Illinois game.
Barely visible, Rahshawn Clark makes an interception late in the Illinois game. | Dave Sizer photo

The SEC had nine ranked teams, five among the top nine teams in the voting. The Big 12 supplied five ranked teams and the Atlantic Coast four.

The Huskies, with a pair or losses and Oregon still on the schedule, are probably not playoff material, but they're playing for nothing short of a prominent bowl game.

They became bowl eligible on Saturday by beating Illinois 42-25, matching their victory total from the season before when they finished 6-7.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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