Inside The Huskies

Jedd Fisch Rates Middle of Pack In Big Ten Coach Ranking

The Huskies leader comes off a 6-7 season, yet he beat Michigan and USC in his debut.
Dan Raley|
Jedd Fisch watches UW spring ball unfold.
Jedd Fisch watches UW spring ball unfold. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Middle of the pack.

That's where the University of Washington's Jedd Fisch is pegged -- specifically 10th -- in the latest Big Ten head-coaching ranking, as compiled by CBS Sports.

Too high or too low?

One argument is he hasn't done anything yet when looking at his debut 6-7 record with the Huskies in 2024.

Another is he finished tied for ninth in the standings with USC and Rutgers, and did so with victories over Michigan and the Trojans, which was significant coming in the same season, no matter how strong those teams were overall.

In looking at the CBS rankings, one might take issue with USCs Lincoln Riley being slotted so high at No. 4 because -- irregardless of his recent so-called recruiting successes -- he still really hasn't done anything yet with untold resources in Los Angeles, in fact his teams have underperformed.

The other coach ahead of Fisch who might be questionable is Nebraska's Matt Ruhle at No. 9. Still, it's admirable that he's taken on the task of trying to restore the dormant Cornhuskers to its long-ago greatness.

It's interesting that these rankings don't care for Michigan coach Sherone Moore much at all, dropping him to No. 15, unheard of for a modern-day Wolverines football leader.

Fisch enters the season with a much-improved offensive line, the fastest quarterback in the Big Ten in Demond Williams Jr., a 1,000-yard rusher in Jonah Coleman, one of the top tight ends anywhere in Decker DeGraaf and one of the more elite receivers nationwide in Denzel Boston.

While missing half of his projected starting defense for much of the spring, the Huskies should be better with a new defensive coordinator in Ryan Walters, a potential No. 1 draft pick at cornerback in Tacarioi Davis and, if he can ever get healthy, a highly disruptive edge rusher in Zach Durfee.

The schedule is easier, missing Indiana, Iowa and USC while adding defending national champion Ohio State.

Fisch could improve by as many as three victories this season if everything comes together as spring football seemed to indicate.

As for individual regard, should Fisch somehow beat Ohio State in Seattle on September 27, his reputation would shoot up like a sky rocket.

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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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