Money Is Convenient Excuse for Husky Football Fall-Off

A poor performing team is a hard sell when financial matters are discussed.

Jedd Fisch claps his hands in warm-ups before the Utah State game. | Dave Sizer photo

Pardon the insensitivity here, but the University of Washington football team has lost three consecutive games for the first time in five seasons and excuses are beginning to emerge with people passing the buck.

Or complaining that others simply are not coming up with the bucks.

The latter was the message imparted this week by Husky coach Jedd Fisch, whose earlier enthusiasm over playing and starting so many freshmen has been replaced by a dire warning of why it happened.

"By now, it's public knowledge our roster is not very high on the cost scale," Fisch said on Monday.

Truthfully, it's difficult to offer any empathy along these lines when college football programs blindly expect donors and fans to step up and pay for players, especially when there's actually no real accounting at all of how the money is changing hands.

Fisch, who tends to exaggerate at times when he embraces a topic, claims he's coaching the youngest football team at the Power 4 level.

Why had we not heard this before the losses began to pile up and who's the source?

He said the UW is next to last in the Big Ten in available money set aside for its players, whether it comes through university resources or third-party benefactors.

According to The Athletic, which tried to take a stab at exposing the college football money game and how it pencils out, had the Huskies ranked among the bottom half of the conference in player finances, estimating the outlay at $21 million to $25 million.

This still doesn't fully explain how the Huskies lost to Minnesota and Iowa, which reportedly are in the same financial bracket.

It doesn't readily offer a reason why four veteran UW players absolutely whiffed on tackles on a 56-yard touchdown run by the Hawkeyes' Kamari Moulton.

Would they have brought him down had they been making a little more money?

Or why quarterback Demond Williams Jr. is collecting $4 million this season, but has regressed over six games more than any other starting Husky signal-caller in recent memory to become a shell of his former self.

After all, well before he was making his four mill, Williams completed 26 of 32 passes for 374 yards and 4 touchdowns against Louisville in the 2024 Sun Bowl. As best as we can tell, that outing was on the house back then.

Yes, money always makes a difference in how well things transpire, whether it's spending a little more on that Hawaiian vacation and upgrading to a condo with a view or investing in someone such as veteran offensive tackle Carver Willis, who Fisch referenced this week.

Last year, the Huskies could pay for a player such as Willis, now with the San Francisco 49ers; this year, they apparently can't.

"To go into the portal and grab guys is very expensive," the coach said. "To retain them is a different situation."

Fisch had to know the Husky fan base can be a tough sell. The fans have the Seahawks and the Pacific Northwest in general to distract them.

They want to see progress well before they start opening their wallets and funneling cash to these Montlake gladiators with their hands out. They're still paying off a stadium renovation.

Even with the coach publicly imploring these team followers to come out and pack Husky Stadium, huge gaps of empty seats were visible for the past three home games with people unconvinced they wanted to invest their time in an unfinished product.

Which means support for Fisch's efforts at this juncture is waning rather than encouraging people to write checks to balance the competitive football balance.

The Huskies returned two-thirds of their starting lineup from a 9-4 team in 2025 and were ranked No. 17 in the AP poll to begin the season.

Did the money situation suddenly convince everyone that this team wasn't supposed to be any good?

The Huskies have looked so maddeningly out of sorts, this well-paid coaching might consider first figuring out a way to get the team to play better and win some games before blaming the finances and passing the hat once more.