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Inside The Huskies

Strength of 2026 Football Schedule Seems to Favor Huskies

The two toughest games come in the last two weeks of the season.
Dan Raley|
The Huskies hope to separate themselves from the bunch with a schedule that is only the 25th toughest.
The Huskies hope to separate themselves from the bunch with a schedule that is only the 25th toughest. | Dave Sizer photo

The University of Washington football team has got them right where it wants them.

We're talking 12 regular-season games served up this fall.

According to ESPN, the Huskies are 25th nationally in terms of strength of schedule, which is just about ideal for making things happen this coming season.

Not too easy, but not too hard.

At No. 25, the Huskies are neither in a suicide mode when facing other teams nor has their list of opponents been so diluted that it hurts any College Football Playoff tie-breaker consideration -- giving them hope in reaching postseason play.

At first glance, the UW has four sub-.500 teams on its fall slate in Utah State (6-7), Eastern Washington (6-7), Michigan State (4-8) and Purdue (2-10), with all except the Boilermakers coming to Seattle.

Likewise, the Huskies have just two teams that might be considered unbeatable in defending national champ Indiana (16-0) and Oregon (13-2), with the Hoosiers traveling to Montlake and the Ducks holding serve in Eugene.

The following is a look at what the 25th toughest schedule looks like and how it might shake out:

Sept. 6 (Sunday) vs. WSU -- The Cougars will play at Husky Stadium for the first time since 2023 with their third coach in three seasons, and fifth in eight years since Mike Leach left. The series ledger favors the Huskies 77-34-6. Count this one a UW win.

Sept. 12 vs. Utah State -- The Huskies hold a 3-0 record over this new Pac-12 team, beating them by 45, 41 and 14 points. Nothing changes in the dominance here.

Sept. 19 vs. Eastern Washington -- Ask Jimmy Lake what happens when you lose to a Big Sky team? You get fired before the season ends. The UW is 3-0 against its cross-state opponent, through the wins have come by just 3, 7 and 33 points. Jedd Fisch won't have to worry about job security.

Sept. 26 vs. Minnesota -- The Huskies haven't played the Gophers since Warren Moon was quarterback in 1977. They lost the first seven games of this series, but they've won seven of the last 10. No Caddyshack run-around here.

Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies beat USC 52-42 in Los Angeles in 2023.
Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies beat USC 52-42 in Los Angeles in 2023. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Oct. 3 at USC -- The UW hasn't lost to the Trojans in 10 years, which includes one visit to Los Angeles, when the Huskies put up 52 points. Lincoln Riley looks like an overrated coach. Jedd Fisch is 2-0 against him at two schools. USC owns the all-time series 32-52-4, but the UW gets one game closer here.

Oct. 9 (Friday) vs. Iowa -- Under Friday Night Lights, the Huskies will relay on Demond and Rashid Williams rather than Smash Williams to get the job done. The Huskies knot the series that currently stands at 3-4.

Ryan Walters, right, is introduced as the new Purdue football coach in December 2022.
Ryan Walters, right, is introduced as the new Purdue football coach in December 2022. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Oct. 16 (Friday) at Purdue -- The Huskies haven't played in West Lafayette since 1990, but they haven't forgotten how to win here. They hold a 7-2-1 overall series edge, 3-0 in this stadium. Former Purdue coach turned UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters makes his first return since his firing. Rack 'em.

Oct. 31 at Nebraska -- The UW returns to Lincoln for the first time in 15 seasons, to a place where it recorded one of the program's greatest road wins -- 36-21 in 1991. The Huskers have a 4-5-1 series edge that should be tied when this one is over.

Nov. 7 vs Penn State -- This is the only team on the schedule the UW has never beaten, with the series at 0-4, counting losses of 14, 3, 7 and 29 points. Fisch had his worst Husky beatdown against the Nittany Lions in 2024. We think the Huskies are headed for a breakthrough in a Matt Campbell rebuild.

Nov. 15 at Michigan State -- The Huskies just visited East Lansing in 2023 and won 41-7 when Kalen DeBoer was coach. They hold a 4-1 series edge. They should make it 5-1.

Nov. 21 vs. Indiana -- If Demond Williams is as good as Fisch says he is, and the Husky defense is as good as Ryan Walters promises, the Huskies could be 10-0 coming into this home game, with Montlake going absolute bonkers. The Huskies are 1-3 against the Hoosiers. We think this is a close game, but alas another Curt Cignetti victory.

Nov. 28 at Oregon -- The Huskies actually have won two of their past four games at Autzen behind Jake Browning and Michael Penix pointing fingers and throwing bombs. The UW still holds a 63-50-5 series edge. A playoff berth could be on the line. This could be a great one. Maybe a close one. Possibly a disappointment for the visitors.

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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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