Why Brock says UW Huskies will be ‘very relevant’ in CFP conversation

The UW Huskies are just weeks away from starting their third year both in the Big Ten and under head football coach Jedd Fisch.

After improving from 6-7 overall in 2024 to 9-4 last year, the Dawgs could be in for another step forward in 2026.

Demond Williams Jr. seamlessly leading UW Huskies after near-departure

“We’re in a good spot right now, knock on wood,” Fisch said Wednesday on The Rich Eisen Show. “We’re a very healthy team, a team that’s really loving to be around one another. … We have a lot of returning starters. We have 16 returning starters. We have one of the youngest teams in all of college football. But with that being said, I really love the way our guys are playing, the energy they’re playing with and the passion they’re playing with.”

Among those returning starters is quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who along with the Husky program has seemed to have put the brief period where he tried to enter the transfer portal behind him.

“Our quarterback’s in a great place. That’s really what I like the best is where he’s at mentally, where he’s at physically,” said Fisch, who initially recruited Williams to Arizona near the end of his tenure from 2020-23 as the Wildcats head coach.

After hearing what Fisch had to say, Seattle Sports’ Brock Huard – a former UW quarterback himself as well as a longtime FOX football broadcast analyst, weighed in by sharing expectations for his alma mater this year that include competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

“The Huskies are going to be very relevant this year,” Huard said. “I think they’re going to be a very relevant team in the playoff conversation in college football this year. And it’s year 3. This is what (Fisch) has done in his career. It’s what he did at Arizona. And every year builds and it builds and the roster builds and the recruiting builds.”

The big key for Huard is that Washington is built up front the way it needs to compete in the conference that is home to the last three college football champions (Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan).

“Upon everything that (Fisch) said there and all the returning starters and obviously Demond is extremely talented, most importantly, your offensive and defensive line is now capable to sustain in the Big Ten. It was not two years ago,” Huard said. “It took steps last year, but you got a ton of vets on your offensive line all back that have played. You’ve added to your front seven.

“Yeah, you’re going to be relevant in the playoff discussion. I really do believe that here in 2026.”

Catch Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports, including the Blue 88 segment daily at 7:45 where Brock Huard answers three football questions.

UW Huskies football news and more

• Top returning UW Huskies RB unlikely to play in 2026, per report
• Where UW Huskies rank in Big Ten preseason media poll
• Phil Steele’s outlook for the UW Huskies in 2026

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