Preseason AP Top 25 Poll: Where are UW Huskies after CFP run?

The preseason top 25 college football poll from the Associated Press was released Monday morning, and it’s missing the UW Huskies, who played in the national championship game just over eight months ago.

Washington is essentially the No. 32 team in the poll, as the Huskies received 23 points from voters, making them the seventh team outside of the top 25.

UW Huskies enter new era after offseason of change

Even though UW is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history, it’s not exactly a surprise that the Huskies didn’t make the top 25 poll.

The Huskies’ offseason got off to a turbulent start when head coach Kalen DeBoer left to replace Nick Saban at Alabama just days after UW lost to Michigan in January’s College Football Playoff National Championship. Though Washington was quick to hire Jedd Fisch away from Arizona to become its new head coach, the weeks and months to follow came with plenty of turnover. That included 10 key players from last year’s team moving on to the pro ranks in the NFL Draft, with three taken in the first round (quarterback Michael Penix Jr., wide receiver Rome Odunze, offensive lineman Troy Fautanu) and two picked in each of the second and third rounds.

Watch: Michael Penix Jr. makes highlight throw in NFL preseason debut

In addition to all the personnel changes, UW is set to play its first season in the Big Ten in 2024. While the Huskies aren’t coming into their new league with high expectations, the same can’t be said for one of their biggest rivals, the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks are the No. 3 team in Monday’s preseason poll with 1,403 points in the voting, behind only No. 1 Georgia (1,532 points) and No. 2 Ohio State (1,490), the latter of which is a new conference opponent for UW and Oregon. The No. 3 ranking is Oregon’s best in a preseason poll since it was third in 2014.

In total, six Big Ten teams made the AP’s preseason top 25, with the others being Penn State (No. 8), defending champion Michigan (No. 9), USC (No. 23) and Iowa (No. 25).

The UW Huskies will begin the 2024 season at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31 in a home game against Weber State.

For more on the AP preseason top 25, click here.

UW Huskies coverage from Seattle Sports

• How does UW’s QB situation look? Something has Huard’s attention
• UW Huskies Camp: Not Jedd Fisch’s favorite practice
• Huard: A Husky who will quickly become fan favorite
• Much change for UW, Michigan since national title game
• New RB Jonah Coleman already key leader for UW Huskies

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