Big Ten football power rankings after spring portal closes: Did Nittany Lions get better?
By Josh Yourish
Washington Huskies. . Last Year: 14-1 National Championship L. . 521. . 11. . . Head Coach: Jedd Fisch
Key losses: Michael Penix Jr. Rome Odunze Troy Fautanu (and everyone else) Key additions: Will Rogers, Tre Watson
Is it disrespectful to rank the team that lost in the national championship game to Michigan at No. 11 in the Big Ten power rankings? Well, it would be if that team looked remotely similar the next year, but Washington was gutted, not just by the NFL that was eager to pry pass catchers offensive linemen, and a veteran quarterback off the Huskies’s roster, but also by Kalen DeBoer as he bolted to Alabama and took what players he could.
Jedd Fisch is a good coach, he proved that with an incredible season at Arizona last season, but Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan didn’t follow him from Tucson to Seattle. Fisch convinced Will Rogers to stay after the veteran quarterback transferred to play for DeBoer, but Rogers isn’t good enough to offset the talent drain that hit this program harder than any other in the country.
Washington had the best offensive line in the country and the best wide receiver room with Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillan, and from those two groups, not one starter is returning.