Back in February I published a set of goals for UW to achieve this year. As I said back then, competing in the Big Ten Championship game and getting into the CFP should be goals-this year and every year;
but I was looking at goals that I thought were more realistic. It turns out that getting into the CFP is still a possibility that cannot be dismissed; getting into the Big Ten Championship game appears to be unrealistic right now. But how is UW doing with the realistic goals that I outlined?
Football Goals
1. Win a game away from Husky Stadium
If you remember, UW did not win a single game away from Husky Stadium in 2024. They had chances against Rutgers and in the bowl game against Louisville, but they were not very competitive in their other 3 road games.
This year they have already won two road games. They beat WSU in Pullman, and they had a dramatic come-from-behind win over Maryland. They did lose at Michigan, but that game was tied late in the 3rd quarter, so that was a competitive game, even though the final score doesn’t reflect that.
Goal: Achieved.
2. Win at least 5 of their home games
Last year they won all 6 of their games at Husky Stadium. This year they play 7 games at home, but going in to the season we knew that at least a couple of the games could be very challenging which is why the goal was at least 5.
Currently they have 4 home wins to go along with 1 loss (to the #1 team in the country). They have two more home games. They will be heavily favored against Purdue, so that should be the 5th win. And while Oregon is still favored in that final home game, UW is playing well enough, and Oregon is not quite as dominant, so a 6th home win is still a possibility.
Goal: On track, but not yet achieved.
3. Win games against teams that they should beat
It’s great to get the occasional upset win, but if that is balanced by an upset loss you haven’t made much progress. Last year UW lost probably 2 games that they should have won. The goal this year was to avoid those. If you have to lose games, then lose them to teams that you should lose to-but win the rest.
Back in February I identified 7 games where I thought that UW should be favored: Colorado State, UC Davis, WSU, Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue, and UCLA. UW has played 5 of those teams and has won each of those games. They are also still favored against Purdue and UCLA. UCLA is an interesting case given how their season has gone, but even on the road it is a game that UW should have a good chance of winning. In addition, they are now favored against Wisconsin; they were a slight underdog before the season started. And, of course, they now have a win over Illinois. That was a bit of a toss-up game before the season, even though it was at home, because Illinois was expected to start the season ranked (which they did).
Goal: On track, but not yet achieved.
4. Be ranked in the CFP (top-25) at some point in the 2025 season
The first of the CFP rankings will be announced next week. Since UW is not currently in the top-25 of the AP or the Coaches poll, there is no guarantee that they will be in that first ranking. However, as I outlined in an article earlier this week , there is a good chance that they will be in the top-25 when the next AP and Coaches polls are released on Sunday due to other teams losing (while UW is idle). Plus, there is also a chance that the CFP will rank UW in the top-25 anyway (even if they aren’t in the other two polls) because of their performance this season.
Even if UW doesn’t make it in the first CFP ranking, they still have a good chance of making it in later this season. As long as they beat Wisconsin, Purdue, and UCLA, as they are favored to do, they will likely not only be in the top-25, but could move up into the top-20 or even the top-15. So this goal still seems realistic.
Goal: On track, but not yet achieved.
5. Be in the top 50 in both scoring offense and scoring defense
UW started off the season in the top 5 in scoring offense. Unfortunately, games against Ohio State and Michigan have dropped them. But, they are still #25 in scoring offense nationally. As long as UW’s starters on offense can remain healthy enough to finish out the season, there is no reason to believe that UW can’t easily finish in the top 50 in scoring offense-especially considering the defenses that they will be facing in their next 3 games.
Currently UW is #37 in scoring defense. They have done a good job of ‘bend-but-not-break’. They have given up yards, and maddeningly many 3rd down conversions, but have done a good job of keeping the opponent out of the end zone. They will also face 3 offenses that rank #135, #101, and #116 in scoring offense among FBS teams. We should expect that UW can continue to keep those teams under 24 points per game, so UW should be expected to continue to be in the top 50 in scoring defense.
Goal: On track.
6. Be in the top 75 in Special Teams
UW’s special teams were ‘bad’ in 2024. Realistically they weren’t going to go from #110 to be in the top 50, so the goal was just top 75. Ranking Special Teams is not nearly as easy as ranking offense or defense, especially since there are so many aspects to it. That’s why the goal specifies that they just be ranked in the top 75 in any one of the rankings that do rank Special Teams.
I think that most Husky fans would say that UW’s Special Teams have improved over last year, although there are still some problems. Are they currently in the top 75? That depends on where you look. FEI has them at #56. SP+ has them at #105. And Kelly Ford has them at #96. Since the goal was to be in the top 75 in at least one ranking, they are currently meeting that goal. However, they still have work to do to stay in the top 75 by the end of the year.
Goal: On track, but it is close.
7. Win the bowl game
Obviously it is way to early to know whether UW has a realistic chance of winning their bowl game. The good news, however, is that they already know that they will be playing in a bowl game. And as I outlined in that earlier article , they have a chance to play in a good bowl-which means a chance at a good opponent.
Goal: Incomplete.
Recruiting Goals
Coach Fisch has said that he wants to build the program primarily through high school recruiting, so it is important that he can deliver great recruiting classes. The 2025 class has already paid dividends as many true freshmen have been contributors so far, including some that have been starters. Currently there are no commits for the 2027 class (or beyond), but the 2026 class currently has 20 commits-and more can be expected.
1. Have an average recruit rating (on 247Sports) of at least 89
The ratings on 247Sports (or any other recruiting site) are not perfect, but they do give us a good idea of which are some of the best recruits. If UW wants to compete with teams like Ohio State, which get many of the best recruits in the country, then having at least some of those top recruits can be helpful.
UW currently has 20 commits, and on 247Sports the average rating for those 20 is 89.03. As of now, they are hitting that goal. That average will likely change as the ratings on the recruits get updated after the high school season. And it is also very likely that UW will get more commits before the class is finished. So, that average could go up or down. But, it isn’t likely to go up above 90, nor is it likely to go below 88, so at a minimum UW should be close to meeting this goal.
Goal: On track, but it may be close.
2. Get at least 9 blue chip (4-star or 5-star) commits
This goes largely hand-in-hand with the previous goal. These blue chip recruits are the best-of-the-best, and needed. Obviously it is not a perfect indicator of which recruits will end up as the best players, as we have seen from Dezmen Roebuck and Raiden Vines-Bright, neither of which were a blue chip recruit. But, John Mills was (barely); so were Rylon Dillard-Allen, Dylan Robinson, Chris Lawson, and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale.
Currently UW has commits from one 5-star (Kodi Greene) and seven 4-stars, for a total of 8. UW is likely to get more commits before the December signing period, so there is a chance that they could add another. There is also a chance that one or more of UW’s commits will be upgraded from a 3-star to a 4-star. Several of UW’s commits are very close including TI Umu-Cais (0.8889) and Rahsjon Duncan (0.8878). (To be a 4-star, they need to be 0.8901 or higher.)
Goal: Close, but not there yet.
3. Sign at least one recruit from outside of Washington that is rated in the top 100 (247Sports Composite)
Getting the top in-state players is great, but there are usually not enough of them to fill a recruiting class. So it is important to attract not just the best in-state recruits, but also get some of the top recruits from outside of the state.
So far UW has commitments from two of the top-100 recruits: OT Kodi Greene and RB Brian Bonner. Both are rated high enough that it seems very likely that they will end up in the top-100 by the end of the year. There is an argument that Kodi Greene isn’t really from outside of Washington since he was from Sammamish before moving to California last year. But, between getting him to flip from Oregon and that he’s a 5-star recruit, I, for one, can let that slide. And with Brian Bonner also being a top-100 recruit, UW will definitely meet that goal even if you don’t count Kodi Greene.
Goal: On track, but still have to sign them.
Summary
UW has achieved one of the 10 goals (between football and recruiting). Next week they could achieve another-if they are ranked in the CFP. And shortly after that, they could achieve a 3rd if they can beat Purdue. We won’t know the status of the others until the season ends-and in the case of recruiting, not until the high school recruiting cycle is done. But it looks like UW is in a position to achieve most, if not all, of the remaining goals. Even if they fall short of one or two, it appears like it will be a very successful year for Husky football. The biggest concern for Husky fans at this point is probably not meeting any of these goals, but whether Coach Fisch will still be UW’s coach next year. If he’s not, then the momentum built from achieving any of these goals will have been lost.
