The calendar has flipped to July, which means undivided attention and focus can be paid to the upcoming 2024 college football season.
Conference media days are now only days away. It will be our first legitimate look at the sport’s new landscape after this offseason’s significant realignment. Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington will attend a Big Ten media day schedule that now includes 18 teams, while Texas and Oklahoma will make their first appearances as SEC competitors. It will be a harsh dose of reality that will only grow stronger when the season kicks off in late August.
Related: One Big Ten game to watch each week of the 2024 football season
While there is still some more movement to come on the class of 2025 recruiting trail, right now it is all-systems-go toward the fast-approaching season.
Our preview work here at Badgers Wire will continue throughout the month with in-depth looks at every Big Ten team and position group. It will provide a comprehensive look at what Wisconsin will face both in 2024 and beyond.
Team Previews: Indiana Hoosiers — Purdue Boilermakers — Illinois Fighting Illini — Northwestern Wildcats — Minnesota Golden Gophers — Nebraska Cornhuskers — Iowa Hawkeyes — Rutgers Scarlet Knights — Maryland Terrapins — Michigan State Spartans — USC Trojans — UCLA Bruins — Washington Huskies
Position Previews: Quarterbacks — Running Backs — Wide Receivers — Offensive Lines — Tight Ends — Defensive Line — Linebackers — Cornerbacks — Safeties
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Next up is 2023’s national championship runner-up, the Washington Huskies.
The team that will take the field to start 2024 is completely different than last year’s near-champion. Head coach Kalen DeBoer left for the Alabama vacancy, taking with him many of the Huskies’ top players. New head coach Jedd Fisch did the same upon arriving from Arizona, but Washington’s 36% returning production mark is down at No. 130 in the nation (of 133 total programs).
Change will define the 2024 Huskies. Here is what to expect from the team this season:
Coaching Staff
Dec 28, 2023; San Antonio, TX, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch reacts at the end of the Alamo Bowl against the Oklahoma Sooners at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Head Coach: Jedd Fisch (ranked No. 11 in Big Ten)
Offensive Coordinator: Brennan Carroll (ranked No. 6 in Big Ten)
Defensive Coordinator: Steve Belichick (ranked No. 16 in Big Ten)
Recent History
Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer looks on against the Michigan Wolverines during the first quarter in the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Washington’s most recent history is an improbable run to the 2023 national championship game. The Huskies finished the season 14-1 overall after losing the contest to Michigan. It was one of the greatest seasons in the history of the storied program.
Taking a further step back, the Huskies program is fresh off a two-year Kalen DeBoer era during which the team lost only three total games. It went 25-3, including a 17-2 conference record and one Pac-12 title. After a time of transition in the years since the end of the Chris Petersen era, Washington is back to operating like one of the best programs in the sport.
That is where the outlook entering 2024 gets interesting. Star head coach DeBoer is off to Alabama, and in comes former Arizona HC Jedd Fisch to replace him. Fisch is on a similar trajectory to DeBoer after turning Arizona from 1-11 to 10-3 in only three years.
Fisch and the new-look Huskies should maintain DeBoer’s momentum. The program has long been one of the most competitive of the West Coast powers. That should continue — though 2024 might be more of a transition year than anything.
Offseason Movement
Mississippi State QB Will Rogers (2) passes against Ole Miss during the second half of the Egg Bowl at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger-USA TODAY NETWORK
Transfers In: 22
Transfers Out: 29
The transfer movement in and out of Washington this offseason has been extensive. Notable departing transfers include iOL Parker Brailsford (Alabama), CB Jabbar Muhammad (Oregon), S Mishael Powell (Miami), QB Austin Mack (Alabama) and WR Germie Bernard (Alabama).
But the team is welcoming in a significant transfer group, led by former Mississippi State QB Will Rogers. He was committed to the program while DeBoer was still in charge, then decided to stay onboard for the Fisch era.
Rogers will be complemented by former Arizona WR Kevin Green Jr., RB Jordan Washington, QB Demond Williams Jr., iOL Michael Watkins, edge defenders Russell Davis and Isaiah Ward, WR Audric Harris, CB Ephesians Prysock and RB Jonah Coleman.
The Huskies will start five transfers on defense, led by Prysock and DL Ward and Sebastian Valdez. Four transfers will help lead the offense, none more important than Rogers.
Win Total Over/Under
Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Washington Huskies cornerback Kamren Fabiculanan (13) reacts after a play against the Michigan Wolverines during the third quarter in the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Win Total: 6.5
Pick: OVER (8-4, with wins over Weber State, Eastern Michigan, Northwestern, Rutgers, Iowa, Indiana, UCLA, Michigan)
Las Vegas is not high on the Huskies in 2024 after welcoming in a new coaching staff and returning only 36% of last year’s production. The team has the same challenging schedule as every other team in the new Big Ten, with conference games against Oregon, Penn State, Michigan, USC and Iowa. But Fisch’s recent history and the program’s talent level point to a solid debut campaign.
Season Outlook
Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Washington Huskies mascot Harry the Husky during the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Washington has questions to answer in 2024 as it transitions into the Big Ten while simultaneously welcoming in a new coaching regime.
The season will be mostly defined by its play against the middle and bottom-tier Big Ten programs, including Iowa, Rutgers, Northwestern, Indiana and UCLA. Washington finding success in those matchups would establish a strong baseline amid its transition. It would then set up the program to ascend as a contender once Fisch reshapes the roster.
Much of the team’s 2024 performance will rely on the arm of Rogers and a new-look defense with some real questions up front. It’s reasonable to expect bowl eligibility as the baseline despite the program’s ongoing questions.
Badgers Wire Bowl Projection
Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Alex Orji (10) runs the ball against Washington Huskies cornerback Dominique Hampton (7) during the second quarter in the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Bowl Projection: Holiday Bowl vs. Louisville
It’s hard to see a complete falloff from Washington after 2023’s 14-1 finish. Enough wins exist on the schedule where even if the team regresses, bowl eligibility should be a given.
Fisch and his coaching staff did well to reload the roster in the transfer portal after a delayed hiring cycle. Those efforts should help the program reach its floor of 7-5 or 8-4.
What Wisconsin Fans Should Know
Wisconsin does not face Washington in 2024, so Badgers fans may not take a direct interest in the Huskies.
But Washington is yet another program that has the chance to surpass the Badgers in the new Big Ten landscape. Many forward-looking program power rankings have the Huskies ranked higher, especially coming off of 2023’s breakthrough.
Badgers fans should monitor how the Huskies perform in year one under Fisch and how that performance compares to the Badgers in year two under Fickell. The two programs have equal over-under win totals. We’ll see which surpasses that expectation.
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Publish date : 2024-07-20 08:40:00
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