More than 130 schools play major college football — 134 to be exact — but few experienced a greater year-over-year downturn than Washington.
Florida State is atop the list. After posting a 13-1 record in 2023, the Seminoles won just two games this fall.
Oklahoma State played for the Big 12 title last year but was winless in conference play in 2024.
Michigan regressed substantially, as well. Last season’s national champions managed just seven victories and are playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Also on the short list of long slides: The Washington Huskies.
This time last year, they were preparing for a playoff game and would advance to the national championship. Today, the Huskies (6-6) are preparing to face Louisville in the Sun Bowl with a winning season in the balance.
But there’s more at stake than the number of wins and losses marked for posterity. UW’s date with Louisville on the final day of 2024 is essentially an ultra-early exhibition game for the 2025 season.
And the 2025 season matters a great deal — both for the Huskies’ long-haul trajectory in the Big Ten and coach Jedd Fisch’s near-term success on Montlake.
It’s not difficult to spot the connection between UW’s bowl performances and the fate of the ensuing season. Many of the school’s best teams were formed in the aftermath of bowl victories.
— The run to the Rose Bowl in the 1980 season was launched in the final week of the 1970s, with a win over Texas in the Sun Bowl.
— History repeated a decade later, when the Huskies finished the 1980s with a dominant effort against Florida in the Freedom Bowl. They shut down Gators running back Emmitt Smith and rolled to a 34-7 victory that set up their charge to the Granddaddy in 1990 and the national championship season the following year.
— The run to the College Football Playoff in 2016, the third year of Chris Petersen’s tenure, received a boost from UW’s victory over Southern Mississippi the preceding season in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
— And clearly, the Huskies’ first-class performance against Texas in the 2022 Alamo Bowl helped fuel the subsequent run to the national championship game 50 weeks ago.
Bowl success can boost player confidence and team chemistry through the long offseason season, especially when combined with roster retention and stability atop the program.
We expect Fisch back for 2025. Same with quarterback Demond Williams and tailback Jonah Coleman, who has already stated his intentions to return, and other key players on both sides of scrimmage.
The Huskies won’t be starting over next fall, which adds relevance to their performance in El Paso.
To the picks ..
Last week: 2-3
Season: 72-58-2
Five-star special: 9-7
All picks against the spread
Lines taken from VegasInsider.com
(All times Pacific)
Washington State (+16.5) vs. Syracuse (Holiday Bowl)
Kickoff: Friday at 5 p.m. on Fox
Comment: The Cougars opened as 5.5-point underdogs, then lost quarterback John Mateer (to the transfer portal) and coach Jake Dickert (to Wake Forest) and the line tripled. Syracuse won nine games, beat Miami in the regular-season finale and will have both its head coach (Fran Brown) and quarterback (Kyle McCord) in the bowl game. This has all the ingredients necessary for a beatdown of the highest order. Pick: Syracuse
USC (+4) vs. Texas A&M (Las Vegas Bowl)
Kickoff: Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Comment: The circle comes full for the Trojans, who end their season where it began, in Sin City, albeit under starkly different circumstances. Nothing that transpires this weekend will provide an uplift comparable to what USC felt after rallying to beat LSU on Sept. 1. Both teams had hoped for better, but only one will turn that frustration into a quality performance. Pick: Texas A&M
Iowa State (+3.5) vs. Miami (Pop-Tarts Bowl)
Kickoff: Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on ABC
Comment: The Hurricanes blew a lead in their finale at Syracuse, dropped out of the ACC championship race and had their playoff hopes squashed. The Cyclones were outclassed in the Big 12 title game by Arizona State. Picking up the pieces works better when Iowa State’s Matt Campbell is in charge of the clean up, rather than Miami’s Mario Cristobal. Pick: Iowa State
Brigham Young (+4) vs. Colorado (Alamo Bowl)
Kickoff: Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on ABC
Comment: One of the best matchups of the postseason features a new Big 12 team and a newer Big 12 team that did not meet during the regular season. CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders and receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter are scheduled to participate, boosting an aerial attack that ranks 12th nationally in yards-per-attempt. Meanwhile, BYU’s pass defense was ninth in fewest yards-per-attempt allowed. Should be fascinating. Pick: Colorado
Washington (+2.5) vs. Louisville (Sun Bowl)
Kickoff: Tuesday at 11 a.m. on CBS
Comment: The Cardinals will be without quarterback Tyler Shough, who opted out weeks ago to prepare for the NFL Draft, while UW will lean on freshman Demond Williams. The Huskies have better personnel across 22 positions, but we watched them underachieve repeatedly away from home this season — that includes the Apple Cup, which was played a few miles from campus — and have zero reason to expect anything different in El Paso. Pick: Louisville
Michigan (+12.5) vs. Alabama (ReliaQuest Bowl)
Kickoff: Tuesday at 9 a.m. on ESPN
Comment: The outcome of the Disappointment Bowl hinges on which team mustered more focus through two weeks of preparation. We see the advantage with Michigan, which never had a chance to reach the College Football Playoff and therefore didn’t have to cope with rejection. Pick: Michigan
Straight-up winners: Syracuse, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Colorado, Louisville and Michigan
Five-star special: Colorado. Sanders and Hunter will end their college careers with showcase performances for NFL scouts.
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