With the 2026 college football season around the corner, the Washington Huskies can't be deemed as a sleeper team anymore, since Jedd Fisch's program has become a mainstay in preseason top 25 rankings. On Monday, the Associated Press released its preseason poll and slotted Washington in as the No. 17 team in the nation, as most major outlets have placed the Huskies somewhere between No. 16 and 20 ahead of Fisch's third season at the helm. That also places the Huskies as the de facto No. 6 team in the Big Ten behind No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Oregon, No. 6 Indiana, No. 14 USC (the Trojans are tied with BYU for the ranking), and No. 16 Michigan, just ahead of No. 18 Penn State and No. 22 Iowa. Washington will face five of those programs, with the Hawkeyes, Hoosiers, and Nittany Lions all slated to head to Husky Stadium, while they'll hit the road to see the Ducks and Trojans.
https://t.co/T23NtgfCyw Ohio State and Oregon are 1-2 in the preseason poll while the SEC leads conferences with nine ranked teams. pic.twitter.com/KIcOlA5YyB — AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) August 17, 2026 After finishing 9-4 in 2025, the Huskies are looking to take another step forward in the conference behind quarterback Demond Williams Jr., a strong, experienced offensive line, and a deep rotation along the defensive line that could boost one of the nation's best defenses, led by coordinator Ryan Walters. With an experienced group of linebackers that could wind up among the nation's best by the end of the season, and four players in the secondary who have started games for the Huskies, led by All-Big Ten honorable mention safety Alex McLaughlin, Washington's defense could take another step forward under Walters after finishing No. 15 in the nation in points per game in 2025. However, the Huskies still have major questions to answer at both running back—where Jonah Coleman departed for the NFL draft and Adam Mohammed hit the transfer portal—and wide receiver, where Denzel Boston also left for the draft. Now, Fisch will be relying on a mix of veteran transfer portal acquisitions like running back Jayden Limar and wide receiver Christian Moss to replace the missing production, along with young players like receivers Chris Lawson and Trez Davis, and running backs Brian Bonner and Quaid Carr. This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington football ranked at No. 17 in 2026 preseason AP poll