What should Washington's expectations be in 2024 under Jedd Fisch? l College Football Podcast

Jed fish is a big 10 football coach welcome to 2024 that is Lars Hansen co-host lockon Huskies joining me here on the show LS we'll hit a couple of points but first your initial reaction to What Jed fish said the most kind of quotable moment was when he pointed out that Washington has beaten Oregon three times in a row Texas two times in a row and whatnot of course he hasn't coached a game at Washington yet but that's his university that that's accomplished all that yeah and he omitted the fact that he lost to Washington last year at Arizona his for school so the fact that Jed really is Jed is a Salesman that's the one thing I've learned about Jed in his time at Washington Jed has no fear setting lofty expectations whether they're even realistic or in the ballpark are realistic he set the expectations for having the highest ranked recruiting class in Washington history for 2025 whether they meet that or not the idea that year one he's going to have that much success was a little bit lofty so hearing Jed's comments at the podium wasn't necessarily that much of a surprise in hindsight for someone who covers watch Washington but it also is a little weird just in this whole jedf fish is a Washington Big 10 head football coach and also weirdly enough Washington did beat Oregon three years in a row in Texas twice in two bowl games worth noting it's in two bowl games not two regular season games I have a hunch that game would have gone differently if it was in the regular season or in Austin just something different there was a little bit of momentum going in ub's favor in both of those games obviously the Sugar Bowl getting to the national championship game but Jed's got a lot of work to do because he as as he said in that opening remark 46 new players a brand new roster a brand new coaching staff the only coach that has any familiarity with those two Jimmy dhy the quarterback's coach and uh tight ends coach Jordan POA and also special teams quarter both coaches were at were at Washington with Steve sarkeesian back in 2012 2013 long long time ago the school has changed it's a new conference it's a new day but Jed is still the same old Jen yeah and I I think that for for Washington this year you know any coach and and and you know on the lofty expectations front recruiting Trail whatever you want to talk about I think it's fair for fans to say ah you know have your reaction like I don't know but would you rather a coach strive for that or say he's going to strive for that and not actually have the ability to reach it or would you rather have someone come out and said yeah you know we just kind of accept where we like that's going to drive people you know uh into a frenzy there so I I I understand where he's coming from with all of that but for this particular season 46 new players that's a Colorado level of of turnover like that's a that's an entirely new roster 20 or 21 of uh the starters from last year's team gone to n the NFL or or the transfer portal so where do you see Washington fitting into the conference they're now officially a new member of I mean the logos are are formally up around here in Indianapolis it's there's Michigan's logo over there and then not far down the way up there's Washington oh there's Oregon there's USC and UCLA where does Washington for 2024 fit into that mix Washington fans are not going to like to hear this but where the Big 10 unofficial preseason media polls had them between 9 and 10 basically in the dead middle of this 18 team Big 10 conference which again Big 10 18 team still all weird to say but it's really that's where Washington's at they're not UCLA bottom third they're not struggling that much because I do think there is enough Talent on the roster with real Rogers a fifth year sixth year quarterback coming from Mississippi State Coleman there's enough pieces and then you also bring in Steve belich as this a defensive coordinator from the New England Patriots so there's enough pieces to not be totally awful but by no means is this a N9 10 win team going to the N going to the college football playoff even in an expanded college football playoff so I think having their expectation be the middle of the conference I have them finishing seven and five eight and four depending on which certain games and the key games are not in November I'm already saying they're losing to Oregon I'm already saying they can lose to Penn State those are already guaranteed losses on this country if they happen to win those games so be they go two pen State they go two penate they go Eugene and those are all in the month of November those games against Ruckers on Friday night the end of September and Iowa City on October 12th I know those when you hear those two schools are like who cares about Iowa you know Iowa and and Ruckers but those are now the new tough games of the conference those are the Oregon State Games those are the cow games which Washington did struggle with in the in the latter years of the Pack 12 going down to the Bay Area sneaking some away and even actually losing to Cal in what 2019 the lightning year lightning year I don't even know what year that was 2019 it was 2019 CU it was Chris Peterson's last year Chris Peterson came on the microphone at 1:30 in the morning saying we're getting ready to play and I'm like there's 10 people on the stands this is awesome and I got home at 3: in the morning so that was there's a lot that has changed in that regard but these are new challenges for Washington going across the country to New Jersey they did that before but that was for home and home back in what 2015 2014 over a decade ago clearly over a decade ago in that regard and Ruckers has gotten better Greg shano's there so these are all different tough outs there's no way that you can say Washington is on the same level of Oregon this year there's an unbiased look at both rashers would say yeah there's Washington has talent but Oregon is a couple yards maybe a couple first downs and I think the biggest difference between those two teams specifically the returners like like Washington's got a lot of talented newcomers but Oregon has matched or even surpassed that in the transfer portal if you look at the 247 rankings that's the way you'd see it you can say that's not the best way to look at it fine but Oregon's brought in some Heavy Hitters in the transfer portal and they have a core of returners guys that have all conference capability or or NFL draft capability as well but I'm glad you brought up Will Rogers because I think when you talk about the landscape of quarterbacks in the Big 10 I think this is the weakest big the weakest quarterback conference in in the power four I I think the Big 12 is probably the best or the SEC those are the top two I think the ACC is squarely in third I think the Big 10 is clearly clearly fourth that said Will Rogers is not at the bottom of that conference he's not at the top either he's he's not there but he's not a guy that is going to go out and struggle to throw for 200 yards in a game this isn't Jeff Sims at at Nebraska last year Will Rogers is a quarterback if you put if you put Will Rogers on Michigan this year I think that would answer a lot of questions absolutely and I think well the the key factor for Washington is you can have well Rogers is a great quarterback and I think he's going to win the job and deon's going to be the starter in 25 and so on and so forth but my question will is a good quarterback but he has to have an offensive line and I look at Washington's offensive line right now it's a problem you know what it could turn out to be good there's a lot of it's a boomer bust situation where you're bringing in a former shuko All-American left tackle who wasn't played in 18 months a left starting left guard who had an ACL injury last season a Portland State Center an Ohio state fifth year Right Guard who only had two starts in his entire career in Columbus and a decent starting right tackle at San Diego State and JZ a party who started for one year that to me Will Rogers and I think that the reason why Will Rogers is so important having that veteran Presence at the quarterback position setting up the offense setting up the offensive line helping kind of massage some of those Kinks early on might might end up producing one or two extra wins that would not come with a different type of quarterback the question is is Will going to have enough time I think it's a perfect marriage between him and Jed and you have to remember he committed to kayin debor and Ryan grub that was who he wanted to play for and by the time he ended up looking in the portal a second time around he was going G5 that was the only other option he could there wasn't a ton of other powerful options everybody had already the quarterback Carousel had kind of already already played itself out exactly and so it was a perfect mix to end up with had an offensive coach so there's no Jimmy leg factor of oh I got a defensive head coach and I'm an offensive and I'm a quarterback but there's still so many it's the mystery team in college football it is the flat that that's the only way that I can describe it it's the mystery team in college football because yeah there's a lot of potential but potential on paper is can go up in Flames pretty quick you know after at the end of September if you're three and three o line struggles those Oregon and Michigan games could get ugly because those are Premier defensive lines and so I want I want to close with with Michigan you talked to Donovan Edwards earlier uh while while he was here at Big 10 media days about the rematch with W with Washington what what did he say that that was notable and then uh your quick thoughts on on that game that is a rematch of the national championship game but certainly it's going to look and feel very different you got new coaches new player you got new everything and the game is being played in Seattle instead of a neutral sight and a perfect segue into that Don r also mentioned the 21 game again and when Washington traveled to Michigan under Jimmy Lake and having that debacle the way that that game went down I think it's going to be somewhere in the middle if and this is why it's a perfect game to have in October because you get the month of September to warm up get everything figured out and try and give Michigan your biggest punch because they're going to get Washington's biggest punch I just don't know how well it's going to connect when you look at the rush Michigan does you don't have JJ McCarthy but you do have Don Ben there's you have will Johnson who's a locked down quarterback so there's a lot of pieces that Michigan has Graham probably the best interior defensive lineman in in this upcoming draft CL I was already kind of just gifting that because of our talks with the offensive line if Mason Graham doesn't have more than three sacks against Washington I will be very surprised it be it' be a win morally of course exactly but there's for me in this game of Washington I don't expect him to win I would say they're probably going to be 10-point underdogs coming into the game eight and a half n and a half is kind of where the line is it opened 11 and 1 half which I thought was a little bit too high I think right around eight or nine is is about right and so I could see the the win for Washington is you lose by four or you lose on a field goal or you lose on a one possession the key for Washington do not have that second half result in the national championship come up at home against Michigan again because Washington disappeared in the second half where there was so much fight that I was expecting in that national championship game that never came and now you have some of those still guys Cameron filani Carson Bruner Alonso gutala linebacker a handful of guys that were a part of that 23 team that still have a little sour taste in their mouth from everything that went on I have a hunch they're going to get up for that game I don't expect them to win but I don't think it's going to be a blowout unless of course as we said the offensive line is just in absolute chaos which is a separate result I think that's where the mismatch could come in play is is Michigan's D line Washington's offensive line one thing I do know for sure Michigan's going to get the best punch from that Seattle crowd like you you know that no matter what has happened in Washington Seasons up to that point and they should have several wins on on the resume at that point in the season crowd crowd should have that I I don't know if it'll be the Oregon gear from from a season ago but I I think that they'll certainly be they'll certainly be cranked up to a to a nine or 10 on the on the noise meter nothing will top that Oregon game I will tell you that watching that on the sideline hearing the silence in the air as cam Lewis kick his kick was in the air nothing will ever top that Lars Hansen co-host locked on Huskies here at Big 10 media days joining me in person Lars appreciate it man always Spencer