As the Universe of Washington Football begins a new era with its 2024 campaign, here’s RealDawg’s look at the Huskies’ schedule, ranked by the intrigue and difficulty of each matchup.
Aug. 31- Weber State
Intrigue: No. 10
Difficulty: No. 12
Hosting Weber State will be a soft opening for new head coach Jedd Fisch and his staff at Husky Stadium.
The Wildcats were a middle-of-the-pack team in the Big Sky last season, and the Huskies should hope to have the game put away by halftime (unlike a certain season opener against an FCS team three years ago).
Weber State is the alma mater of Damian Lillard, but the Huskies can afford to give up a few three-pointers and still roll over the Wildcats. If UW isn’t 1-0 entering September, sound the warning bells.
Sep. 7- Eastern Michigan
Intrigue: No. 12
Difficulty: No. 11
Eastern Michigan was a solid MAC program last year, winning six games and earning bowl eligibility. But if the Huskies expect to compete with the juggernauts of the Big Ten, a loss to the Eagles won’t bode well.
The early afternoon game should provide a picture-perfect setting at Husky Harbor, and a fitting canvas for Washington’s offense to produce points.
A win over the Eagles can’t be written in Sharpie just yet, but the Huskies should be able to take care of business and improve to 2-0.
Sep. 14- Washington State—Apple Cup (Lumen Field)
Intrigue: No. 6
Difficulty: No. 9
Since 1960, the only two UW head coaches to lose their first Apple Cup matchup are Tyrone Willingham and Jimmy Lake. That’s good company for Jedd Fisch to avoid when the Huskies face the Cougars at Lumen Field.
The talent gap between Washington and its cross-state rival is perennially large, and that chasm has only widened throughout conference realignment, NIL, and the transfer portal.
Still, the Cougars have had this game circled on their calendar since the Huskies avoided Apple Cup armageddon with a Grady Gross field goal last November. Quarterback Cam Ward is gone, but star receiver Kyle Williams returns, and an influx of transfers gives head coach Jake Dickert an interesting roster that could make headway against its Mountain West schedule.
To be a remotely successful coach at Washington, beating the team from out east is quintessential. Fisch will face his first real test at the home of the Seahawks, and it’s one he simply has to pass.
Sep. 21- Northwestern
Intrigue: No. 8
Difficulty: No. 7
It’ll be a pack of purple when UW hosts Northwestern to kick off Big Ten play. Head coach David Braun turned the Wildcats around in 2023, going 8-5 after winning just one game a season prior.
Northwestern returns seven starters from a defense that finished 35th nationally, and posted one of the best pass defenses in the country. On the offensive side of the ball, the Wildcats return most of their playmakers from a unit that didn’t fare as well in 2023.
If Will Rogers brings his A game, the Huskies will enjoy a ceremonious Big Ten coronation at Husky Stadium.
Sep. 27- at Rutgers
Intrigue: No. 7
Difficulty: No. 5
You couldn’t have asked me to spell “Piscataway” 10 months ago, let alone to locate the city on a map. And yet, the New Jersey township – settled about 40 miles from Manhattan – is exactly where Washington will play its first road game of the 2024 season.
Rutgers isn’t the royalty of the Big Ten, but it’s also not the conference’s personal punching bag that it once was, either. Head coach Greg Schiano has resurrected the program for a second time, and led the Scarlet Knights to seven wins and a bowl game last season.
Rutgers will trot out a new quarterback – Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis – but returns its core and brings forth new reinforcements. The Scarlet Knights are nothing to scoff at anymore, and the Huskies will have to work to make their 2,826 mile trip worthwhile.
Oct. 5 – Michigan
Intrigue: No. 2
Difficulty: No. 3
This is a rematch of the national championship in name only. Featuring entirely new casts of players and coaches on both sides, the Oct. 5 edition of the Huskies and Wolverines will look more like a lower-budget remake than a sequel to the natty.
Michigan replaces quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum, its top two receivers, and the entire offensive line unit that steamrolled Washington in January. Even still, new head coach Sherrone Moore will inherit a large chunk of the defense that led the nation in 2023. On the offensive side of the ball, the return of Donovan Edwards — who gashed the Huskies for 104 yards on six carries in the championship — is shudder-inducing to Washington’s defense.
Both of these squads have lost a step since they last met at NRG Stadium, but the Wolverines’ revolving door of top-tier talent will once again make them hard for the Huskies to topple.
Oct. 12- at Iowa
Intrigue: No. 5
Difficulty: No. 4
Iowa’s defense is one of the best in the country. Simultaneously, its offense is bad enough to make you flip the TV to a Saturday afternoon re-run of Jeopardy.
So what gives?
Last year, the Hawkeyes slugged out 10 victories and qualified for the Big Ten championship, where they were blanked by Michigan, 27-0. Quarterback Cade McNamara will return for Iowa after suffering a season-ending injury in 2023, and the Hawkeyes will desperately hope that offensive coordinator Tim Lester gives the offense a new look in his first full season.
Iowa returns eight players from its stout defense, and it’ll be a challenge for Washington to put points on the board at Kinnick Stadium. The midseason game will be the ultimate litmus test for the Huskies, and could be the make-or-break point between a stellar season and a mediocre one.
Oct. 26- at Indiana
Intrigue: No. 9
Difficulty: No. 10
In a Big Ten world of haves and have-nots, Indiana has found itself on the wrong side since 2020, when it went 6-2 and was led by a guy named Michael Penix Jr.
Since then, the Hoosiers are a combined 9-27, and they’ve brought in former James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti to right the ship. Cignetti is a proven winner, and brought in many of his top playmakers with him from Harrisonburg. But Indiana, until proven otherwise, still sits at the bottom echelon of the conference.
If the Huskies want to be competitive in their first Big Ten season, a road game in Bloomington is one they can’t afford to lose.
Nov. 2- USC
Intrigue: No. 4
Difficulty: No. 6
Hello, old friend.
The Huskies and Trojans will face off for the first time in the Big Ten, a year after Washington outraced USC in the Coliseum, 52-42. Out is first-overall pick quarterback Caleb Williams, but in is new offensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who will need to transform the Trojans’ paltry defense.
There’s enough talent for USC to contend, but the question mark at quarterback, and uncertainty surrounding the defensive turnaround make the Trojans a wild card in 2024 in a critical year for Lincoln Riley.
This isn’t your fathers’ USC, and the Huskies could make a statement about their place on the West Coast pecking order with a win over their old foe.
Nov. 9- at Penn State
Intrigue: No. 1
Difficulty: No. 2
The “White Out” at Beaver Stadium is on any rabid college football fan’s bucket list.
The UW game may not earn that distinction, but hearing “Mo Bamba” blast on the speakers on national television as Will Rogers prepares for the opening snap in front of 106,000 white t-shirt-clad Nittany Lion fans would be another “Welcome to the Big Ten” moment.
White Out or not, Penn State will be a force for Washington to reckon with. The Nittany Lions crushed just about everybody on their 2023 schedule, but they couldn’t hang with the big boys in Ohio State and Michigan. Penn State returns the bulk of a defensive line that was known to get to the quarterback, and returning quarterback Drew Allar boasted a 25:2 touchdown to interception ratio.
The trip to Happy Valley will be one of the toughest of UW’s slate, and the Huskies will have to dig deep to escape with a win.
Nov. 15- UCLA
Intrigue: No. 10
Difficulty: No. 8
UCLA turns over a new leaf this year under new head coach DeShaun Foster. The Bruins have been a tricky matchup for the Huskies historically, and UCLA returns its best skill position player – J. Michael Sturdivant.
Former UW assistant Ikaika Malloe takes over the reins as defensive coordinator, but the Bruins lose some of their top players on that side of the ball, such as Laiatu Latu.
UCLA should be a tricky – but not nearly insurmountable – hurdle for Washington to clear at Husky Stadium.
Nov. 30- at Oregon
Intrigue: No. 3
Difficulty: No. 1
Remember that scene in A New Hope when Han Solo and Chewbacca chase a group of stormtroopers down the hallway of the Death Star, only to sprint back in the other direction once they’re met with an entire infantry?
After two years and three straight games of hunting down the Ducks, it might be the Huskies’ turn to retreat in 2024. The Ducks, like it or not, are a legitimate playoff contender, headlined by Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel at quarterback, Texas A&M receiver transfer Evan Stewart, and one of the strongest offensive lines in the country.
Kalen DeBoer made his first big splash at UW by upsetting Oregon in Eugene in 2022. Coach Fisch has a chance to follow suit, and extend the Huskies’ win streak in the rivalry series to four.
But if the Huskies can’t keep up with their hated foes on a cold late-November Saturday, it’ll be the Revenge of the Sith at Autzen.
