Poor, pitiful Huskies.
It's been a bleak two years for the Dawgs, mired in the second division of the Big Ten while Oregon wins a conference championship and runs up a 26-3 overall record. More looks in store as the Ducks have averaged a Top Five recruiting class in five years under Dan Lanning while Jedd Fisch and UW had to threaten to sue their quarterback to keep him in school.
Since reaching the national championship game in the brief Kalen DeBoer era, the Huskies have lost twice to Oregon by a total of six touchdowns, with Williams hitting the turf for a total of 14 sacks. Over that time, the Dawgs are 10-10 in the conference, the very definition of a mediocre program.
In fact, in the last 25 seasons beginning with 2002, the Huskies have finished with six or more losses 15 times, including four times under Steve Sarkisian, two times under the vaunted Chris Petersen and 2024 under Fisch.
A quarter century of evidence shows them to be a window program, brief periods of success interspersed with a norm of dreadful mediocrity. While the deluded fanbase prefers to define themselves by the long-distant glory years when they were voted a half-national championship, the inescapable reality is they've finished outside the promised land ever since, including some seasons of legendary ineptness, like 0-12 in 2008.
So it isn't surprising that some Washington fans try to salvage dignity with any crumb of achievement. Yesterday on X a few of the faithful were agog to find their cherished alma mater a few rating points ahead of Oregon in 247Sports recruiting rankings.
*stirs pot* pic.twitter.com/bMze5x5OGb
— Dub'd Up  (@dubduphuskies) May 19, 2026
The numbers are misleading for a couple of reasons. One, it's May and there are miles to go until recruiting sleeps. The Ducks have a series of big visits on tap for June including Ismael Camara, Marcus Fakatou, KJ Green, Julius Jones Jr. and Kasi Currie. The standings will look a lot different by July as some major decisions are announced.
Secondly, these aren't even the most definitive rankings. In the 247Sports Composite the Ducks are No. 10 and Washington is 13. Fisch's 2027 class is dominated by three-star commitments, nine in all, players who tend to decide early while they still have a Power 4 offer. The top talent is more deliberate and works from a longer list of options.
But the Dawgs were ahead in one ranking for a minute, and in the rent-free minds of the diehards, that counts as a victory. Until the playoffs expand to 24 teams, that's as close as they're likely to come on the fetid shores of Montlake, polluted by yacht fuel and delusion.
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