How to Resurrect The Dawgs
WoolleyDoog
Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 4,569 
So Jedd's got some positive momentum going with the progrum. Good instate recruiting, limiting portal losses, nice DC hire, potential star QB returning. Here's the deal though…what happens if we go out and go 7-5 in 2025? Can we maintain it?
The semi-realistic ideal goal to me is going 10-2. That keeps you in the important conversations all year and gives you a shot at a B10CG and potential playoff berth.
But how do you get there?
Win one of these
UW likely has two chances for likely signature wins for Jedd Fish in Husky Stadium, the conference opener, and the closer. Preseason Top 5-10 teams roll into Husky Stadium with potential vulnerabilities. You have to find a way to get one of these.
Ohio State
Oregon
Lose only one of these
Splitting these games would be a success, but we're talking goals here. I'll add Illinois is a preseason Top 10 team but I have no idea who good they actually are. I had Maryland in the Needs to be a win category but it's a tough draw going all the way there the week after Ohio State where you need to throw everything you got to get a win.
at Wisconsin
at Michigan
Illinois
at Maryland
Need to Win (no excuses)
Can't afford to and shouldn't lose any of these games. I go back and forth or putting UCLA a rung up, but they should suck. No excuses.
at UCLA
at Washington State
Rutgers
Colorado State
Purdue
UC Davis
(games listed in order of projected difficulty)
Comments
8-4 with a bowl win to get to 9 keeps a nice upward trajectory. Anything less than that and Judd loses most of the luster he’s managed to generate. If you hit that marker you probably finish ranked with a junior QB coming back and a lot of presumed nice pieces around him. 6-7 to 9-4 to Playoffs. That’s the minimum.
9+ wins, fringe playoff contender would be acceptable to me this season. 2026 should be ‘all gas, no Sark’ playoff run.
Having upperclassmen and figuring out how to win on road is biggest hurdle. Husky Stadium will welcome OSU and Oregon with plunger, NS Upper Deck is tanned, rested, and ready to rumble. The Illini could be stumbling block, beware…
Illinois was one of the worst teams Oregon played last year imho. I do not get the preseason hype at all. Seems all to be based on beating a mediocre sec team in a bowl game.
That and their number of returning starters though IMHO, that matters less than it did in the older days.
Also, how do they calculate returning starters? UW is an interesting team because I'd consider Demond Williams at least a partial returning starter due to the many games he played in as well as the few starts at the end of the year. Someone like Quinten Moore could be considered a returning starter but probably isn't. What about relatively good portal guys who were starters at other schools?
They were the luckiest big 10 team last year according to some poast.
Watching Indiana and Illinois last year, Indiana felt like a good team that benefitted from a really easy schedule and Illinois felt like an average, maybe even below average team that just got a perfect schedule. Wouldn't surprise me if Illinois went 5-7 or something in 2025.
what happens if we go out and go 7-5 in 2025? Can we maintain it?
@Woolley Doog - yes I think we can maintain 7-5, its a tradition with the UW
I think people are underplaying the “every fucking team gets a bye week before us” story. That’s a yuge advantage.
I used to feel like on field success was the #1 key to recruiting, and recruiting success was #2 (success breeding success via hype).
Putring together the best compensation packages is now #1 and it isn't close. I'm not sure winning matters all that much.
I see 7-5. Too many teams have bye weeks before they play the Huskies. UW just doesn't have very good depth this year. Michigan and Wiscy are beatable.
6-6 floor.
10-2 ceiling.
These are the wins:
Illinois
at Maryland
at Washington State
Rutgers
Colorado State
Purdue
UC Davis
I could see Ohio State and Oregon going 9-3 if they play weak. (They lost a lot.)
Penn State is probably going to the title game. Allar is a top 10 pick.
A lot of B1G teams are going to be 8-4 at the end of the season.
It's hard to predict because there's a lot more mystery in the conference this season.
Ohio State is obviously Ohio State, but this is probably the most retooling they've had to do coming into a season in a very long time and the biggest question they've had at QB.
Oregon was set last year with a good veteran base, old ass proven QB and great portal additions. This year they have a question at QB and are lesser in the other spots.
Penn State feels like the only proven commodity but they're coached by Franklin.
The Big 10 could have a year like the SEC last year.
Well, we did beat Texas two games in a row and the poached their OL who has been looking really good for us already. Texas who is worth more than double our AD.
9 wins minimum
Of course, that is the minimal acceptable win total. Last year's record but not inexplicably losing to Rudgers, WSU or Louisville. No backsliding Jedd.
If we include a bowl win, nine should be very attainable. I hate the bye week thing and that we have one of ours in week 3, when we really don't need it.
So Sark didn't want him or at least not very badly.