2 Postseason Matchups Forecast for Huskies in Vegas

Each bowl game involves an SEC opponent in December.

Former Husky center Nick Harris (56) and wide receiver Aaron Fuller (2) hoist the Las Vegas Bowl trophy at Sam Boyd Stadium in 2019. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The University of Washington football team went underground this week with no press access, no interviews of any kind and not much social-media presence, which seemed a little odd because Jedd Fisch is somewhat of a natural promoter.

He claims to be running an NFL-style program, too, but the pros don't take a week off from the outside world.

Plus, last we heard the Weber State season opener was not a sellout.

Yet all of this just lends to the intrigue in Fisch having to rebuild practically an entire new college football team from the remnants of a national championship game qualifier, the infusion of an Arizona contingent he brought with him to Montlake and the addition of a host of other newcomers with, shall we say, unique backgrounds.

Fisch apparently needs two weeks in private to add the secret sauce to what we think will be an 8-win football team, postseason included.

Granted, the Huskies at last look appeared to be well-coached on both sides of the ball in the recent intrasquad game, have an abundance of capable skill players assembled, a budding star in edge rusher Zach Durfee and an elite kicking game, but the muscle up front -- offensively and defensively -- remains in serious question.

So outside of the weight room, where does the UW go from here?

As far as the postseason is concerned, ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach both have predicted the Huskies will be moderately successful and finish up in the Las Vegas Bowl against an SEC opponent, though each of these experts has them facing a different team.

Bonagura says the UW will play LSU while Schlabach forecasts an Auburn season-ender. The Huskies haven't beaten either set of these Tigers, going 0-3 against the guys from Baton Rouge and 0-1 against Alabama's perennial No. 2 team. If it happens, Fisch's team will show up for the Vegas Bowl on Friday night, Dec. 27.

Yet it makes sense. The last time the Huskies went 8-5 -- again, our forecast for this team -- they ended up in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State at Sam Boyd Stadium and took a resounding 38-7 victory in Chris Petersen's farewell coaching appearance for the UW.

More recently, Kalen DeBoer's Huskies won the final Pac-12 championship game last December in Las Vegas by beating Oregon 34-31 at Allegiant Stadium, which now is the site for the Las Vegas Bowl.

Last week, college football analyst Brett McMurphy of Action Network predicted the UW would finish up in the Holiday Bowl against Notre Dame in San Diego.

Those are all good postseason choices, especially with a return trip to the College Football Playoff looking highly unlikely during this UW rebuild.

Yet behind closed doors, Fisch might have other thoughts, figuring he can work his magic for something a little more high profile than the Vegas Bowl, that he has a few football tricks up his sleeve with this Husky team.

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