The strange and surreal part of it all isn’t decisions that were made.

It’s that every single one has hit.

As No. 7 Washington prepares for the biggest game of the Pac-12 season (so far) against bitter rival and No. 8 Oregon, the idea 2 years ago that the Huskies could be in this position, this quickly, was laughable.

A fired coach, a suddenly unstable program and a tenuous and rocky future on the horizon.

“Some of these guys had 3 coaches in 3 years,” Washington coach Kalen DeBoer said in July. “We weren’t doing anything until we built trust.”

Now look: 23 months later, Washington is unbeaten and ranked in the top 10, and embracing the moment. Forget about the tired coachspeak of not making any game too big.

It’s big this weekend, and Washington wants it that way. It’s big because of where the Huskies are — and the depths they came from.

“You know, you saw this as a hopeful inevitable,” DeBoer said. “It came to this point.”

And what a wild, unthinkable and unconventional — and in hindsight, perfectly played — ride it has been.

Again, this must be underscored: every decision made by Washington has hit. Every single one.

The only negative in the process is how Washington found itself in the situation in the first place.

We begin where turnarounds typically emerge: rock bottom. That was Washington in November 2021, firing coach Jimmy Lake after his physical altercation with a player during a game.

Beloved former coach Chris Petersen had retired 2 years earlier, and with Washington AD Jen Cohen’s support, hand-picked Lake — his defensive coordinator — to run the program.

Then the COVID season arrived, and the Pac-12 dragged its feet on the return to play, and Washington and Lake had a 4-game season in Year 1.

Then came Year 2, and everything fell apart. The Huskies were underachieving, and frustration built in the locker room.

Oregon week arrived, and reserve linebacker and special teams player Ruperake Fuavai got into a brief scuffle with an Oregon player at the end of a play — the typical jawing and pointing that happens nearly every play, in every game. After Fuavai disengaged, Lake took a swing at him and hit his facemask, and after Fuavai turned and walked away, Lake pushed him in the back toward the bench.

Eight days later, Lake was fired, and Washington was starting over.

Since that fateful moment, nearly everything the Washington program has done on and off the field has hit, has been positive momentum building back to this moment.

— Nov. 29, 2021: Cohen wasted little time in moving forward, hiring DoBoer from Fresno State — despite his relative inexperience (2 years) as a head coach.

Prior to taking the Fresno State job — after Jeff Tedford retired and pushed for his former offensive coordinator (DeBoer) to get the job — DeBoer was an NAIA coaching legend, leading Sioux Falls to a 67-3 record and winning 3 national titles in 5 seasons.

He left Sioux Falls in 2010 and began the slow NCAA coaching climb, starting as OC at FCS Southern Illinois, and then OC at FBS Eastern Michigan and Fresno State before Indiana coach Tom Allen called.

It was there, a year before the COVID season, where DeBoer began to develop a raw but talented redshirt freshman quarterback from Tampa: Michael Penix Jr. A year later, DeBoer got his first shot as an FBS head coach at Fresno State.

— Dec. 22, 2021: After a breakout season in 2020, Penix’s season ended with an ACL injury. He returned to Indiana in 2021 but wasn’t completely healthy and struggled before his season ended in October with a shoulder injury.

Two months later, he entered the transfer portal — and that 1 season with DeBoer stood out. Instead of transferring closer to home (Florida or Florida State), Penix moved farther away for one reason: DeBoer.

Penix wanted to play in the NFL and believed DeBoer could get him there. But there was a catch: He only wanted to play 1 season because he was concerned about sustaining another injury.

July 1, 2022: The Big Ten officially invites USC and UCLA, throwing the future of the Pac-12 into a sea of uncertainty.

For the next year, the Washington administration played the part of loyal Pac-12 soldier, all while the Huskies, Oregon, Stanford and Cal were steadfast against signing a grant of rights — with an eye on what could be in case the Big Ten approved further expansion.

— Dec. 4, 2022: After leading Washington to 11 wins and throwing for 4,641 yards and 31 TDs, Penix decided he would stay for 1 more season of college football.

The information he received from the NFL Draft Advisory Board didn’t guarantee a Day 1 pick, but he also wanted to return to Washington for what could be a unique season.

— Jan. 31, 2023: Huskies OC/QB coach Ryan Grubb, who has coached with DeBoer for years, announced he was staying at Washington after declining the same job at Alabama.

Instead of working with the greatest coach in college football history, instead of learning under Nick Saban and using that platform as the Alabama OC — and the history of Saban’s top assistants moving on to bigger and better jobs — Grubb stayed for what could be a rare season.

— Aug. 4, 2023: The Big Ten officially invites Washington and Oregon to the now 18-team conference.

Faced with the potential of earning significantly less media rights revenue with the reorganized Pac-12 or Big 12, Washington finally got an invite from the Big Ten, which waited months to supplement the USC and UCLA moves — because it didn’t want to be seen as the conference that dismantled the Pac-12.

The early years of the deal will be similar revenue Washington would’ve earned in the Big 12, but the Huskies will be a full partner with the next Big Ten media rights deal.

Now here we are, in the second week of October with Oregon returning to the original scene that started it all. The Huskies have won 16 of 18 games under DeBoer, with both losses (UCLA, Arizona State) 1-possession games.

Washington has the best receiving corps in the nation, 4 deep in the wide receiver rotation and an elite tight end. WRs Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan are each averaging at least 15 yards a catch, and Penix has 16 TD passes in 5 games, further bolstering his Heisman campaign.

The offense is more dangerous than it has ever been, and the Huskies are No.3 in the nation in scoring offense (46 ppg.).

Penix stayed, Grubb stayed and Washington is primed to exit the Pac-12 with a memorable season — and move into the safety of the cash cow Big Ten.

The last time Oregon arrived in Seattle was the beginning of the end for Lake, and rock bottom for the program. When the Ducks show up Saturday to deal with a wild Husky Stadium crowd, the roots of significant change can begin to grow again.

All the way to the Playoff.

“The thing for us, is we wanted to make sure this weekend was big,” DeBoer said. “I’m proud of the way our guys have, every week, gone about taking care of business,” DeBoer said. “I’m happy that this is a big week, because we’ve done everything to make it that.”

Through every big decision — every single one that hit.