Washington entered the 2022 season unranked in the AP Top 25. It closed out the year inside the AP Top 10. The Huskies went from 4-8 the year prior to 11-2 in Kalen DeBoer’s debut season. And then everyone opted to run it back for Year 2 under the standout head coach. Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze, and Bralen Trice return with eyes on bigger and better things in 2023.

Those expectations are reflected in this year’s preseason AP Top 25; UW is an under-the-radar team no more. The Huskies will open the season at No. 10.

The preseason AP poll was released on Monday. UW garnered its highest preseason ranking since the 2018 season and just its fourth preseason top-10 spot since 2000.

That 2018 campaign saw the Huskies win a Pac-12 title and book a trip to the Rose Bowl. DeBoer and Co. will look to close out this chapter of Husky football with the program’s first Pac-12 championship since.

UW and Oregon head to the Big Ten in 2024, as will USC and UCLA. That same year, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado will join the Big 12.

Washington is joined in the poll by four others from the league — No. 6 USC, No. 14 Utah, No. 15 Oregon, and No. 18 Oregon State — in what will be the Pac-12’s swan song season.

The rest of the preseason AP Top 25 can be found below, with first-place votes in parentheses:

  1. Georgia (60)
  2. Michigan (2)
  3. Ohio State (1)
  4. Alabama
  5. LSU
  6. USC
  7. Penn State
  8. Florida State
  9. Clemson
  10. Washington
  11. Texas
  12. Tennessee
  13. Notre Dame
  14. Utah
  15. Oregon
  16. Kansas State
  17. TCU
  18. Oregon State
  19. Wisconsin
  20. Oklahoma
  21. North Carolina
  22. Ole Miss
  23. Texas A&M
  24. Tulane
  25. Iowa

Receiving votes: Texas Tech 101, South Carolina 73, UCLA 66, UTSA 64, Arkansas 22, Boise St. 17, Pittsburgh 16, Kentucky 14, Louisville 10, Troy 10, Kansas 10, Auburn 7, Minnesota 6, Toledo 4, Duke 4, Mississippi St. 4, Florida 4, Illinois 3, Baylor 3, Coastal Carolina 3, South Alabama 1, NC State 1, James Madison 1, Liberty 1