Washington football drops two spots in AP Poll after Apple Cup

Following a shaky offensive showing in a 24-10 victory over the Washington State Cougars in the Apple Cup, the Washington Huskies saw a slight drop in the first regular-season AP Poll of the 2026 college football campaign.

After slotting in at No. 17 in the preseason, Jedd Fisch's team dropped to No. 19 following a game that it was favored to win by more than three touchdowns and suffered some significant injuries in the process.

Jedd Fisch announced during his Monday press conference that the depth chart's top two running backs, Quaid Carr and Jayden Limar, will both be out several weeks with hand and elbow injuries, respectively, while there's still some mystery surrounding wide receiver Christian Moss, who took just two snaps before suffering a soft tissue injury.

However, the Huskies also saw an elite performance from defensive coordinator Ryan Walters' unit, which looks like it could wind up being one of the nation's best, after holding Washington State without a third-down conversion in the contest and generating the havoc that the coaching staff has been preaching all offseason.

Washington recorded 8 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups, 3 sacks, and 3 turnovers (2 interceptions and a fumble recovery), while getting impressive contributions from its trio of first-year starters: defensive tackle Derek Colman-Brusa, edge rusher Ramzak Fruean, and nickelback Jeron Jones.

Around the Big Ten, there was plenty of movement, and Washington wound up slotting in as the No. 6 team in the conference, behind No. 1 Ohio State, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Oregon, No. 14 USC, and No. 16 Penn State. The Huskies are ahead of No. 21 Iowa, while the Michigan Wolverines dropped out of the poll following their controversial last-second victory over Western Michigan.