The Washington Huskies are one of the nation’s top unranked teams through seven weeks of college football action. Sunday’s Week 8 Associated Press rankings revealed that only two unranked teams received more poll points than the Huskies.
The Huskies will face one of those teams, the Michigan Wolverines, in Ann Arbor on Saturday morning. The other, the Illinois Fighting Illini, are on bye this week and will have little hope of entering the rankings.
A Washington victory inside the Big House would be necessary to earn a ranking, but the Huskies will also need a space to free up ahead of them. With that in mind, here are six games which could give the Huskies a spot in next week’s edition of the AP Poll.
Friday, 5:00 p.m. PST - No. 25 Nebraska Cornhuskers @ Minnesota Golden Gophers
The hottest seat in the AP Poll belongs to Nebraska. The Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) earned the final spot in this week’s rankings after picking up the fifth-most unranked points the week before. They’ve won two straight against Michigan State and Maryland after falling to Michigan at home in Week 4.
If the Cornhuskers want to keep their place in the AP Top 25, they’ll need to handle business against the Golden Gophers (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten). Minnesota was stomped by Ohio State two weeks ago but rebounded last week with a 27-20 win over Purdue.
Huskies fans should feel comfortable rooting for Minnesota on Friday night. The Golden Gophers have no wins against teams with winning records, so it’s unlikely a win would see them jump the Huskies to claim Nebraska’s No. 25 spot. On the other hand, a Nebraska loss would certainly de-rank the Cornhuskers, who are currently listed as 8.5-point favorites on FanDuel.
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. PST - Washington State Cougars @ No. 18 Virginia Cavaliers
The Cougars (3-3) gave No. 4 Ole Miss all it could handle in a narrow 24-21 loss last weekend, a scare which dropped the Rebels a spot to No. 5 in this week’s AP Poll. This week, Huskies fans should put rivalry aside and hope that the Cougars can finish the job in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers (5-1, 3-0 ACC) entered the rankings in Week 6 following their shocking upset of No. 8 Florida State. They picked up a win over Louisville that week and were on bye last weekend.
The Cougars are another safe team for Huskies fans to root for, though that may feel strange and confusing to some. The Cougs’ best win is over San Diego State of the Mountain West, so they’ll purely be playing spoiler to the Cavaliers on Saturday.
Can it be done? Virginia averages the nation’s 11th-most yards per game, and Washington State currently ranks T-108th in defensive stop rate. However, that same WSU defense just held Ole Miss’ No. 5 offense in yards per game (515.3) to 24 points in a game they entered as 31.5-point underdogs. Anything is possible in college football, and a Cougars win would go a long way towards getting the Huskies ranked.
4:00 p.m. - No. 21 Texas Longhorns @ Kentucky Wildcats
Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns (4-2, 1-1 SEC) began the 2025 college football season as the nation’s top-ranked team, but they plummeted out of the rankings following a Week 6 loss to unranked Florida. However, Texas rebounded last week with a hard-fought 23-6 win over No. 6 Oklahoma.
That win got the Longhorns back up to No. 21 in this week’s poll, but their status as a ranked team remains in jeopardy. Fortunately for Texas, Kentucky’s (2-3, 0-3 SEC) only advantage in this game will be playing on its home field.
Of the SEC’s 16 teams, the Wildcats’ offense ranks 14th in points per game (24.4), 14th in yards per game (331.6), and 15th in passing yards per game (172.2). Defensively, they rank 14th in points allowed per game (27.8), 15th in yards allowed per game (402.2), and 14th in passing yards allowed per game (248.6).
Unfortunately for Washington, these numbers give the Longhorns no choice but to dominate, which is something they’ve yet to do offensively through six games. Texas’ defense is among the SEC’s best, but Arch Manning and company currently rank ninth in yards per game (399.4).
A loss to Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC) would be catastrophic and could ruin Texas’ playoff hopes, but even a prolonged struggle with the Wildcats could see the Longhorns bounced from the AP’s Top 25. Huskies fans should hope for chaos at Kroger Field on Saturday.