Respected college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit’s comments on Tuesday may offer Washington fans a welcome shift in perspective as the Huskies try to recalibrate their expectations for the remainder of the 2025 season.
In an X post supporting Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz’s broader message about the pressures of the College Football Playoff era, Herbstreit urged fans to see value beyond whether their team finishes inside the top 12.
So true. Great to have the CFP obviously as a goal but the season isn’t over if that’s out of reach.
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) November 12, 2025
People that view it this way aren’t being realistic or fair to the players or coaches. For over 100 years teams would go 9-3 or 10-2 and have a New Years Bowl game and celebrate… https://t.co/xL26QhSDL6
Drinkwitz had pushed back on the “playoffs or bust” mindset, noting that with 127 FBS programs, tying the worth of a season to 12 postseason spots is neither fair nor realistic. Herbstreit took that idea further, reminding fans that the sport was built on celebrating strong seasons even when teams fell short of championship contention.
“So true,” Herbstreit wrote. “Great to have the CFP obviously as a goal but the season isn’t over if that’s out of reach … For over 100 years teams would go 9-3 or 10-2 and have a New Years Bowl game and celebrate a great accomplishment … If you finish 10-3 and finish 13th in the country is the season a failure?”
For Washington fans reeling from last week’s stunning loss to a two-win Wisconsin team -- a defeat that effectively ended any path to the CFP -- Herbstreit’s perspective offers a needed reset. The Huskies sit at 6–3 and have had a year defined by ups and downs, but the season is far from hopeless.
With three regular-season games still ahead, along with a bowl berth all but certain, Washington still has the opportunity to finish with momentum, with a chance to secure a top-25 ranking and lay foundation for 2026.
The Huskies have a two-win Purdue at home this weekend, followed by a UCLA matchup on the road the following week. With the Bruins at 3-6 and facing another probable loss this week against No. 1 Ohio State, both games should be extremely winnable for the Huskies.
If Washington doesn't fumble those games, it will have a premier matchup against Oregon at home to close out the regular season, with an 8-3 record heading into it. A rivalry win in that one would put the Huskies at a solid 9-3 finish to the regular season, but even if they lose, an eight-win campaign with a better bowl-game berth would be excellent progress from last season's 6-7 finish -- which was coach Jedd Fisch's first season in Seattle, as well as the program's first as a Big Ten member.
Herbstreit’s message underscores that progress is not always linear. This Washington roster entered the year with lofty expectations, but a young roster, injuries at key positions, and inconsistency in big games have shaped a different narrative. That doesn’t mean the year is a failure, but rather that the path shifted.
If anything, Herbstreit’s words may serve as encouragement: seasons can still be meaningful without a playoff finish. There remains plenty left to play for, and plenty worth appreciating.