AP Polls are out for Week 8, and this week’s rankings are one of the most controversial ones so far. While most of the rankings feature the same teams, one team in particular has been snubbed when they absolutely should’ve been ranked. That team is the Washington Huskies. Washington sits at 5-1 with wins over solid opponents with their only loss coming against the top-ranked team in the country. Yet they remain on the outside looking in when it comes to the AP Top 25 poll.

The Huskies received just 36 points in the latest poll, trailing even Illinois (113 points) and Michigan (73 points), despite having a better record and arguably a more impressive resume than several ranked teams. Head coach Jedd Fisch has his squad playing inspired football in his second season, with quarterback Demond Williams Jr. putting up historic numbers. He even went on to break the school record by logging 538 yards against Rutgers.

But none of that seems to be enough to make a dent in the rankings. The voters have apparently decided that the Huskies’ 24-6 loss to Ohio State in front of 72,845 fans is more damaging than other teams’ losses. Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt didn’t mince words about the snub, calling the AP poll “such a joke” and questioning whether voters were “willfully ignorant or just ignorant” for leaving Washington completely out.

The Ohio State defeat should be viewed as a negative when evaluating Washington this season. But the Huskies went toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes on their home turf. Yes, the 24-6 scoreline does not reflect the ‘toe-to-toe’ part, but anyone who watched that game can agree that the Huskies’ defense had OSU stumped at one point. Although OSU’s defense, led by Caden Curry’s 3 sacks, was phenomenal, Washington still managed to gather up 234 yards against the best defensive unit in college football. So, all evidence is pointing out that the loss is really getting more attention than it deserves from the voters. 

But the really interesting thing is, multiple teams that are currently in the Top 25 have worse records and far less impressive losses than Washington. Take the example of No. 13 Notre Dame. They are sitting comfortably even after a 4-2 record, which is much worse than the Huskies. The Fighting Irish have lost twice, yet somehow that’s more forgivable than Washington’s lone loss to the nation’s top-ranked team. Then there’s No. 21 Texas, also sitting at 4-2 and ranked despite losing to both Florida and OSU and barely managing to win against under-matched teams before this weekend’s win against the Oklahoma Sooners.

The SEC bias that always seems to creep into these polls is on full display here, and Washington is paying the price. As one commentator pointed out, that if Washington played in the SEC with a 5-1 record and their only loss was to the No. 1 team, they’d probably be sitting comfortably in the Top 10. But the Big Ten programs on the West Coast always seem to be overlooked. The voters keep on valuing brand names and conference affiliations over actual on-field performances. 

When Ohio State’s defense takes over, nobody stands a chance

Before anyone starts thinking Washington had a bad day or that the 5-1 record is somehow fraudulent, let’s pump the brakes and talk about what actually happened in that 24-6 game. This wasn’t a case of the Huskies underperforming; it was Ohio State’s defense under Matt Patricia putting on an absolute clinic. The Buckeyes came into Seattle and suffocated everything Washington tried to do, which is exactly what they’ve been doing all season to the tune of being ranked 1st nationally and giving up just 5.5 points per game. 

When former Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel appeared on the Dan Patrick Show, he didn’t sugarcoat it, saying, “It says a lot about Matt Patricia” when asked about the lopsided result. The reality is that Ohio State is just that good on defense, and Washington ran into a buzzsaw that’s been mowing down everyone in its path this season.​ What makes Ohio State’s defensive dominance even more impressive is the sacrifice Ryan Day has made on the offensive side of the ball to let Patricia’s unit shine. 

Neuheisel broke it down perfectly when he explained Day’s approach. “First of all, we’ve known that Ryan Day has this chameleon ability to see what the opponent can do and then adjust a game plan without thinking about his offensive numbers. When you have a guy like Jeremiah Smith, you’ve got to get him the ball. But he doesn’t worry about getting Jeremiah Smith the ball. He worries about making the game go in the direction that he wants with the best chance to win.”  That’s a coach who’s willing to let his offense rank 33rd nationally at 445.8 yards per game, good but not elite, because he knows his defense is championship-caliber, and this balance of play ensures wins.