The 2023 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington as a member of the Pac-12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies were led by Kalen DeBoer in his second and final season as Washington's head coach, before leaving for Alabama at the end of the season. They played their home games at Husky Stadium in Seattle. 2023 was Washington's final season in the Pac-12 Conference before moving to the Big Ten Conference in 2024.
With their win over Washington State, the Huskies became the first team to go undefeated in Pac-12 play since the league expanded to 12 teams in 2011. It was Washington's 13th undefeated regular season and 8th perfect regular season, their first since 1991.
After beating the Oregon Ducks on December 1, 2023, in the Pac-12 Championship Game, Washington also set a program record for wins during a season, their thirteen wins beating the previous record of twelve originally set by their undefeated 1991 national championship team and tied by the 2016 team. Washington was ranked No. 2 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, and played against Texas in the 2024 Sugar Bowl. They won that game, 37–31, becoming the second Pac-12 team to win a College Football Playoff game, and advanced to the 2024 CFP National Championship game against No. 1 Michigan, where they lost 34–13.
Preseason
Transfers 2023 transfers Name Num Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Transferred from Jabbar Muhammad 1 CB 5'10" 185 Junior DeSoto, TX Oklahoma State Germie Bernard 4 WR 6'0" 200 Sophomore Henderson, NV Michigan State Dillon Johnson 7 RB 6'0" 215 Senior Greenville, MS Mississippi State Thaddeus Dixon 9 WR 6'2" 205 Sophomore La Mirada, CA Long Beach City College Ralen Goforth 10 OLB 6'2" 225 Graduate student Long Beach, CA USC Zach Durfee 15 DL 6'5" 250 Sophomore Dawson, MN Sioux Falls Daniyel Ngata 21 RB 5'10" 200 Junior Tempe, AZ Arizona State Josh Cuevas 85 TE 6'5" 245 Sophomore Los Angeles, CA Cal Poly Name Num Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Transferred to Lonyatta Alexander Jr. 4 WR 6'1" 200 Freshman Auburn, WA Montana State Cameron Williams 6 S 6'0" 207 Junior Bakersfield, CA Georgia Southern Sam Huard 7 QB 6'2" 193 Freshman Bellevue, WA Cal Poly Zakhari Spears 14 CB 6'1" 195 Freshman Los Angeles, CA UConn Daniel Heimuli 15 LB 6'0" 225 Sophomore Palo Alto, CA Arizona Jay'Veon Sunday 26 RB 6'0" 203 Freshman Waco, TX Abilene Christian Victor Curne 79 OL 6'4" 320 Junior Houston, TX Ole Miss
Recruiting The Huskies signed a total of 19 recruits.
Roster
Depth chart
Schedule
Game summaries
vs Boise State
vs Tulsa
at Michigan State
vs California
at Arizona
vs No. 8 Oregon
vs Arizona State
at Stanford
at USC
vs No. 18 Utah
at No. 11 Oregon State
vs Washington State
vs No. 5 Oregon (Pac-12 Championship Game)
vs No. 3 Texas (Sugar Bowl-CFP Semifinal)
Statistics Texas Washington First downs 23 25 Total yards 498 532 Rushes/yards 24–180 31–102 Passing yards 318 430 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 24–43–0 29–39–0 Time of possession 23:40 36:20 Team Category Player StatisticsTexas Passing Quinn Ewers 24/43, 318 yards, TD Rushing CJ Baxter 9 carries, 64 yards, TD Receiving Ja'Tavion Sanders 6 receptions, 75 yardsWashington Passing Michael Penix Jr. 29/38, 430 yards, 2 TD Rushing Dillon Johnson 21 carries, 49 yards, 2 TD Receiving Rome Odunze 6 receptions, 125 yards
vs No. 1 Michigan (CFP National Championship)
Statistics Michigan Washington First downs 16 17 Total yards 443 301 Rushes/yards 38–303 20–46 Passing yards 140 255 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 10–19–0 27–51–2 Time of possession 29:16 30:44 Team Category Player StatisticsMichigan Passing J. J. McCarthy 10/18, 140 yards Rushing Blake Corum 21 carries, 134 yards, 2 TD Receiving Colston Loveland 3 receptions, 64 yardsWashington Passing Michael Penix Jr. 27/51, 255 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Dillon Johnson 11 carries, 33 yards Receiving Rome Odunze 5 receptions, 87 yards
Rankings
Awards and honors
Individual awards
Individual yearly awards Kalen DeBoer Head coach AP Coach of the Year Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Home Depot Coach of the Year Sporting News Coach of the Year Walter Camp Coach of the Year Pac-12 Coach of the Year AP Pac-12 Coach of the Year Michael Penix Jr. QB Maxwell Award Troy Fautanu OT Morris Trophy Offensive line Joe Moore Award
All-Pac-12 team
All-Pac-12 Rome Odunze WR 1st Troy Fautanu OT Bralen Trice DE Edefuan Ulofoshio LB Michael Penix Jr. QB 2nd Dillon Johnson RB Parker Brailsford C Jabbar Muhammad CB Carson Bruener LB HM Devin Culp TE Dominique Hampton S Roger Rosengarten OT Zion Tupuola-Fetui DE Jack Westover TE HM = Honorable mention. Source:
All-Americans
NCAA recognized All-American honors Michael Penix Jr. 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st Rome Odunze 1st 2nd 1st 1st 2nd Consensus All-American Troy Fautanu 3rd 2nd 2nd Bralen Trice 3rd Edefuan Ulofoshio 3rd The NCAA recognizes a selection to all five of the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN and WCFF first teams for unanimous selections and three of five for consensus selections. HM = Honorable mention. Source:
Other All-American honorsMichael Penix Jr. 2nd 2nd 3rd 2nd Rome Odunze 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd
References