Will the Washington Huskies be on the field in Week 8 of the 2026 college football season?

Following a much-needed 38-26 win over the Purdue Boilermakers on the road to snap a three-game losing streak, Jedd Fisch's team has reached its bye week. Sitting at 4-3, the Huskies haven't lived up to expectations after starting the year ranked at No. 17 in the preseason AP poll, after some severe offensive struggles through the first half of the season.

Some of those struggles stemmed from quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who suffered a rib injury in the second quarter of Washington's 41-24 loss to Iowa, which thrust backup Elijah Brown into action. In a little over six quarters, Brown has thrown for 553 yards with 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, while operating Fisch's offense as efficiently as it has looked all year.

"He did enough to be considered," Fisch said of Brown potentially taking over as Washington's starter. "We'll see how Demond does over this week physically and medically, and then we'll make a decision (in) probably a week or so, how we want to proceed. But I certainly believe that in the six quarters he's played, he certainly has earned consideration."

Washington's offense currently ranks No. 12 in the Big Ten in total offense, averaging 386.7 yards per game and No. 15 in scoring at 27.9 points per game, and was unable to score 30 points against an FBS opponent until Brown's start at Purdue.

Next, the Huskies will hit the road and travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a matchup with coach Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers at 5:00 p.m. PT. According to ESPN analytics, Washington has a 12.8 percent chance to win.