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It took at least a month longer than normal but the Pac-12 today released the final schedules for the 2020 football season.
2020 Washington Huskies Football Schedule
| Date | Day of Week | Location | Opponent | Final 2019 SP+ Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Day of Week | Location | Opponent | Final 2019 SP+ Rank |
| Sept 5th | Saturday | Home | Michigan | 10 |
| Sept 12th | Saturday | Home | Sacramento State | |
| Sept 19th | Saturday | Home | Utah State | 83 |
| Sept 26th | BYE | BYE | BYE | |
| Oct 3rd | Saturday | Road | Oregon | 15 |
| Oct 10th | Saturday | Home | Oregon State | 65 |
| Oct 17th | Saturday | Road | Utah | 12 |
| Oct 23rd | Friday | Home | Arizona | 100 |
| Oct 31st | Saturday | Road | California | 74 |
| Nov 7th | Saturday | Home | Stanford | 88 |
| Nov 14th | Saturday | Road | USC | 22 |
| Nov 21st | Saturday | Home | Colorado | 81 |
| Nov 27th | Friday | Road | Washington State | 28 |
There are 2 things every Husky fan did straight away when glancing at that schedule. Finding out when is the bye and when is the Oregon game. Once again they’ll happen in consecutive weeks but this time in the reverse order. The Huskies will get a bye at the end of non-conference play in preparation for taking on Oregon in Autzen in the Pac-12 opener for Washington. Oregon will be coming off a road trip to Colorado the following week.
The Huskies were tied for the last team in the country in 2019 to have their bye week and in 2020 it will be the earliest possible date given their non-conference scheduling. They will have to go the entirety of the conference season without getting a single break. Still, if given the choice I’m sure that Husky fans would rather have an early bye and have it be right before the game at Oregon than have it in week 7 and have Oregon coming off of a bye.
Other Notables:
- The Huskies will have to host a Friday night game that’s not the Apple Cup this year when they take on Arizona. This is sure to be a hit with the majority of the Husky faithful (actually, no it isn’t).
- Washington has had a tough enough time against Cal the last 2 years without the game being on Halloween. Luckily it’s not a home game so Cal is the one that has to worry about their student section choosing between Halloween parties and supporting the team.
- No opponent will be coming off of a bye when they play Washington this year.
- After the non-conference the Huskies evenly rotate between home and away every week. That keeps the schedule fairly balanced
- There isn’t a true 3-game gauntlet the way there have been in years past. The toughest stretch of the schedule is likely at Oregon, home Oregon State, and at Utah. The Beavers should continue to be improved in 2020 and Oregon and Utah will likely begin the season as favorites to meet again in the Pac-12 championship game. I don’t think there’s really a good case to be made for a different 3-game stretch unless you think Arizona will be vastly better than OSU and Cal will become a contender in the North.