Jedd Fisch takes rogue shot at Pac-12 while discussing strength of schedule

The Washington Huskies got back on track on Saturday, getting a close win over Maryland, 24-20. It was a hard fought battle and, after the game, Washington head coach Jedd Fisch wanted to emphasize just how tough a game it was by taking a bit of a rouge shot at the Pac-12.

Fisch praised Maryland’s defense, in particular, to emphasize how good the Terrapins are. To do that, he made an eyebrow raising comparison, though, arguing that it shows that there aren’t weeks off in the Big Ten. However, that difficult strength of schedule isn’t something he remembers seeing in the Big Ten.

“They played good defense,” Jedd Fisch said. “They’re a good defense. I mean, this team leads the nation in takeaways. They lead the nation in sacks. They were letting up 10.7 points a game. That’s a good team. That’s what these battles are going to be. We are definitely not in the Pac-12 anymore. In the Big Ten, these games are going to be two touchdowns, three touchdowns, and that’s what it’s going to look like. I think that was a prime example of great football.”

Washington, of course, is one of the teams that recently left the Pac-12 for hopefully greener pastures. It was also a conference that the Huskies found plenty of success in, making it to the College Football Playoff twice and winning it in their final season in the conference.

For Jedd Fisch’s part, he wasn’t with Washington while they were in the Pac-12, though he had been a Pac-12 coach. Coming from Arizona, he also saw the conference well and found success there, building Arizona into a ranked program while he was there. So, he and Washington both know what the grind is like in the Pac-12. Now, they both know what it’s like in the Big Ten too, and he wants to emphasize that difference.

Washington opened this season 4-1 to this point. That includes a 1-1 start in Big Ten play, dropping the opener in conference play to Ohio State a week ago. Now, they’re back in the win column, where Fisch would like to stay even against a difficult schedule.

The Big Ten is certainly a deep conference. In the latest Coaches Poll alone, six Big Ten teams are ranked. That doesn’t yet include teams like Washington or Maryland either.

Next up, the Huskies have a quick turnaround to a Friday night game against Rutgers. That’s going to see Washington need to fly back across the country from Maryland where they played last week to Seattle where that game is set to be held. That travel, in its own way, adds to the difficult Big Ten schedule where the Pac-12 kept games on the West Coast.