The Washington Huskies football team is officially in game week.

The Huskies are set to play the Washington State Cougars in the Apple Cup at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday (Sept. 6) at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

Washington will enter the game with a healthy amount of expectations after being ranked 17th in the Associated Press' preseason Top 25 poll. Several national analysts have predicted the team to make the College Football Playoff in its third year under head coach Jedd Fisch.

The Huskies entered this offseason with many offensive positions still up in the air after several players left for the NFL.

With less than a week until Washington plays its in-state rivals, those positions are more or less locked down.

Here's a prediction of the Huskies offensive starters for the Apple Cup and key rotational players.

The third-year quarterback will be entering his third year with the program and second as a full-time starter.

Last season, Williams led the Big Ten with 3,676 total yards (3,065 passing, 611 rushing) and totaled 31 touchdowns (25 passing, six rushing).

There's even more expectations for Williams this upcoming season, who's been named to preseason watchlists for four separate awards.

The second-year running back was unexpectedly thrust into first-year reps due to injuries in the spring to assumptive starter Jordan Washington, who's working his way back from a neck injury.

Amidst competition from veteran transfers Jayden Limar (Oregon Ducks) and Trey Cooley (Troy Owls) and talented first-years Brian Bonner and Ansu Sanoe, Carr won out the starting running back job in training camp and will look to show his unique speed and surprising strength to Washington's backfield.

There's still a question whether Carr will be a feature back in the vein of now-Denver Broncos ball-carrier Jonah Coleman, but he'll have an opportunity to show his ability as the Huskies featured back.

DeGraaf's started to come on as a receiving target for Williams last season, finishing his sophomore campaign with 32 catches for 360 yards and two touchdowns.

DeGraaf was one of Williams' go-to targets in spring training and, despite more opportunities being afforded to wide receivers and other tight ends than exclusively him in training camp, DeGraaf has done nothing to give away the position. And he'll enter the Apple Cup with a healthy amount of trust from his quarterback.

Wide receiver was one of the biggest questions for the team entering this offseason after leading receiver Denzel Boston was taken in the sixth round by the Cleveland Browns.

The Huskies were unable to find the answer to the 6-foot-4, 215-pound vacancy left by Boston's departure due to a series of injuries to the wide receiver room in spring.

One of the injured players, Kennesaw State transfer Christian Moss, has been healthy this training camp and has secured his spot among the starters.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound wideout has been one of the team's most consistent performers in spring and has built enough trust and confidence with Williams to be a consistent and likely efficient deep threat this season.

One of the few wide receivers who was healthy in the spring was 6-foot-1, 205-pound receiver Rashid Williams, which was a positive turn of fortune compared to where he was at in 2025.

Williams played the first two games of the season before missing the majority of the year with an injury. He returned to practice healthy later in the year, but suffered another injury that kept him out the remainder of the season.

The fourth-year wide receiver was responsible for the longest play in the team's spring game May 1, catching a touchdown from his quarterback of the same surname.

Now, Williams, one of the few players remaining on the team from the stacked wide receiver room in the 2023-24 national champions runners-up squad, will finally have a chance to show his ability.

The team's leading receiver from last season, Dezmen Roebuck, made the move from the outside to the slot this offseason. That move proved to be an extremely beneficial one for him and the team.

Roebuck was consistently Demond Williams' go-to target and, more often than not, reeled in the passes from his childhood friend and now-quarterback.

Roebuck's experience on the outside and shown proficiency in the slot this year has a real chance to make him one of the most consistent pass-catchers in the Big Ten.

Washington's top prospect from its historic 2026 recruiting class, five-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene, received first-team reps right away upon his spring arrival on Montlake.

Since then, Greene has continued to improve and has been named to several preseason True Freshman All-American lists.

Mills, like Greene will be this year, was a starter as a true freshman last year and was a near-consensus True Freshman All-American.

If Mills can continue to build off his first year of college ball, there's a good chance he could be a legitimate All-Big Ten candidate at season's-end.

When everyone is healthy, fourth-year offensive lineman Landen Hatchett will be the team's starting center. For the Apple Cup, snapping duties will fall on Sam Houston State transfer Kolt Dieterich.

Dieterich, who was the highest-graded offensive lineman in Conference USA last season, played mostly tackle but is also capable of playing guard. He started taking snaps this offseason. When Hatchett is healthy and returns to the fold, Dieterich will likely be a utility offensive lineman capable of filling in a variety of roles.

Last year's starter at right guard, seventh-year Geirean Hatchett missed all of spring and the majority of training camp due to a biceps injury. Taulealea, listed at 6-foot-5, 340 pounds, has stepped in and received the majority of first team reps in training camp with Hatchett's injury.

Taulealea has also missed time in training camp, but it seems to be leaning toward the second-year player getting the nod Sunday.

There might not be a more-improved player during Fisch's tenure as head coach than Azzopardi.

In 2024, after transferring to UW from Sans Diego State, Azzopardi struggled while being a starter at right tackle throughout that entire season. Last year, Azzopardi noticeably improved while starting 11-of-13 games at right tackle and was named a captain.

With medical waivers and redshirts no longer applicable, this will likely be Azzopardi's final year of college ball, and an opportunity to end his college career on a high note, especially relative to where he began.

-- Jayden Limar, running back, fourth-year

-- Chris Lawson, wide receiver, second-year

-- Baron Naone, tight end, second-year