Analysis: Yes, it deserves an asterisk. But even without rivalry games or road games, UW’s 2020 season has still meant something.

SEATTLE – They’ll call it an asterisk season, and they’ll be right.

If this is it – if UW’s Senior Day loss to Stanford was its last in the regular season, if the COVID-19 pandemic makes it impossible to participate in the Pac-12 title game – cynics will rightfully wonder what all of it was worth. All of the schedule changes. All of the tests. All of the uncertainty. For what? For money? For a fleeting feeling of familiarity and four measly games?

They’ll point to the fact that Washington (probably) won the Pac-12 North with a 3-1 record, without playing a road game, without reckoning with rivals Oregon or Washington State.

They’ll call this season meaningless.

And for that, they’ll be wrong.

An argument could be made, of course, that a college football “season” – if that’s what we want to call it – should not have been played amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That the health and safety of students, staff and the community at large should have been prioritized over the opportunity to play. Or, that the season should have started earlier – that the Pac-12 should have followed its fellow Power Five conferences by diving headfirst into the fray.

Instead, the Pac-12 farcically belly-flopped into an ill-fated seven-game schedule. Most recently, UW’s rivalry game at Oregon on Saturday was canceled due to a spike of positive COVID-19 cases inside the Huskies’ program, and – despite technically winning the Pac-12 North – it’s unlikely they’ll be cleared to participate in the conference championship game on Friday. Two other UW games were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns tied to its opponent, and another opponent – Utah – was scheduled four days before the game.

By any metric or perspective, this careening car crash can’t compare to a 12-game regular season that culminates in a conference title and a New Year’s Six bowl game – or, if you’re ambitious, a coveted berth in the College Football Playoff.

But it’s meant something all the same.

It’s meant something for redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan Morris, who impressed in the first four starts of his collegiate career. The 6-foot, 200-pounder from Puyallup, Washington – who grew up at Husky football games – completed 60.9% of his passes, throwing for 897 yards with four touchdowns, three interceptions and two rushing scores. He also led the 12-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that sealed a dramatic 24-21 comeback win over Utah.

Regardless of whether he plays in another game this season, Morris can carry that experience – and confidence – into a quarterback competition with five-star freshman Sam Huard and others next summer.

It’s meant something for redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui, who entered the 2020 season with 10 total tackles in 14 career games. After bulking up to 280 pounds, the Pearl City, Hawaii, product proceeded to pulverize Pac-12 offensive lines – producing seven tackles and three forced fumbles while ranking second nationally with 1.75 sacks per game. He was named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week following the first three starts of his UW career, developing into the conference’s premier pass-rusher in the process.

“I was just thankful for the opportunity to go out and play,” Tupuola-Fetui said following a 44-27 win over Arizona on Nov. 21. “There was a lot of work put in with my unit, with my coaches. I was just thankful for how it came out.”

A week later, after the comeback win over Utah, Tupuola-Fetui added that he was “overcome with emotion” and “just in such awe of this team.”

It’s meant something for Elijah Molden, UW’s senior defensive back and prospective first-round pick. After leading the Huskies in nearly every defensive category last season, the West Linn, Oregon, native could have declared for the 2020 NFL draft. He also could have opted out of an undeniably abbreviated season, as outside linebacker Joe Tryon and defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike chose to do. But he said this week that “I just knew, first of all in my heart, that I needed to come back for this year for my team, for my coaches, for Husky Nation. It was for myself too. I felt like I needed to prove myself and show that I’m the player I think I am.”

Added Molden’s mother, Christin Molden, who hasn’t seen her son in six months as a COVID-19 precaution: “He’s grown a lot and he’s had to learn a lot about patience this year, with all the pandemic issues. It was very hard for him and for us to decide what to do in terms of leaving and opting out or coming back. My husband and I were very strongly encouraging him to do what he did ultimately do, which is come back and play. I think it’s safe to say that he’s really thankful that he did.”

It’s meant something for true freshmen wide receivers Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan and outside linebackers Sav’ell Smalls and Cooper McDonald, who earned valuable reps without sacrificing a season of eligibility. It’s meant something for junior tight end Cade Otton, who unquestionably boosted his draft stock after emerging from Hunter Bryant’s bulky shadow. It’s meant something for inside linebacker and former walk-on Edefuan Ulofoshio, who continued to establish himself as the Huskies’ defensive heartbeat.

It’s meant something for first-year head coach Jimmy Lake and offensive coordinator John Donovan, who – one hopes – will learn from their successes and mistakes.

And maybe it’s meant something for some of you, too, who needed a temporary respite from the realities of an unrelenting year.

So, yes, it’s an asterisk season – and an argument can be made that it shouldn’t have been played. Maybe, in the end, it did more harm than good.

But it did do good. It did mean something. And, if it’s over, let’s hope for sunnier fall Saturdays in 2021.