Over the last two seasons, it has been common for Washington Huskies fans to see coach Kalen DeBoer's team ranked among the top ten offenses in the country.

The defense? Not so much.

In the chaos and uncertainty of the reorganization of the squad under coach Jedd Fisch, something has risen from the ashes: an outstanding defense. The Huskies rank 9th in the country in total defense, allowing just 266.3 yards per game. More specifically, defensive coordinator Steve Belichick's unit has given up 1,864 yards in 420 games, an average of 4.44 yards per game.

As members of the Big Ten, Washington's new conference is very defense-heavy. Ohio State, Indiana, Minnesota and Penn State join Washington as the conference takes up half of the top ten spots on the list.

Texas tops the list while Tennessee and Kentucky occupy the top three spots, while top 10 teams Alabama, Georgia and Oregon are nowhere to be found.

Belichick has breathed new life into the defensive side of the ball at Montlake. The most important thing he brought with him is autonomy, as any member of the Husky defense will attest.

“Belichick is a mastermind when it comes to playcalling,” defensive lineman Voi Tunuufi said. “He gives us the responsibility to take our future into our own hands, to make the plays he wants us to make and to do the things we need to do to get better.”

Coaching a team that doesn't include his father, eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick, for the first time in his career, the former NFL coach has seamlessly adjusted to coaching at the college level.

He implemented a system that has helped the Huskies go from the No. 99 ranked defense in 2023, allowing an average of 406.7 yards per game, to one of the nation's elite units. The fact that he did it with a new cast of characters, including just two starters from the team that was competing for a national championship in January, makes it even more impressive.

He's also made it hard for Washington fans not to sit back and wonder what could have happened if this defense had played with last season's offense, led by Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze and Co.