The Pac-12 has a nasty stigma that is constantly hovering above it about how it is the weakest conference in the Power 5 and how it won’t put a team in the College Football Playoff anytime soon.

The Washington Huskies are not doing anything to help push the needle in that conversation.

It goes beyond Jimmy Lake’s team dropping a deuce at home against Montana on Saturday. The “Bow Down to Washington” campaign is off to a brutal start in terms of on-the-field production, as well as on the recruiting trail.

Some of the bad luck the Huskies had last season after COVID-19 erased their shot at representing the Pac-12 North in the Pac-12 Championship Game has rolled into this offseason and into the regular season. AP All-American Third Team honoree Zion Tupuola-Fetui tore his Achilles in April and may not return in 2021. ZTF was the Huskies’ best player in 2020 and was on his way to a monster year this year.

Lake was also without a wealth of talent on offense, including starting receivers Terrell Bynum, Jalen McMillan, and Rome Odunze. Texas transfer Ja’Lynn Polk also left early in the game due to injury, and running back Sean McGrew was unavailable.

Despite the laundry list of injuries and missing players, the Huskies should have wiped the floor with Montana at home. They were ranked No. 20 in the country, and many projected them to win the Pac-12 this year. Montana has only played two games since the 2019 season, and while Bobby Hauck’s team is one of the best in the FCS, you’d think the talent and coaching at Washington would have resulted in a win.

Given the trajectory that the Huskies have had in the last two recruiting cycles, that talent and coaching may not lead to as many wins as originally thought.

Lake was hired to replace Chris Petersen ahead of the 2020 season, and one of his biggest promises to the Husky faithful was that he would continue to “dominate the West Coast” and that he would bring the top talent in the state of Washington to UW.

Goal 1: Not likely

Goal 2: Struggling

Washington’s embarrassing loss to Montana on Saturday makes Lake’s recruiting woes even more painful, especially on offense. The 2020 class was a success — signing six of the top 25 players in the state, including prized defensive end Sav’ell Smalls. Since then, it has been a downward trajectory for the purple and gold.

The 2020 class was the No. 2 class in the conference, according to 247 Sports, but the 2021 class was No. 6 and the 2022 class sits at No. 7. A multitude of top recruits in the state have left the Evergreen State for Ohio State (JT Tuimoloau, Gee Scott Jr., and Emeka Egbuka) or Pac-12 rivals (Julien Simon to USC, Junior Alexander to Arizona State, Dave Iuli to Oregon, etc.).

2022 has been brutal for Lake and his coaching staff. The class currently ranks 50th in the country and seventh in the Pac-12. Four players have recommitted from the program, including defensive lineman Ben Roberts, who decommitted after visiting Oregon’s camp in Eugene and committed to Oregon on Sunday, one day after the Ducks beat Fresno State and the Huskies flopped against Montana.

Roberts isn’t the only prospect that the Ducks have stolen from the Huskies. Sir Mells, a defensive lineman from Nevada, also decommitted to Washington only to commit to rival Oregon. Many other recruits had Washington in their top schools but opted for Oregon instead, including in-state offensive lineman Iuli, and San Diego defensive backs Jahlil Florence and Jalil Tucker.

Mario Cristobal has Oregon skyrocketing in the recruiting ranks and is well on its way to a third straight Pac-12 title. USC, UCLA, Arizona State, and Utah are all contenders for the South. Hell, even Stanford and Arizona have brought in better recruiting classes in 2022 than Washington. If we’re thinking of the Huskies as a train, the failures on the recruiting trail, or tracks in this case, have sent the train skidding. The loss to Montana crashed the train into a boulder.

So what can the Huskies do to get the train moving again? A win at the Big House over Michigan would be a huge start. Wrapping up some more big-time recruits on the West Coast, especially in-state talent like five-star offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr., would boost some confidence in the reeling fanbase.

Injured players returning to the field will be a big plus as well, but Lake and his staff can’t blame their pitiful loss to Montana on that. The Huskies still have a talented roster, but it’s time for Lake to prove why he was the right choice for the job. It’s time for him and Washington to “dominate the West Coast.”