@Publisher , Washington was 41 or 42 in the US News ranking from 2008 to 2012. Its ranking dropped rapidly over the past few years and is 62 this year.
US News ranking over time:
2008-2015:
https://publicuniversityhonors.com/2015/06/13/u-s-news-national-university-rankings-2008-present/
2013-2020:
Its “academic reputation” score has remained relatively high (ranked 32), and it has always had strong departments across the board. The academic profile of the entering class has improved considerably over the past several years, but it must be underperforming on some parts of the US News ranking methodology.
See also:
http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc1.html#TOP60