Pac-12 North: Separating the contenders from the pretenders

Sep 19, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies wide receiver Dante Pettis (8) catches a ball down the middle against the Utah State Aggies at Husky Stadium. Washington won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Huskies

The Huskies were supposed to suck this year. They lost three players from a dominant 2014 defense to the NFL draft. Even more surprising, all three players went in the first round. Overall 12 Washington players were either drafted or signed onto an NFL training camp. Losing that kind of talent should hurt. Many prognosticators picked the Huskies to compete for last place in the Pac-12 conference. However, second year head coach Chris Petersen seems to have other plans.

After a heart breaking 16-13 road loss to Boise State in the 2015 opener, Washington has turned things around with a brutal beat down of Sacramento State and a nice win over Utah State. In all three early games, the Huskies’ defense has shown no signs of the program’s departures causing a setback on that side of the ball. They have allowed just 30 points in three games, and against Utah State, they limited their opponents to just 2.8 yards per carry on the ground and a pathetic 5.2 yards per pass attempt with two interceptions.

The Huskies defense is back, giving the program a chance to be relevant in the North division. Unfortunately, the tough Washington schedule will probably prevent this team from achieving a division title. In a five-week stretch starting October 8, the Huskies play five ranked teams in a row in USC, Oregon, Stanford, Arizona, and Utah. That is in addition to games against Cal and Arizona State before and after the streak, respectively.

That is a tough slate of games, and even though Washington is much better than everyone thought they would be, they are not good enough to survive that daunting group of contests.

Verdict: Pretender

Next: California Golden Bears