Washington Football: 2017 season preview and predictions

After making the College Football Playoff in 2016, Washington football enters the 2017 season with high expectations.

Chris Petersen doesn’t truly get enough credit for the work he’s done with Washington football. The former Boise State head coach has transformed Washington into a perennial Pac-12 power and he’s coming off his first appearance, and the school’s first, in the College Football Playoff.

The expectations heading into the 2017 campaign are as high as they’ve ever been and with the pieces that are returning, it’s fair to say that missing out on the playoff this season would be a disappointment. Heck, the Pac-12 could send two teams to the playoff, depending on how highly they’re both ranked before the conference title game.

It’s tough to bet against a Petersen-coached team because all he’s known at the collegiate level is success. He knows how to win and he does it often. With an impressive defense returning and an offense that’s going to open some eyes, the Huskies will be tough to beat.

Moreover, the schedule for 2017 is winnable and there’s a potential Heisman-winning quarterback on the roster. Can this team finish even better than it did last season when it posted a 12-2 record and winning the Pac-12 title?

Take a look at our season preview for the Huskies, including a final record prediction.

Offense

Everyone knows the quarterback situation in Washington is set in stone, but what about the rest of the offense? John Ross is gone, leaving Jake Browning to find himself a new No. 1 receiver. Who will that be?

The obvious answer has to be senior Dante Pettis. He was second on the team in receiving last season with 53 catches for 822 yards and 15 scores. Not too shabby for a No. 2 wide out. The team’s third-leading receiver, Chico McClatcher also returns after posting over 500 yards in 2016.

True freshman Ty Jones might just find himself starting this fall at receiver while a trio of sophomores — Quentin Pounds, Andre Baccellia and Aaron Fuller — will provide depth.

Running back is also set with Myles Gaskin who rushed for over 1,300 yards for the second straight season. Talented 800-yard rusher Lavon Coleman will be backing him up. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry last season as a junior.

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Three starting offensive linemen return to the eighth-best scoring offense in the country. Trey Adams at left tackle, Coleman Shelton at center and Kaleb McGary at right tackle. Nick Harris could fill that open left guard spot while Andrew Kirkland or Jesse Sosebee may fit the right guard position.

Lastly, starting tight end Drew Sample returns. He had a quiet sophomore year with just nine catches for 106 yards. Expect those numbers to grow.

Jake Browning the nation’s best QB?

A season ago, Jake Browning put up some impressive numbers. He was just a sophomore. Still, passing for 3,430 yards and 43 touchdowns with a 62 percent completion rate is quite the line and it was good enough to get him sixth place in Heisman voting.

Browning had begun the season red-hot, but his numbers cooled a bit as the year progressed. He has the accuracy and the strong arm to become a solid quarterback in the NFL, but will he be the nation’s No. 1 gunslinger this season?

With three-fifths of his offensive line returning, an elite-level running back behind him and a top-tier receiver to throw to, Browning will have his best season yet. Entering his junior year, NFL teams will be looking closely at his body of work, and they’re going to be impressed with him after the 2017 season. Will he be the nation’s best? Maybe. If not, he’ll be in the top-three.

Defense

The front seven for Washington is scary. The base 3-4 defense is highlighted by Vita Vea at nose tackle, Greg Gaines at tackle/end, Connor O’Brien at outside linebacker, Azeem Victor at inside linebacker and Keishawn Bierria at the other inside linebacker spot. All of those guys are returning starters with plenty of experience.

Moreover, they combined to put together the nation’s eighth-best scoring defense, 28th-best rushing defense and 12th-best overall defense in 2016.

The two names to watch, though, are Vea and Victor. The former finished his sophomore season at tackle with 39 takedowns, 6.5 for loss and five sacks. Victor had a stellar junior campaign, accounting for 68 tackles and three for loss. Don’t sleep on Bierria, either. He also had 68 tackles, but added five tackles for loss, five fumble recoveries, two sacks and two forced fumbles.

Junior Jaylen Johnson is expected to start at the other defensive end spot and freshman Amandre Williams could be a strong candidate to start at outside linebacker.

Even stronger secondary emerging?

Washington ranked 15th in the country in passing yards allowed per game in 2016. The secondary looked to be coming together quite nicely and that’s an impressive number considering they play in the pass-heavy Pac-12 where nearly every team’s quarterback puts up 250 yards per game.

It’s not going to be easy to replace two cornerbacks who helped engineer the elite secondary, but the safeties will pick up the slack. Sophomore Taylor Rapp is a budding star at one safety position and Jojo McIntosh will anchor the other.

As long as the cornerbacks don’t completely blow coverages and tank the entire unit, there’s a good chance the secondary could be even better than it was last season. It’s up to guys like Byron Murphy, Jordan Miller, Brandon Lewis and Austin Joyner.

2017 schedule

When you take a quick glance at the Huskies’ 2017 schedule, you realize that there aren’t any games that seem un-winnable. In fact, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to say that the Huskies could finish 12-0 and win the Pac-12 title before making the playoff yet again.

However, it’s not a perfect world and picking them to run the table would be too easy. There are games on the schedule that will go down to the wire, such as the game at Colorado, at Stanford and UCLA, Oregon, Utah and Washington State will all be tough outs at home.

In fact, the last month of the schedule seems like a gauntlet compared to the first half of the season even though a couple of the teams underperformed greatly in 2016. Luckily, four of the Huskies’ final five games happen to take place at home, giving them a better chance to come out on top in those toss-ups.

Will Washington head back to the Pac-12 title game in 2017?

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Prediction: 11-1 (8-1 Pac-12)

If I were a betting man, the Huskies would be my easy choice to come out of the Pac-12 North to face USC in the conference title game. With most of the toughest games on the schedule at home, Washington already has the advantage this season. Colorado and Stanford are going to be tough on the road, but I say Washington beats the Buffaloes and loses to the Cardinal. That late-season loss will be their first, and only. Luckily, it won’t be enough to knock them completely out of the playoff race.