College Football: Buy or sell top 25 teams as National Title contenders
The fact that the Washington Huskies could possibly be the second best team in the state of Washington should be a scary thought for their fans. The departure of wide receiver John Ross will change the dynamic of the offense more than some people may think. Senior receiver Dante Pettis is the guy that quarterback Jake browning will rely on this year.
You could see the changing of the guard already when Washington was defeated by the USC Trojans near the end of the 2016 regular season. The Huskies are lucky they faced Colorado and not USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game. However, their run in 2016 is nothing to scoff at and will go down as one of the best runs in program history.
Outside of senior linebackers Keishawn Bierria and Azeem Victor, the Washington defense is extremely inexperienced. Freshman cornerback Byron Murphy has a tall task in front of him to keep up against some of the better secondary options at receiver in the conference. As good as the offense was, the defense carried much of the weight in 2016. Losing so many experienced players does not favor a return trip to the College Football Playoff.