Washington Football: 5 reasons Huskies will win 2017 national title

Washington football is looking to return to the College Football Playoff in 2017. Here are five reasons why the Huskies can go all the way to a national title.

26 years ago, Washington won a share of the national championship. That year, the Huskies went 12-0 under head coach Don James. They won the Pac-10 title and then defeated Michigan in the Rose Bowl to cap their perfect season.

Since then, Huskies fans have been longing for a return to the college football summit. Last year, Washington went 11-1 in the regular season, then beat Colorado to win the Pac-12 for the first time since the league expanded to include the Buffaloes and Utah. Chris Petersen’s team was then selected to play Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl.

That game did not fare so well for the Huskies. After scoring the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter, Washington never saw another point. The Crimson Tide went on to a 24-7 victory, and the Huskies went home. Then they watched a large part of their defense depart in the NFL Draft in the spring, though at least the bulk of the offense returns.

2016 offered a taste of the rarefied air among the FBS elite for the Huskies. Now that he has restored UW as the top dog in the Pac-12, Petersen will not want to relinquish that title. Click ahead to see five reasons why the Huskies are in position to go all the way and win the national title in 2017.