Washington Football: 5 ridiculous predictions for 2017

Washington football begins the 2017 season in less than two weeks and expectations are at a recent high, with the Huskies ranked No. 8 in the AP poll.

While USC is receiving most of the hype, Washington comes into the season as the defending Pac-12 champions. The Huskies finished the first quarter deadlocked with Alabama and ended up with a respectable 24-7 loss. So, it is easy to understand why Washington might feel underappreciated standing in the Trojans’ shadows. Then again, if the Huskies beat the Trojans last season, perhaps expectations would be reversed heading into this season.

The Huskies have a manageable schedule — they face UCLA, Oregon, Utah and Washington State at home. The team does play Stanford on the road, but Washington avoids playing USC in the regular season this year and has a winnable non-conference slate. Looking at the schedule, the Huskies have a great chance to make it to the Pac-12 Championship again this season.

Let’s take a look at five bold predictions for Washington for the 2017 season.

5. Washington beats Stanford

The Huskies haven’t defeated Stanford on the road in 10 years. Of course, prior to Washington throttling Oregon in Eugene last season, the Huskies hadn’t beat the Ducks in Eugene since 2002. Thus far, Chris Petersen is 1-2 against Stanford during his tenure at Washington.

Last season, the Huskies soundly defeated the Cardinal 44-6, but the game was at home and the reported crowd of 72,000 was one of the most raucous Husky Stadium had witnessed in years — one of the largest audiences in the history of the stadium.

That said, the atmosphere at this season’s game will be significantly different. Stanford Stadium is the same place where Oregon’s 2013 undefeated season was dashed, 26-21. Playing there won’t be an easy task for the Huskies. But it isn’t as though Stanford is invincible at home — the team lost two games there last season.

Washington’s defensive line and linebackers units are better than Stanford. This bodes well against a team that plays power football. The Huskies held the Cardinal to a season-low 29 total rushing yards — and that was with Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love.