College Football Playoff: Which Top 25 teams are contenders, pretenders?
In their second season under head coach Chris Petersen, the Washington Huskies made their first appearance in the College Football Playoff after finishing the season regular season with an 11-1 record.
While the team did eventually lose in impressive fashion to Alabama in the first round of the playoffs by a score of 24-7, and lost a number of important starters to the NFL including John Ross, Sidney Jones and Budda Baker, Washington has recorded a 4-0 record in 2017 and could again challenge for a spot atop the Pac-12 North.
Behind the arm of junior quarterback Jake Browning, the Huskies’ offense has outscored opponents by a combined score of 178-47 and currently has 19 touchdowns opposed to four allowed.
Even without Ross’ game-breaking speed to take the top off of opposing offenses, the Huskies have been able to deliver a balanced offensive attack with junior running back Myles Gaskin and senior wide receiver Dante Pettis.
And on defense, the Huskies haven’t missed lost a step.
Currently ranked the 19th-best unit in the nation in total defense, Washington has only given up four defensive touchdowns, tied for the second-least.
Even with a stretch of four challenging games against Oregon, Stanford, No. 20 Utah and in-state rival No. 16 Washington State to end the season, Washington is the odds-on favorite to finish atop the Pac-12 North, and could again find itself in the College Football Playoff for the second consecutive season.