Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Washington Football: 3 most important games of 2018

By Andrew Miller

PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Myles Gaskin #9 of the Washington Huskies runs in for a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on November 10, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Myles Gaskin #9 of the Washington Huskies runs in for a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on November 10, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next

Rolling past the Pac-12 slate and the season opener would put Washington football in position to contend for the College Football Playoff next year.

Washington football rounded out the 2017 campaign in disappointing fashion, by losing to superstar running back Saquon Barkley and the Penn State Nittany Lions in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. However, making it to a New Year’s Six Bowl was a success for the Huskies in and of itself.

Fans in Seattle are getting accustomed to the contention for the hometown team on a national basis. The Huskies were close to playing for another Pac-12 Championship, which would have give them the chance to defend their conference title.

UW finished up the season with a 10-3 (7-2 Pac-12) record. Head coach Chris Petersen is well on his way to establishing himself as possibly the best in the Pac-12. But, he’ll need to string together some PAC-12 Championships in a row before he’s given that title officially.

All three losses for the Huskies could have easily gone the other way. An upset loss on the road 13-7, against the Arizona State Sun Devils, is still a confusing defeat to most of the college football world.

Moreover, the frustrating defeats at the hands of the Stanford Cardinal and Penn State were both by just a single possession. Penn State hung on after the Huskies made things interesting in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Stanford running back and Heisman runner-up Bryce Love was too much to contain for the Huskies.

Entering the 2018 season, UW looks to achieve its third consecutive record of double-digit wins. Ultimately, the Huskies would like to get its offense back to the level it was at in 2016, while maintaining a stifling defense like it was in 2017. The dynamic duo of quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin should return in 2018 to help the offense get back to that point.

The upcoming season starts very tough for the Huskies, with a season opener against the Auburn Tigers, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Other non-conference matchups come against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (FCS) and BYU Cougars.

Here are the three most important games for the Washington Huskies in 2018.

Home/Washington Huskies