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.
The best individual game for the Huskies resulted in a 41-14 home victory over their biggest rival, the Washington State Cougars, in the Apple Cup. If Wazzu took care of business against the Huskies, they would have played in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Playing the role of spoiler is always a fun thing against the biggest rival on the schedule. Senior Cougars quarterback Luke Falk had a tough time getting anything going against a stout Huskies secondary. And, the Cougars break in a new quarterback in 2018.
While Wazzu is not expected to be the same in 2018 that they were the previous two years, they’re always an opponent Washington should not overlook. When facing that big of a rival, Petersen will have his squad ready to go in this late November battle.
Martin Stadium, in Pullman, is the site of the Apple Cup in 2018. It’s likely that one of these two teams could take part in the upcoming Pac-12 Championship Game. It comes one week before the conference title game and one week after facing the Oregon State Beavers. This matchup comes at a great time for the Huskies.
Auburn, much like UW, did not achieve the desired result in their New Year’s Six Bowl. The Tigers fell short to the Group of Five representative in the New Year’s Six, UCF Knights. Recently hired Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Scott Frost led UCF to a seven-point victory.
However, Auburn ironically gets a third consecutive matchup at the Georgia Dome. Making themselves very familiar with Atlanta, Ga., the Tigers do not want the losing streak at that venue to extend to three games. The last two contests Auburn played there ended in the 34-27 Peach Bowl defeat to UCF and a convincing defeat at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs.
This is not a postseason game or the SEC Championship Game (where Auburn lost to the Dawgs), but there’s still a ton of pressure. Washington makes for an interesting matchup with Auburn on both sides of the ball. The speed of the Auburn offense and the athleticism of the defense will be tested.
UW would put itself behind the eight ball early in the year if they fall short here. And, despite getting Auburn at a neutral site venue, it’s firmly in SEC territory and close to their campus in a bordering state. Star Tigers quarterback Jarrett Stidham gets an early taste of a strong secondary, led by the stout UW safety duo JoJo McIntosh and Taylor Rapp.
The 30-22 loss to Stanford in 2017 puts a chip on the shoulder of the Huskies entering an anticipated battle between two Pac-12 North contenders in early November. That defeat not only knocked UW out of the division race, but also out the Playoff picture altogether.
In that eight point UW loss, Love had his way with the Huskies front seven. The departure of UW’s anchor along the defensive line to the NFL, junior Vita Vea, puts a strain on their efforts. But, if Love decides to return to Stanford for his senior year this matchup takes a different turn.
So much depends on Love’s decision for the 2018 NFL Draft. Love is not just a smart player, but a bright person and it would not take many by surprise if he went back to school. If he does go back, that’s the rusher that tallied 166 yards on the ground and three touchdowns against the Huskies. In fact, Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello did not toss a single touchdown against Washington.
Next: Way-too-early college football top 25 rankings for 2018
The Huskies and Cardinal are the two clear favorites to compete for the Pac-12 North Title and also the Pac-12 Championship in 2018. As long as UW navigates its way through possible upset alert battles against the UCLA Bruins, Cal Golden Bears, Oregon Ducks, Utah Utes, and Arizona State, then Stanford could be the last top 25 opponent in the regular season slate.