Washington was unable to capitalize on their 20-point fourth quarter at the Rose Bowl, as their comeback bid against Ohio State ran out of time. The final pieces of the team that made a run at the 2016-2017 College Football Playoff won their second Pac-12 title in three years, but was unable to capitalize further on a core group of players.
Myles Gaskin, the first Pac-12 running back to carry for more than 1250 yards in all four seasons of his career, is now off to see if he can make it in the NFL. Also gone is Jake Browning, the quarterback that led the offense. But Jacob Eason, the Georgia quarterback who threw for 2400 yards and 16 touchdowns at Georgia in 2016 before transferring and sitting out 2018 due to the transfer policy, is there to step up in Browning’s place.
The bigger questions are on defense, where almost every position will have a new starter in 2019. Their non-conference schedule amounts to FCS playoffs runner-up Eastern Washington, Mountain West up-and-comer Hawaii, and a trip to Provo to face BYU. Winning big against all three will be critical for a team that has often faced criticisms of soft non-conference schedules.