Washington is something of an enigma entering 2019. The Huskies lost a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, with a dozen players landing NFL contracts either through the NFL Draft or as undrafted free agents. Even with the thinned experience, the Huskies are almost certain to end up somewhere in the top 15 of the season’s first AP Top 25. A lot of that comes down to the mystique of Chris Petersen, who seems to turn underappreciated teams into gold.
This year Washington is destined to take a new turn on offense after mainstays Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin graduated on to the NFL. But they also now get to turn the ball over to former Washington prep star Jacob Eason, who sat out last year after transferring from Georgia. Salvon Ahmed is likely to get the bulk of the carries after playing a reserve role to Gaskin last year.
The defense should be fine yet again despite turning over more defensive talent than any other FCS school to graduation and the NFL. Washington’s secondary is gutted, and eight defensive players total going pro from the unit. Washington has managed turnover on defense in the past, and if spring is any indication they have worked out their issues in the pass rush and could terrorize Pac-12 quarterbacks all year.
The Huskies open the year with a home date against 2018 FCS playoff finalist Eastern Washington, then host Cal and Hawaii before their first road trip of the year to take on BYU in Provo. After returning home to face USC, a road swing to Stanford and Arizona is the last hurdle away from Seattle. Oregon, Utah, and Washington State all have to come to Husky Stadium.