Washington Football: 3 takeaways from shocking loss to Cal

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 07: Chase Garbers #7 of the California Golden Bears and Jacob Eason #10 of the Washington Huskies hug after the California Golden Bears defeated the Washington Huskies 20-19 during their game at Husky Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

1. This was a blow to the Pac-12’s playoff hopes

For the second week in a row, one of the Pac-12’s top playoff contenders suffered a defeat. Last week, it was the Oregon Ducks who fell to a non-conference opponent in the Auburn Tigers. This week, it was the Huskies.

This is an even bigger blow when you consider what’s gone on around the country. Alabama and Clemson are their usual selves. With Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma is once again a playoff-quality team. Justin Fields and Ryan Day appear to have things rolling at Ohio State. LSU has its usual defense and physicality, but on Saturday night shootout against Texas, displayed the exciting new-look offense.

The point is, there is no shortage of playoff contenders. The problem is, they’re all outside the Pac-12.

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It’s still early, however. If the Auburn loss ends up being Oregon’s sole loss, they can get in. Same to Washington after Saturday night’s defeat. However, the climb to the playoff has become far steeper for the Pac-12 after the first two weeks of the season.

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