Take Two: Is Washington primed to make a run to the playoff?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.
MORE TAKE TWO: Can Michigan maintain its recruiting momentum? | Chip Kelly's impact at UCLA | Is Jeremy Pruitt's fast recruiting start with Vols a surprise? | How safe is Ed Orgeron's job at LSU?
THE STORYLINE
Washington was voted to win the Pac-12 at the conference’s media day last week, and it makes sense since quarterback Jake Browning, running back Myles Gaskin, a massive offensive line and a shut-down secondary all return.
But there are major questions at receiver with the loss of Dante Pettis, some talented linebackers and first-round draft pick Vita Vea at defensive tackle.
Still, Phil Steele in his preseason magazine has the Huskies fourth nationally, behind only Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State.
Washington’s schedule has some difficult patches, but is also pretty manageable. Opening against Auburn is huge. Going to Utah a few weeks later will be tough. Playing UCLA and Oregon on the road and then hosting Stanford is never easy.
But the Huskies have a path back to the conference championship, a possible showdown with USC in that title game, and they could make another run at the playoff. Does Washington have enough talent to get it done?
FIRST TAKE: LARS HANSON, DAWGREPORT.COM
“Washington should expect, at minimum, to be in the conversation for the College Football Playoff heading into the Pac-12 championship game. That means the Huskies have to take care of business within the conference. UW has the benefit of missing both Arizona and USC during the regular season in 2018, but it does have a test early in the season against Utah away from home.
“Chris Petersen is 2-1 against Kyle Whittingham as a Pac-12 coach and undefeated in the last two contests, both of which were decided by one possession and played in late October and mid-November. Traveling to Utah in between two relatively favorable home games (against North Dakota on Sept. 8 and Arizona State on Sept. 22) does help, but it could prove to be more of a test than Auburn will be in the season-opener.
“Should UW be able to come out of September undefeated the only other tough stretch on the schedule is the first two weeks in October. The Huskies are on the road at UCLA and Oregon, and a case could be made for the former as the more challenging of the two with Chip Kelly patrolling the sidelines in Westwood.
“UW finishes with three of its five remaining games at Husky Stadium, hosting Colorado, Stanford and former Petersen assistant turned head coach Jonathan Smith when Oregon State wraps up the home season on Nov. 17. Essentially, if 2018 plays out as it should, there are four games that will determine the season: Auburn, Utah, UCLA and Oregon. Based on what UW has returning on both sides of the ball all four of those games are winnable. But winnable and placing a “W” next to the final score is not always the same thing.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“If I thought of a Pac-12 team doing that, I'd think USC. But with USC's uncertain quarterback situation, I guess Washington is the favorite. The Pac-12 is going to see a lot of parity this season. There are a lot of programs that we have to see how we do. I don’t know if there is one dominant program that can get to the playoff.
“I wouldn’t put Washington in the playoff if I was picking.”