Washington To The Playoff? The Remaining Schedule Favors Them
By Ty Duffy
Washington crushed Stanford 44-6. It was a thorough beatdown, on both sides of the ball and along both lines. It’s up there with Louisville annihilating FSU for most impressive win of 2016. The Huskies provided a scary reminder Chris Petersen remains one of the game’s best coaches and he can now recruit top caliber talent.
Week 5 is too early to pen teams into the playoff. But, looking at the remaining Washington schedule, there’s not a lot in front of them. Oregon, USC, and Washington State have not looked as tough as expected. The Huskies don’t face another team in the current Top 15. Utah, No. 18, is the only ranked team left.
The Huskies avoid plucky Colorado and UCLA until a potential Pac 12 Championship Game matchup. There are some explosive offenses left on the slate. Multiple teams, on their day, could give Washington a game. Arizona did just last weekend.
Oregon, next week’s opponent on the road, has a 12-game winning streak against Washington. The closest game in Eugene over that span was a 34-14 Oregon win in 2006.
All that said, this Stanford win is massive. If Washington can maintain this level of play, they are well placed to make a run at the Pac 12 and beyond, just as one sage TBL writer predicted they would.