Keith Taylor, Washington Huskies.
Trent McDuffie, Washington Huskies football.
For Washington Huskies fans, PAC-12 football is finally just a few days away. This season will be unlike any other. There are no out of conference games. Also, for Pac-12 teams to be eligible for bowl games, the conference will play a limited seven-game regular season.
This, of course, sets up another layer of debate as to which teams should be in the College Football Playoff. “*Insert top PAC-12 team* is 7-0 but Clemson is 9-1 and Georgia is 8-2 and play in far superior conferences so they should be in over any PAC-12 team.”
Also, the disparity in the number of games will skew stats, which makes individual awards and draft scouting more difficult. Needless to say, there will be plenty of debates this year in college football.
The two best ways to decide what teams are great and which ones are pretenders will be their winning percentage and the eye test. Those are not perfect measuring sticks, but this year has been anything less than perfect.
A limited schedule is both bad and good for the Huskies. Bad in the sense that UW is very young at some positions. From the start, every game is important. There is no time to get acclimated. Additionally, with only seven games, the margin for error is slim; schools can’t get away with playing a bad one.
On the positive side, Washington catches a small break with scheduling. The South Division appears to be a bit stronger on paper. The Huskies won’t have to face one of the southern six until the regular season’s final game. Because 2020 is somewhat of a throwaway season, it’s a good year for a first-time head coach like Washington’s Jimmy Lake to get some on the job training.
Paku Nicua, Washington Huskies football.
Lake has his work cut out for him this year. Seniors Jacob Kizer and Isaiah Gilchrist opted out of playing this year due to COVID-19 concerns. There will be no impact on their eligibility because of the opt-out. I can’t fault any player for opting out because of this pandemic that is still ravaging this country. The bad news is the Huskies won’t have them on the field this season.
Besides the opt-outs and navigating a football team through uncharted pandemic waters, there is also no definitive starter at quarterback. The most crucial position to a football team is wide open after 2019 starter Jacob Eason turned pro. Coach Lake isn’t tipping his hand about the QB depth chart. At a recent press conference, he said, “all of those guys are getting reps.”
Only four starters return from 2019 for new offensive coordinator John Donovan. At least one area is settled. Whoever wins the quarterback battle will be in good hands behind a huge offensive line.
Washington’s run game should be lethal with those hog mollies plowing the road. Speaking of the ground game, Richard Newton is primed for a big year. He scored 10 rushing touchdowns in 10 games last year and will look to improve on his TD’s per game in 2020.
One thing this offense lacks is a go-to wide receiver. For the past few seasons, Aaron Fuller was the star attraction. He’s now a member of the Seattle Seahawks practice squad.
Maybe the QB who wins the starting job will fall in love with one of the wideouts, and he can become the go-to receiver. There is some hope that either Terrell Bynum or Puka Nacua can be that guy. Although last season’s main tight end Hunter Bryant is with the Detroit Lions, Cade Otton is a proven commodity. He makes for an attractive short-to-mid-range target.
Washington Huskies defense.
The Huskies will be returning six starters on the defense. Elijah Molden and Ryan Bowman, two All-Pac-12 players, will lead what should be the strength of this team, defense. All those freshmen who played last year were “baptized by fire.” That year of experience is something UW needs this season.
Alex Cook and Asa Turner are the projected starters at safety, with Cam Williams seeing plenty of action. Molden, Keith Taylor, and Trent McDuffie are the starting cornerbacks in Washington’s five defensive back defensive set. Then there is the uber-athletic Kyler Gordon, who will also get plenty of reps at corner. Washington’s secondary is a talented and deep group. Opposing teams won’t be able to play wide open against them.
Up front, Washington is in good hands. Even without 2019 all-conference selections, defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike and edge rusher Joe Tryon there is plenty of talent to fall back on. Redshirt sophomore Tuli Letuligasenoa teams up with Josiah Bronson in the middle. On the edge, Bowman and Laiatu Latu will continue to wreak havoc. Last season, Bowman recorded 6.5 sacks.
Last year’s linebacker group was *ahem* not very good. This season Washington starts a pair of redshirt sophomores, Jackson Sirmon and Edefuan Ulofoshio. Hopefully, the duo learned from their 2019 maiden season and can step it up in 2020.
Overall, this is a very good Washington Huskies football team. Without playing a game, no announced starting quarterback, and a rookie head coach, they received enough votes in the most recent writers poll to place them 30th.