Takeaway five: the Pac-12 championship is Washington’s to lose.
Yes there are other undefeated teams in the Pac-12, but the ranks are thinning. Right now the competition includes Utah and Washington State. In the ranks of one loss teams you find USC, Stanford, Oregon, Arizona State, and UCLA. And Washington will face many of those teams coming up.
But the Huskies have been improving each week. This is not a team content to ride the wave of last year’s reputation. This is a team that is tough and getting tougher each week. The struggle with the team is the schedule. Until now, the team has not faced nationally recognized teams. Colorado was close, but two consecutive losses have hurt their reputation.
Built to negate Pac-12 strengths
The team currently has Utah (number 20) and Washington State (number 11) on the current schedule. The rankings change each week though. Will they be ranked when Washington faces them?
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In either case, the Huskies match up well. They have the strength up front to out-physical teams. They also have the speed and durability at skill positions to out-finesse. The team has a great rush defense to stop the running backs of the Pac-12 (such as Stanford’s Bryce Love and Oregon’s Royce Freeman).
Yes, Washington is the defending Pac-12 champion. But that is simply the reputation of last year’s team. This team is earning each win. And right now, they are on the inside track to winning the Pac-12 championship.