Can Washington Football QB Jake Browning win a national championship?
By Bret Stuter
2017 snakebit season
The Washington Football team entered the 2017 season bursting with confidence. After all, the team shocked the nation by competing in the 2016 NCAA playoffs after winning the Pac-12 Conference Championship handily.
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Stripe Hype
Unfortunately, that confidence was soon tested in the season opener at Rutgers University. Despite the final score of 30-14, the first half was brutally competitive, ending with a 10-7 lead by the Huskies. In fact, the Huskies offense throttled at nearly idle, scoring just three points. The lone touchdown in that first half came when Dante Pettis ran a punt return for 61 yards for the touchdown.
Lack of exposure
Since that game was the only real exposure for the team to the east coast press, subsequent non-conference blowout games did little to embellish the Huskies, or Jake Browning. In fact, the schedule prompted ESPN to claim Washington played cupcakes, visually demonstrating their point with cupcakes on a televised broadcast. While the props drew ire nationwide, the damage was done.
For the last seven game, Browning disappeared from the offense. That coincides with the combined absences of both left tackle Trey Adams and wide receiver Chico McClatcher. The results? Including the Fiesta Bowl, Browning managed to average just 179 passing yards over the final 7 games. Similarly, he averaged just .7 touchdown passes per game (below one) while completing just 66.36 percent of his passes. That certainly opens the door for criticism. But what lies ahead?