Can the Washington Huskies live up to the expectations in 2023?

Despite going 11-2 in 2022, there is still some doubt surrounding the Huskies.

There weren’t many expectations for the Washington Huskies last year after going 4-8 the season before. They were starting fresh under a new head coach and brought in a questionable transfer quarterback.

Now after going 11-2, the team is already riding on the expectation to win the Pac-12 and even potentially reach the College Football Playoff in 2023.

However, some are calling for a halt to the talk.

Will Kalen DeBoer silence the concerns for the Washington Huskies in 2023?

Some are saying that this will be the first year to really find out what kind of coach Kalen DeBoer is. But we already know what kind of coach he is. The Washington Huskies football program was dying and DeBoer came in and turned everything around. They went from 4-8 to 11-2 in one year because DeBoer brought in the kind of leadership that this program was missing. He’s gone 90-11 in his entire coaching career.

Former Husky quarterback Brock Huard reasoned that Washington has a tougher schedule this year than last. He mentions that they didn’t play either USC or Utah last season but will play both along with Oregon State in a tough three-week stretch in 2023.

They will also play Boise State and Michigan State as well as the usual Oregon rivalry match-up.

The Washington Huskies 2023 schedule:

• September 2 vs Boise State
• September 9 vs Tulsa
• September 16 at Michigan State
• September 23 vs California
• September 30 at Arizona
• October 14 vs Oregon
• October 21 vs Arizona State
• October 28 at Stanford
• November 4 at USC
• November 11 vs Utah
• November 18 at Oregon State
• November 25 vs Washington State

I have no doubt that Coach DeBoer can lead this team to another great season, especially with Michael Penix Jr back for a final year. The schedule concerns for the Huskies are valid but this season they will have a healthy defensive backfield which will help tremendously.