Huskies hope to pad College Football Playoff resume against USC
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The Washington Huskies have done everything asked of them, but they remain on the outside looking in.
The College Football Playoff selection committee released its initial rankings on Tuesday, with Washington being the only undefeated team from a Power Five conference failing to crack the top four. As of now, Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and Florida State hold the inside track on berths in Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.
“It’s initial,” Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer said following the release. “As quickly as the season’s going by, there’s a lot of football to be played. This next month for us is going to be a big month for us.
“There’s a target on our chest. We need to rise up, and so far we have. Our best and our biggest moments are when the lights are the brightest.”
Washington won its only matchup with a ranked opponent thus far, but has three games remaining against teams currently listed in the AP Poll. On Saturday, the Huskies visit No. 24 USC for a meeting with reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams.
Of course, Washington has an elite quarterback of its own.
Michael Penix Jr. leads the FBS in passing yards (2,945) and trails only Williams and LSU's Jayden Daniels in touchdown passes (24). Penix was held without a touchdown against Arizona State on Oct. 21, but responded with 369 yards and four scores last weekend against Stanford, vaulting him back into position as this year’s Heisman favourite.
On paper, Saturday’s meeting with the Trojans looks like one of Penix’s lesser challenges this season. USC is allowing 420.9 yards of total offence and 32.6 points per game – both last amongst teams that are ranked in the AP Poll.
Following a 6-0 start, USC lost to Notre Dame and Utah in consecutive games, and narrowly missed a third straight defeat last weekend, when a two-point conversion stop was needed to preserve a 50-49 win over unranked California.
The Trojans do have a bit of history on their side this weekend. On two occasions in their 102-year history, they’ve faced an undefeated Washington team in November and managed to win, most recently in 2016. That Huskies team recovered to win the Pac-12 championship and made their only playoff appearance in the current format, losing to Alabama in the Peach Bowl.
“From our standpoint, this is about the 2023 team,” DeBoer insisted on Tuesday. “Does it mean we want to make amends for what has happened in the past? Yes, but this is about the 2023 Huskies and us being in the moment and having a great game against a really good team.”
DeBoer's team has won all eight games this year, and 15 straight dating back to last season, matching the longest win streak by a Pac-12 team since Stanford in 2010-11.
Their signature performance came Oct. 14 against Oregon, when Penix threw four touchdowns, including a go-ahead 18-yard strike to Rome Odunze with 1:38 left in a 36-33 win. But it's been an uphill climb since – the Huskies needed a late pick-six from Mishael Powell to get past Arizona State two weeks ago and didn't pull away until the fourth quarter in last Saturday's 42-33 win over Stanford.
Washington has a handful of opportunities to pad its resume beyond the meeting with USC on Saturday. Matchups with ranked conference opponents Utah and Oregon State still await, as well as a potential rematch with Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship Game in Las Vegas in December.
Win those, and there will be no denying Penix and the Huskies a playoff appearance.