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BYU Football: Scouting the Schedule – Washington

By Shaun Gordon

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Jake Browning #3 of the Washington Huskies throws a warm up pass before the start of the second half of the Playstation Fiesta Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies 35-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Jake Browning #3 of the Washington Huskies throws a warm up pass before the start of the second half of the Playstation Fiesta Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies 35-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Lawless Republic’s Scouting the Schedule series continues with BYU Football’s fifth game of the 2018 season, PAC-12 powerhouse Washington.

BYU Football finishes their brutal September schedule with arguably their toughest game of the season. They’ll travel to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies on their home field.

Whether Wisconsin or Washington is the tougher game is up for debate, since both teams will enter the season as Top 10 teams, and both are legitimate contenders for the College Football Playoff.

If Washington makes the playoff, it will be their second appearance in three years, and this team could be deeper and more talented than their 2016 playoff team.

The Cougars will enter this game as giant underdogs to the Huskies, and there’s plenty of reason for that. Washington has become one of the premier programs in the west under Head Coach Chris Petersen, and they have a legitimate chance to walk away as this year’s national champion.

Last Season

After their playoff season in 2016, the Huskies entered 2017 as the favorites in the PAC-12, and a serious contender for back-to-back playoff appearances.

And Washington looked the part, winning their first six games of the season in dominating fashion. Their closest game in that first half of the season was a 30-14 runaway at Rutgers.

Then came their playoff doom. They visited Arizona State in their seventh game, and the Sun Devils stymied Washington’s offense, upsetting the Huskies 13-7.

After that, Washington won four of their last five regular season games, with their only other loss coming at Stanford 30-22, but that loss to Arizona State kept them out of the playoff picture.

Instead, they earned an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl to take on Penn State, and in one of the best games of the 2017 bowl season, the Nittany Lions edged the Huskies 35-28.

Offseason

Along with losing five senior starters, the Huskies also suffered two other major losses. The first was defensive end Vita Vea, the PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year, who left early for the NFL.

Second was Offensive Coordinator Jonathan Smith, who took over as head coach at Oregon State. He’ll be replaced by Bush Hamdan, who served as the Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback coach last season.

More important, though, is the players who stayed. Quarterback Jake Browning, running back Myles Gaskin, and defensive tackle Greg Gaines all flirted with leaving early, but ultimately decided to come back to Washington.

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