UW #19 in ESPN's "way too early top 25".
19. Washington Huskies
Former Boise State coach Chris Petersen might not catch Stanford and Oregon in the Pac-12 North in his first season with the Huskies. But it wouldn't be a huge surprise if he does it in the near future. Petersen, who had a 92-12 record with the Broncos, inherits a much better UW program than Sarkisian did. Petersen will have to replace senior quarterback Keith Price and junior tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and tailback Bishop Sankey, who are leaving for the NFL draft, but the entire offensive line and a much-improved defense is coming back. Rising sophomore Cyler Myles looks like Price's successor under center, and Dwayne Washington ran for 332 yards with four touchdowns as a freshman. The UW defense was much improved this past season, and end Hau'oli Kikaha (13 sacks), cornerback Marcus Peters (five interceptions) and linebacker Shaq Thompson are coming back. The Huskies have to play at Oregon this coming season, but they'll host Arizona State, Stanford and UCLA.
linkageLooks about right to me. I think we can be a top 15 team this year, maybe even fringe top 10, but I'm happy with 19 as a starting point. I am curious about Marcus Peters - it says he's coming back, has this actually been discussed? If I was him I'd be seriously considering my draft options. Kid's a stud. Hope it's true he's coming back.
Other Pac12 teams:
Oregon - 3
Stanford - 4 (too high, that schedule is brutal)
My Bruins - 7
USC - 14
ASU - 22
Three teams from each division.
Comments
Our Bruins clearly the best.
And USC, no comment
I'm a big believer in Mariota, so I don't have a problem with Oregon at 3. They get most of their toughest games at home, too. That Michigan State game should be good, but they lose 6 starters on defense.
I've seen that a lot of people are questioning whether Petersen can recruit or hire a coaching staff ... what does an ESPN expert (?) know that others don't?
Just ask Auburn about that.........
There will be some information that comes out next week that will really drop the hammer on them.
I can't say who it is but come next week everyone will know.
Stop getting a boner for UCLA and cheer for UW!
More here will defend UCLA players and coaches before any UW player or coach.
I don't give a fly shit if Mora played here. He had his chance to coach here if he wanted, he doesn't. Move on.
We have a better coach now.
The team is setting up to be really good, yes they lose barr and zumwalt, but every team loses players.
They also have a great coach.
Stanford is losing almost their entire front seven, oregon is losing talent on defense and doesn't have a great coach
... And take your purple colored glasses off and do some critical thinking, it's pretty obvious Mufrair.
Oregon at #3. A little high. They should definitely be a few spots lower. They replace their secondary besides Ekpre-Olomu, they can be run on, they lack a little size and toughness on the DL. The offense will be explosive, but I don't trust Helfrich. I see a very good, but flawed team that will lose at least 2 games.
Stanford #4- Way too high. I know they have good depth on the OL, but they are probably losing 4 of 5 starters. They also lose Gaffney. On defense, you don't just replace Trent Murphy or Shayne Skov, especially Murphy. He was a fucking stud and was the best defensive player in the Pac 12 to my eyes. I see a good team that should be ranked in the lower half of the top 25. No way they should be #4.
UCLA #7- This one is about right. They should be ranked before Stanford and I would have them right there with Oregon. The only big loss is Anthony Barr. Big year for Mora, and anything less than winning the South will be a big disappointment. Hundley coming back is huge because they have all sorts of young talent. If Mora won 10 this year with a very young team and a patchwork OL, you gotta imagine next year will be even better.
USC #14- They will lose 3 or 4 games. Talent wise, this ranking is fine, but we all know who is coaching them. I bet UCLA blows them out next year.
UW #19- Too low. The whole OL and front 7 on defense returns. Not that the OL has been all that good, but having all 5 starters with over 2 years of starting experience is pretty rare. The DL should be very good next year with Shelton and Kikaha. There is some young talent on the DL to be excited about as well. We will miss Sankey, but I still think we will be very good running the ball next year. I am particularly impressed by Washington and think he will be the next stud RB. Cooper could look a lot better as well after knocking off the rust of not playing for 3 years. It remains to be seen how good Miles and/or Williams are, but after watching Miles, he is at the very least, a QB you can win with. He's no Casey Paus, Carl Bonnell, Ronnie Fouch, etc. This team should be better than Stanford next year. I think this is a top 10-15 team.
ASU #22- Should not be ranked. They will be decent, and I think Graham is a good coach, but they are replacing 9 starters on defense. Taylor Kelly and the offense will put up points, but I think this is a 7-6 or 8-5 type team.