ESPN analyst identifies Washington as dark horse in Pac-12, CFP

Every year in college football a team seemingly comes out of nowhere to be a major player on the national scene, much like TCU did in 2022. Is Washington a dark horse in that same manner in 2023?

At least one prominent ESPN analyst seems to think so.

“This is the team this year that I think will come in under the radar but then again at the end of the year we’re going to be sitting there in November, they’re going to be 9-1, you’re going to say, ‘Goodness gracious, Washington’s rolling,'” Greg McElroy said on the ESPN College Football channel on YouTube.

He outlined many of his reasons, but the primary one is the guy that will be running Kalen DeBoer‘s offense: Quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

And if you’ve been following Penix, you might not even consider Washington a dark horse at all in 2023. He’s that good. He finished the 2022 campaign with 4,641 yards passing with 31 touchdowns against just eight interceptions, and the also added four rushing touchdowns.

That’s some serious production.

“Yep, I love the Huskies,” McElroy said. “Michael Penix, he’s back for another year with Kalen DeBoer.”

USC’s turnaround overshadowed Washington’s

One of the reasons McElroy pointed out that Washington is probably not getting the kind of love it should be as a legitimate national contender is just how many headlines USC stole.

Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy and Lincoln Riley got off to a terrific start at USC.

“But if you look at what happened, man, everyone wanted to talk about what SC did, 4-8 to within one game of a conference title and a national championship possibility,” McElroy said. “Do you realize that Washington was 4-8 too, in 2021? Kalen DeBoer gets in, they go 11-2, 7-2 in the Pac-12, and there were a couple games in which they had it on their racquet.”

Can Washington continue to build momentum as the program moves forward? That remains to be seen.

Washington a dark horse with plenty of horsepower

The key cog in the machine for Washington is clearly Penix. Take him away and Washington’s outlook becomes considerably dimmer.

But for now, there’s no reason not to think the Huskies will be very dangerous again in 2023.

“I think this team has a chance to be outrageously explosive. Now, Penix probably going to come back. Got a chance to be a first-round pick next year, perhaps. Got a huge arm, got a ton of tools, great mobility. I do think that he’s got a chance to really elevate. Now he’s going to need some pieces around him. The defense, in particular, I think is a little underrated.

“Now, are they really in the going to be in the mix to win a national championship? I’m not sure I’m going to go that far, but they need to be under consideration when evaluating the possibility of them winning the league and ultimately getting to the College Football Playoff. I think it’s a real possibility, I do.”