Washington receiving deserved hype entering 2023 season

The start of the college football season is coming up fast. But before we get to opening kickoff week, On3’s J.D. PicKell went over his list of dark horse teams to make the College Football Playoff in 2023. And the last team on his list, hailing from the Pac-12 conference, is the Washington Huskies.

“I don’t know if we realize this; they want 11 games in 2022. Kalen DeBoer has the boys rolling,” said PicKell. “Michael Penix Jr., everybody pretty much forgot about him after he got hurt at Indiana. He was top-two in the country in passing yards last year at Washington, and he’s back. And their OC, Bama, wanted to talk to him; he’s back.

Washington surprised a number of people in 2022 with an impressive 11-2 season which ended with a victory over another dark horse team for this season, the Texas Longhorns, in the Alamo Bowl. The Huskies took down the Longhorns 27-20 thanks to impressive play by their defense and Penix’s performance, which earned him offensive MVP honors.

Last season Washington enjoyed wins over both Oregon and Oregon State, who both finished the season ranked in the AP top-25. This season the Huskies could have an even better resume. Washington’s 2023 schedule will feature some of the top teams in the Pac-12, including the favorite to win the conference USC.

“There’s a lot at Washington that feels like it’s lined up perfectly. Not just with Michael Penix Jr. (and) with where the roster’s at; top-25 in returning production, by the way, but also look at the schedule. A lot of these big games line up nicely for Washington. They get Oregon at home, (and) Utah at home. Now they go to USC, but guess when they play USC? They play USC the week before USC plays Oregon. That’s got a big red flashing light that says — look ahead spot, look ahead spot. They’re vulnerable.”

Should Washington run the table and finish the season undefeated or with one loss and the Pac-12 title, the Huskies could find themselves in a familiar position as one of the four teams in the College Football Playoff to end the year.

“For Washington, they’re going to have a chance to make some noise in that Pac-12 conference. They are a lot of people’s sneaky pick to be a dark horse for the College Football Playoff. Here’s the wild thing, too, that wouldn’t be Washington’s first time making the College Football Playoff. But for Washington, it’s all lined up. The excitement is real, and I would love to see Washington be a team that’s in that playoff conversation come November because that would just be fun for the sport.”