AP Top 25: Where are UW Huskies as Oregon haunts them again?
Oct 29, 2023, 11:42 AM
UW Huskies RB Dillon Johnson celebrates a touchdown against Stanford on Oct. 28, 2023. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Another win, another week in the top five of the Associated Press college football poll for the UW Huskies. But they’re suddenly being haunted by a foe thought to be vanquished a few games ago.
Caple’s Takeaways: UW Huskies hold on 42-33 vs Stanford
The Huskies are once again the No. 5 team in the nation following Saturday’s 42-33 win at Stanford, but right behind them are the Oregon Ducks, who rose two spots to No. 6 after an impressive 35-6 win over Utah.
Washington (8-0) is just two weeks removed from beating the Ducks 36-33 at Husky Stadium, but the Dawgs have had two less than stellar performances in a row since. First was a 15-7 win at home over Arizona State on Oct. 21 where quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and the offense struggled mightily, then came Saturday’s game at Stanford where the Cardinal cut UW’s lead to two points at three separate times in the second half, including with 6:46 to go in the fourth quarter.
The 7-1 Ducks, meanwhile, bounced back from their loss at Washington by beating WSU 38-24 on Oct. 21, then thoroughly handling Utah on the road on Saturday.
What does this all mean? It’s making an epic rematch between the Dawgs and Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship on Friday, Dec. 1 in Las Vegas – with a likely spot in the College Football Playoff on the line – seem all the more inevitable.
In terms of voting, the UW Huskies received 1,327 points in Sunday’s new poll, whereas Oregon received 1,235. Neither had a single first-place vote.
Following Utah’s loss to Oregon, the Utes (6-2) slipped from No. 13 all the way down to No. 18.
Click here for the full AP college football top 25
The entire top five was unchanged, with the order being Georgia at No. 1, followed by Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State and Washington. All five teams are 8-0.
The Pac-12 is again tied for most schools in the top 25 among conferences with six. In addition to UW, Oregon and Utah, the Pac-12 has Oregon State (No. 16), UCLA (No. 20) and USC (No. 24) in the mix.
The UW Huskies begin a brutal schedule in the month of November next Saturday when they go to USC. Following that is a home game against Utah, a trip to Oregon State, and finally the Apple Cup in Seattle against WSU.
Oregon gets Cal at home next Saturday.
More on the UW Huskies
• Draft analyst has Penix as first-rounder with intriguing pro comp
• Caple: The case for UW Huskies’ defense being surprisingly good
• UW’s WRs part of why Penix is in Heisman race
