Why No. 2 UW Huskies got the best path to national title in CFP

Dec 4, 2023, 3:13 PM | Updated: 4:24 pm

Roger Rosengarten, Dillon Johnson and Camdyn Stiegeler of the UW Huskies celebrate on Dec. 1, 2023. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

(Ian Maule/Getty Images)

BY BRENT STECKER

Seattle Sports

There are multiple reasons for fans of the UW Huskies to feel like their team has been shortchanged after the CFP was set.

Some think the Dawgs are worthy of the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff, which instead went to Michigan. Or how about the fact that the No. 2 Huskies aren’t the favorite in their national semifinal Sugar Bowl against the No. 3 Texas Longhorns?

Here we go again: How are UW Huskies underdogs in Sugar Bowl?

Perhaps what burns the most is that the Huskies are headed to New Orleans rather than the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., a bowl game that both has history for Washington and would be a more favorable site for a West Coast team playing one from the Southwest.

There is a silver lining, however, as former Huskies quarterback Damon Huard shared when he guest hosted Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk with his brother (and fellow former UW QB) Brock Huard on Monday.

“I know Husky fans, you’re a little (ticked) off this morning because you’re not going to Pasadena. But let me tell you, this is the best path forward to winning the national championship,” Damon Huard said.

Against Texas, the Huskies will be facing a former UW coach: Steve Sarkisian, who is in his third year leading the Longhorns. Sarkisian is an offensive-minded coach much like UW’s Kalen DeBoer, so Texas and Washington are both strong offensive teams, with the Longhorns averaging more yards per game and the Huskies averaging more points per game.

Damon likes the matchup for the Huskies, especially when compared to the two teams in the Rose Bowl semifinal: Michigan and No. 4 Alabama.

“Texas, Sark, it’s going to be a shootout,” he said. “We’re going to get this thing done in New Orleans. Michigan-Alabama, that Rose Bowl is going to be a bloodbath. And then (seven) days later, we get to play that team after all the hoopla and all the travel. Boy, I’m not going to doubt this team, and I really like our chances to make history.”

Breaking down the Pac-12 Championship win

If you’re concerned about the Huskies being the underdogs in the Sugar Bowl, take solace in that it’s a role they seem to be comfortable in. After all, they were nearly 10-point underdogs in Friday’s Pac-12 Championship, which the Huskies won 34-31 over then-No. 5 Oregon.

The most likely reason the Ducks were favored was because their wins over common opponents were more decisive than Washington’s. But as pointed out by Brock Huard, who is a FOX college football analyst in addition to Seattle Sports host, that may have worked in the Huskies’ favor.

“All those close games, all the grit that was developed about having to overcome, all of the injuries and all of the things that happen over the course of a long college football season,” Brock said, “and it was just gonna make them tougher mentally, physically, emotionally. And when the moment got the biggest, they were not going to back down. They were not going to tuck tail. They were going to rise. They were going to rise up because they had all that fortitude of all those close games, and those Ducks, they didn’t. The Ducks didn’t.”

Damon Huard credited the run defense in addition to UW’s usual offensive output for pulling out the win.

“That really was the difference in the game for me was the run defense,” he said. “… (Washington) did an amazing job bottling up their run game, and Oregon’s offense never really got into a rhythm. … And they just they were tackling machines.”

As for the offense, wide receiver Jalen McMillian had his first big game since recently returning from a midseason injury that cost him over two months, leading Washington with 131 yards on nine receptions. That helped out some of the Huskies’ other weapons, with running back Dillon Johnson rushing for 152 yards and two touchdowns, and Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Penix Jr. throwing for 319 yards on 27-for-39 passing.

“What a performance by our defense, but don’t short this offense, too,” Damon Huard said. “A healthy Jalen McMillan, you’re getting behind that secondary. And then obviously Dillon Johnson, that run game, and Penix was beautiful.”

How Penix performed at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium in the win over Oregon may signal another thing that could help Washington when they play Texas at the New Orleans Superdome.

“Throwing in a dome – as you know, Brock, playing in Indy all those years – there’s nothing better for a quarterback.”

Listen to the full conversation in the podcast at this link or in either the video or audio players near the top of this post.