ESPN believes Washington hype is an overreaction

The Washington Huskies earned quite a bit of hype for themselves during Kalen DeBoer’s first season at the helm. Even so, Adam Rittenberg doesn’t necessarily see that same success translating into his second campaign.

Rittenberg calmed the hype around Washington in a recent article at ESPN. He said their schedule, from both a non-conference and Pac-12 standpoint, is a big hurdle to overcome. Mix in some concerns on the defensive end and he thinks everyone should be taking a more cautious approach when evaluating the Huskies.

“Washington’s schedule is an absolute grind. The Huskies face Boise State and Michigan State in nonleague play, and open November with USC, Utah, and Oregon State,” wrote Rittenberg. “The defense is filled with talented players who have some troubling injury histories, too. So a wait-and-see approach there makes sense.”

Washington posted their best campaign in over a half decade with an 11-2 finish. That featured an 11-2 mark in conference play and a victory over Texas in last year’s Alamo Bowl.

Still, 2023’s schedule doesn’t favor them nearly as much. In 2022, they hosted their wins over the Spartans and Oregon State before picking up their massive win at Oregon. That was about it, though, in terms of top competition. Now, on this schedule, they’re set to go to East Lansing and Stanford as well as to play the Trojans and Beavers on their respective home fields. Their home schedule also isn’t much easier against opponents like the Broncos, Ducks, and Utes.

The Huskies may very well have success again in DeBoer’s second season. That’s not out of the question considering what’s at their disposal. It’s just that, to Rittenberg, it won’t come nearly as easily this time around considering the path that they’ll have to take to get there.

McElroy explains why Washington could sneak into College Football Playoff mix

Greg McElroy wants to let people know: Washington is legit.

On ‘Always College Football‘, the former Alabama quarterback explained why he thinks the Huskies have a shot at the College Football Playoff.

“I think Washington has a better chance of getting to the College Football Playoff than Florida State,” McElroy said. “Why? Because I look at the Pac-12 and I think it’s more gettable than the ACC. Just saying. I think it’s more gettable than the (ACC). I think the ACC is pretty good, the Pac-12 is pretty good, especially with the quarterback situations. But tell me a team in the Pac-12 right now that returns as much as the Washington Huskies.”

“They bring back a bunch of high quality pieces offensively. You bring back Michael Penix Jr., who is, I think, only going to get more comfortable as he continues to dive in to Kalen DeBoer’s offense. They’re going to be really good offensively. They were really good last year offensively. That should go without saying. We know they’re going to be really good along the line of scrimmage defensively. We know they have a couple of edge rushers that are legit that can flat out pin their ears back and make life difficult for the opposing quarterback.”