Predicting the first loss for every college football top 25 team

No. 7 Washington Huskies: vs. USC (Pac-12 Championship Game)

While the 2017 Huskies might just be a tier below last year’s playoff squad, another soft regular season schedule will lead to a lengthy undefeated run.

Washington defied expectations in the third year of the Chris Petersen era by winning the Pac-12 with a 12-2 record en route to a berth in the National Semifinal. Although Alabama proved to be a little too much for the Huskies in the Peach Bowl, they were thrilled to demolish Stanford and snap a 12-game losing streak to bitter rival Oregon.

Heisman contender Jake Browning could be even better if fully recovered from a shoulder injury, and Washington returns almost everyone offensively outside of John Ross including a strong line, outstanding running back duo of Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman, and productive receiver Dante Pettis. The defense lost a good chunk of NFL-caliber talent but will still be stout in the front seven behind star linebacker Azeem Victor and the massive tandem of Vita Vea and Greg Gaines on the interior.

Washington will breeze through another easy non-conference schedule, and the majority of its potentially tricky Pac-12 games like UCLA (Oct. 28), Oregon (Nov. 4) and Utah (Nov. 18) are at home. A Nov. 10 showdown in Palo Alto is easily the biggest hurdle to an undefeated regular season, and Washington’s offensive balance and ability to shut down the run will help it pick up a road victory over the Cardinal.

That will set up a Pac-12 Championship Game tilt against USC with a playoff berth likely on the line. Sam Darnold will be able to take advantage of the absence of Budda Baker, Kevin King and Sidney Jones from a star-studded 2016 secondary, beating the Huskies for the second straight year and dropping them to the Fiesta Bowl.