The Washington Huskies lost to Arizona State in shocking, ugly fashion, but don’t expect Washington to lose another football game in 2017.
Halloween is still weeks away, but Sun Devil Stadium proved to be a house of horrors once again for Washington Saturday as the Huskies lost in the desert for the seventh consecutive time. Washington hasn’t beaten Arizona State on the road since a 33-31 win in 2001 – when most of the current Huskies were in diapers. As 17-point favorites, Washington was expected to end the streak with ease, but the team failed to move the ball consistently, struggled mightily in the red zone and managed just a single score in the 13-7 loss.
Coming in as the only remaining undefeated team in the Pac-12 thanks to Washington State’s stunning loss to Cal the previous night, the Huskies squandered a perfect opportunity to stake their claim as the clear favorite to win the Pac-12 North and represent the league in the College Football Playoff again. Instead, Washington fell to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play and backed into a three-way tie atop the division with the Cougars and Stanford.
Fortunately for Washington, the arch-rival Cougs weren’t the only Top 10 team to fall. Clemson and Auburn also lost, which softened the blow to the Huskies’ playoff hopes. Only six undefeated teams remain among the Power Five conferences. Two are guaranteed to lose before the committee selects its playoff field. If last week’s slate of surprise results is any indication, others will lose, too, and let’s also not forget there hasn’t been an undefeated national champion in the CFP era. In other words, there’s plenty of time for Washington, who fell to No. 12 in the latest AP Poll, to climb into the final four.
Of course, there is no longer any room for error. Five games remain, and none will be easy: every opponent left to play has spent time in the Top 25 in 2017. Nevertheless, there are three reasons to believe Washington will survive and take an 11-1 record to a Pac-12 North title and a spot in the conference championship game. And if the Huskies run the table and hoist the trophy in Santa Clara, they should make it back to the dance.